Days at sea or daze at sea

A bit of nightfall

Lowestoft: well - rough over the banks in the total darkness as we got there, but a well lit harbour and little traffic. So we slept, late, and pushed on again for a 100nM (nautical mile) stretch to Grimsby, which came up with some surprises. But the voyage up the sandbanks, past Great Yarmouth with a sail up to help us, and the sea absolutely horrible - rolling and pitching.
Grimsby: Grimsby approach is full of sand banks and out of bounds

Look at the depth of this hull in the shipyard at Grimsby.

shipping channels, and the entry to the marina is subject to the tide. We got a ticking off for hanging about outside as bigger and more important boats were leaving the Royal Dock, and we were waiting for the Fish Dock. We got in at about 7.45 am after the long overnight voyage. We walked a long way for fish and chips in a posh fish and chip restaurant where we had a choice of peas and every dish came with a pot of tea. Very good. We took a taxi back to the Humber Cruising Association. Next morning, 0500, the engine failed to start, just a lot of rattling noises from the starter motor.
We spent a couple of hours testing all things and found a dead battery and a special regulator that had probably committed a kind of suicide in the face of the new alternator which was providing more power than it could cope with. We bypassed the regulator, and got a new battery - and in doing so had enormous help from the local people. A lift to the battery shop, the loan of a battery tester, much time, phone calls and all that. Grimsby docks, where we were, were dilapidated, but still busy. We left the next day for Whitby.
Whitby: is beautiful. There is a sense that it hasn't been touched by time, just cleaned and painted. We had dinner in Wetherspoons because the other restaurants all seemed to close at 9pm. It was vampire night, or something, and Wetherspoons was peopled by special bloodstains and strange long morning coats in memory of Count Dracula.
Blyth: Unfortunately Blyth, our next stop, was a bit weird, and we nee
ded fuel and fuel was only available for professionals. But the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club established in an old wooden lightship which didn't leak. That was lovely. But to get fuel, we had to buy 30 litres of cans to put 30 litres of fuel in which would be enough to get us to Eyemouth the next day. Jane had come to fetch Peter away and her car and her skilled knowledge of Blyth got us to Homebase to buy a large WW2 style fuel can, and a plastic fuel can, after which we went shopping at Asda and got the fuel.
Farne Islands: We passed by the Farne Islands. We were going to have a night at anchor there, but we had started to run out of time, and also forgotten where we had put one of the nights - literally forgotten - until we remembered that it was the night sail from Lowestoft. But the Farne Islands just looked gorgeous.
The coastline continued to improve, and we made our way up to Eyemouth.
Eyemouth: Go and visit. Absolutely lovely.
We crossed from Eyemouth to Stonehaven.
Stonehaven: Quite nice. But we were charged £20 to lie alongside the harbour wall with a steep ladder, no toilets, no water, no fuel, no nothing, really. So don't go and visit.
Peterhead: Very nice, but a little bleak. Very commercial, lots of gas and oil vessels. But we found fuel, had good showers, did some washing, made our way to bed and got up to leave at 0500. "Go back to bed," I said, as we couldn't see the buoy about a hundred meters away because of the fog. At 0600 we could just see the buoy. At 0700 we switched on the radar, checked the AIS, spoke to port control and left in about half mile visibility. 
Lossiemouth: Leaving in the fog was a good idea, and we headed round the headland for Lossiemouth, from where the RAF fly submarine tracking aircraft, and had a nice dinner at the hotel. In the morning it blew a bit hard, and we had a great deal of dry mouthed trouble turning the boat in the wind. Than an immensely rough departure after which the sea settled down, the gannets dived for fish, and the guillemots did their cute vanishing trick.

Inverness: - under the great downhill curved bridge, into the sealock, and up to the marina. I have to warn all and sundry, the fees are enormous for the transit, and tend to depress one's wallet's general joidevivre. For example, £11 for 4 litres of paraffin, and £15 to pump out the poo tank and getting on for £300 for a week's licence to be there. I think they don't understand something pretty crucial about poo tanks: they have to be emptied, and if the loch needs to stay clean, do what the Dutch do - pump out for free.

Hail on the deck after sweeping
to ensure crew safety. Of course.

So now we sit in a tiny harbour on Loch Ness, having motored through  thick hail.Couldn't see the deck for hail.

Loch Ness after tea with the Monster

We are sitting, lying and chopping onions on Loch Ness. Profound, but we've actually had a bit of rest because we've needed it after a sequence of 5am starts ending in the evening.

But the weather has been kind, if a little too kind, as sailing has been negligible, with a flat calms and a bit of mirror like water

See you soon for part 2.