After spending a long week in Grimsby waiting for the weather we decided it was time to venture off for new horizons such as Scarborough. It was an early as we left the pontoon at 05:45 and headed out through the Fish Dock with the lock on free flow.
With light winds in the morning we started by motoring down the River Humber with the tide with us until it was time for us to take a turn and cross the TSS (traffic separation zone) at a recommended crossing point. We then headed north with our first way point just off the easterly corner of a wind farm.
It was a relatively straightforward passage up to Flamborough Head. By this point the wind had started to fill but not as strong as it was forecast so it was a lovely motor sail on a close reach for almost the whole way. Our top speed was 8.6 knots and average speed of 5.2 knots.
As we headed further north we noticed a significant change in the amount of sea bird that we were spotting. In particular, puffins, gannets and guillemots.
We didn't realise at the time but Puffins (photo from BBC) are migratory birds and this was their breeding season which brings them closer to land and cliffs where they dig nests almost 3ft deep. Their peak breading season is from May to June before they head back out to the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In total we saw hundreds of the orange beaked birds as they pop out of the water next to the boat and dive off for their next catch.
After 12.5 hours we started to approach Scarborough as we could see the Scarborough Castle standing proud over the harbour and sea.
We contacted the Harbour Master on the VHF for berthing instructions. This is always a nerve wrecking time as you are never quite sure where you are going to be asked to go. However, this one was fairly simple as we approach the harbour wall we could clearly see the entrance and we had a nice spot on the visitors hammerhead.
Scarborough Harbour is divided into two areas - an inner and outer harbour. The outer harbour dries out completely leaving the boats suspended above the mud and although planned, never looks natural.
The harbour front is home to a lot of tourist amusements (and lots of fish and chips) but if you venture further afield you can find some lovely little spots. We did several coastal walks giving us some spectacular views of across both North Bay and Osgodby Point.
The marina staff were very friendly and helped us to fix the broken shore power cable box which was broken - you will often find the Harbour Master cycling around the marina/harbour on his bike. The office isn't in the marina itself but can be found at the end of the commercial fishing pier from the main promenade.
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