It doesn’t take us long to find out the cause of the salt water problem. It turns out that the bilge pump shares the same sea cock as the fresh water tank overflow. Not only was our coffee last night salty, but it had also been sloshing around in the bilges for a while to add flavour. A trip to the excellent East Coast Marine for some brass fittings and we once again have fresh water.
The exit from Scarborough was a much less exciting affair than yesterday and Heydays punched into the last of the swell with ease and the sailing was glorious.
Pot buoys were a constant menace and one fishing boat was clearly of the opinion that we were too close, steering at us to make us change course. We felt like going back later to ‘borrow’ a crab or two… As castle rock fell away, we could make out Robin Hoods Bay, the imposing ruins of Whitby Abbey and then very faintly the entrance to Whitby.
We had half a mind to carry on to Hartlepool, but a strengthening wind on the nose and an increasing swell made up our minds for us and we started to look forward to a stay in Whitby, which several people had recommended anyway. The swing bridge to the marina only opens around two hours before high water so we moored at what we thought was the waiting pontoon and took the tender ashore to book a space in the marina and find a drink or two and some snacks as darkness fell and Whitby lit up.
A Contessa 26 called Me-Mo moored alongside us in the marina having been given the brush-off by a rather snooty lady in a big motor boat with a huge flat screen TV. We had seen Me-Mo in Grimsby although not to talk to, and we invited Mike and Diana on board for a few drinks and to compare notes. They are much more heroic than us and seem to tackle long rough passages with ease although there was a slight disagreement whether it was an exhilarating sail (Mike) or more of an endurance(Diana). Home for them is Amble and we hope to catch up with them again there.
heydays346 