This was to be a fairly straightforward 40 mile trip up to Hartlepool ( 54:41.5N, 001:12.0W), which we could do in one tide, with a civilised start from sunny Hartlepool at 0800. The forecasts were again for possible mist, but no fog and fairly light winds, coming round to the east , which would give us a better sailing angle. The forecast for tomorrow was horrible, so there was no opportunity to laze around in Scarborough, or split the trip at Whitby.

The first half of the trip was motoring in virtually no wind, but we had a good sail in the second half , as the wind climbed to a good F4 from the east, as advertised. Although we had no fog, the visibility was ‘moderate’, and it made for some rather ethereal scenes along the coast, with Whitby Abbey seeming to float on the mist from its cliff top position. I also had the opportunity to put the crew to work polishing stainless steel for a couple of hours...slave labour !

Once again we played with the radar, and dodged a lot of anchored tankers off Tees Port, and were soon entering Hartlepool Marina, after a trip of just 6 hours. This will be ‘home ‘ for a few days , with Jon leaving tomorrow and new crew members joining at the weekend.

Initial impressions from the marina here is that Hartlepool is trying hard to shake off its old image, and we had a superb meal in the Krimos restaurant....to be recommended. Hopefully I will have time to visit the maritime museum before we set off again on Sunday, weather permitting