Homeward Bound 52 28.3N 01 46E

Gryphon II
Chris and Lorraine Marchant
Sat 19 Sep 2015 18:30

Sailing south from Eyemouth into England conditions were windy so sadly we were unable to stop at Holy Island or the Farne Islands. We arrived at Amble, a small attractive town lying at the mouth of the river Coquet and with a good marina.  It gained the reputation as 'the friendliest port' in the 1930s when Amble Council sent the RMS Mauretania a message on its last voyage to the  wreckers yard, 'Still the finest ship on the seas', and they replied with greetings, ‘ to the last and friendliest port in England'. It is indeed friendly with a long and pretty high street and a harbour surrounded by long beaches. Further up the estuary is the town of Warkworth which boasts an impressive castle

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From Amble we sailed south to a brief stop at Hartlepool. The marina is unexciting situated away from the main part of the town in a rather drab dock from where coal was once exported. Most of the industry here has gone long ago except a few miles south Redcar was busy making steel but even that industry is under threat.

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A much more interesting town was Scarborough. The harbour is attractively located in the centre of town and is very much a working harbour busy with fishing boats coming and going.

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Gryphon II rafted up at the harbour wall.

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Unlike Lowestoft, Scarborough still appears to have a thriving tourist trade so this pleasant town looked prosperous and busy.

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After a couple of nights we continued southward. Our last stop was under Spurn Point where we anchored and spent a rather rolly night before the long haul back to Lowestoft. We made a very early start and like our flag we arrived bedraggled and tired but elated to have completed our world tour.

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Entering Lowestoft Harbour after six years sailing around the world.