Kindred Spirit II sailing around the UK farewell tour

We left Eyemouth in a grey mist with rain falling and not even good wind to make up for it. It looked like another grey day ahead. But as we headed south the mist cleared, the sun peeked through and eventually the west wind picked up and provided a great day of sailing. It was great to be sailing close to shore and we passed Holy Island (Lindisfarne), Bamburgh Castle and the Farne Isles before the wind really stepped up a gear. The skipper nearly smiled, nearly, as we raced past Alnmouth, Amble and Ashington at 7 knots in sunshine to reach our destination of Blyth. It is 5th July 2021. The Farne Isles under a moody sky Its interesting to be sailing close to the shore - about half a mile off on this stretch going past Bamburgh Castle Despite the glimmer of sun Pete is still wrapped in multiple layers and even Mark had his full kit on during the morning rain Here comes the sun... :-) Blyth Beach hike rewarded by great fish and chips A one-mile walk along the splendidly sandy Blyth Beac

  At seven in the morning, we left Blyth harbour onto a grey wet lumpy North Sea with a fickle breeze blowing. But the wind soon picked up and we had some reasonable sailing, running with a light north wind to start and then gradually the wind came round to the west and increased. The rain persisted. We did have a couple of close encounters with ships along the way. It is 6th July 2021. In a bit of family fun along the way we called our auntie Doreen who has an apartment overlooking the Cullercoats Bay and told her to look out the window and see us waving. As we were over a mile out to sea on a slightly misty day we are not completely convinced that Doreen could actually see us, but it was a good excuse for a chat. After only ten hours the rain gave up, so that at least when we arrived in Whitby it was dry, even if it was not sunny. As we approached Whitby under a moody sky we did discuss the idea of continuing our day’s sailing carrying on to Bridlington, another 34 miles so perhaps t

Too late to make any breakfast we loitered by the swing bridge at 5am. We escaped from inner Whitby Harbour and headed out to sea, accompanied by a couple of fishing boats. The sky was clearing and a rainbow gave us hope for a dry day. It is 7th July 2021. A lovely westerly was blowing 15 miles per hour, and we set off for five hours enjoyable sailing on a broad reach, southwards towards Flamborough Head. We were pushing against a knot of tidal flow and the only problem was that we might get to the Head too soon. The tide runs at up to 3 knots round the Head. After about four hours the wind died down and so our early arrival problem was solved and also it was easier to make an egg sandwich for breakfast. Flamborough Head can be an evil place in strong wind and especially with wind over tide. Later, on the pontoon, locals told me their horror stories of 20-foot standing waves. With the tide starting to turn and very light winds we pottered past the Head on the inside track with barely a

We had a very long but sunny and pleasant day motor sailing in light winds from Bridlington to Wells-next-the-Sea which is on the north Norfolk coast south and east of The Wash. We were keen to leave Bridlington early and there was plenty of fishing boat activity at 3am so we were up and out. The harbour itself was lit up by flood lights but when we left the harbour entrance we realised that there was not actually any daylight yet. So, we had an interesting first half an hour relying heavily on the map on our tablet and keeping a sharp eye out to avoid getting tangled in any pot buoys. It is 8th July 2021. The sun came up and eventually found its way through the clouds. Light winds were of some assistance but for most of the day in combination with the motor. We were soon out of sight of land and spent the next 15 hours mostly alone but passing two or three wind farms and sailing through a fleet of moored ships. We did pass one yacht that was heading northwards and gave them a wave.

Wells-next-the-Sea is a distinctive harbour based on a river which cuts its way across a low-lying sandy shore. The way into the harbour from the sea is only obvious because it has been marked by buoys. The harbour itself is reasonably deep but this channel through the sandy shore means you have to go in and out within a couple of hours of high tide. In the morning we have to wait until 5pm before making our escape, this feels like a relative lie-in.  It is 9th July 2021. For a change, the sun is up before we are. Leaving Wells-next-the-Sea. The sea is flat and initially there is little or no wind. Our carbon footprint for the trip is getting bigger. For the first six hours we at least have the tidal flow working with us and we make great progress. But on this long leg to Lowestoft of 55 miles the inevitable happens and the tide turns. The wind has picked up and we are sail motoring but eventually against a 2 knot flow which is disheartening. We take it turns to sleep and that helps to

It is exciting to be so close to ‘home’ after a couple of months of journeying. Tomorrow we should be able to sail back to Blackwater Sailing Club where Mark keeps our yacht, Kindred Spirit II, and from whence we began our sailing trip around the UK. We hear that many people are flying flags, buying beer, and generally getting excited but nervous about tomorrow. It is kind of everyone to be so concerned but to be honest we had hoped to keep our celebrations fairly low key. It is 10th July 2021. This morning at the relatively civilised hour of 5am we got up and had breakfast before heading out into the tidal flow which boosted our speed towards Harwich. We were motor-sailing mostly in light winds although for a couple of hours we had some decent wind and did some pleasant sailing. We arrived off Harwich at slack water and got into the Stotley marina before the tide turned against us. We arrived off Harwich at slack water and got into the Stotley marina before the tide turned against us.

Kindred Spirit is coming home, ETA 1pm Sunday 11th July. This is the last post on our blog although we might add some photos of arriving at the club, just for the sake of completion. A favourite photo and memory of the trip is setting out from St Martin's in The Isles of Scilly in the dawn. The shot of leaving Harwich this morning just illustrates the contrasting places that a sailing trip round the UK includes.  Standing on the deck of our yacht Kindred Spirit II, we get a warm glow when we spot Bradwell nuclear power station on the horizon. Bradwell was our first overnight stop on our round the UK sailing trip and we are currently sailing with a very convenient east wind into the estuary on our return to our starting point of Blackwater Sailing Club. Sweet Caroline has just been played on the radio and our next familiar landmark will be the Radio Caroline ship which is moored permanently in the estuary. We had a delayed start on May 13 th and it has taken nearly two months to ge