21. Lindisfarne to Whitby, 17th/18th August.
Shipping forecast, 17th August, 12.01, Tyne: W or NW 3 to 4 increasing 4 to 5 , occasionally 6 later; rain; moderate or good.
A visit to Whitby, with its many attractions and historical associations, must be regarded an essential part of making passage down the east coast of England and we decided on this destination, 82 miles from Lindisfarne, as our next stop.
We departed at 09.40, taking the south going stream through the inside passage between the Farne Islands and the mainland coast in calm misty conditions. Later the forecast westerly wind came up giving us periods under sail interspersed with spells of motor sailing when it fell light. Blyth and Tynemouth fell astern, Northumberland gave way to Yorkshire, the orange glow and occasional flares from steelworks at Teeside and Redcar lit the night sky, and we arrived in Whitby entering the harbour in a by now quite fresh westerly wind at 02.00 hours. We were too late for the road bridge giving access to the upper harbour and marina (HW ± 2 hours only) but found a convenient berth, rafted alongside the yacht club pontoon just below the bridge, to await sufficient rise of tide on the following morning. Whitby Harbour Radio had directed us to the fishing quay but with lying against piles on a falling tide during the rest of the night to contend with I wasn’t too keen on this and the yacht club pontoon, though unofficial, was much better.
Whitby is a popular berth and the marina was busy, and, after the reasonable prices further north, quite expensive.