As you can imagine, the thought of doing our first night passage was met with mixed emotions. On one hand we were excited for the next stage of our adventure and pushing ourselves to achieve new milestones but on the other hand we were a little nervous for what may be in store.
We were eagerly watching the weather waiting for a window of SE, S or SW anywhere between 10-20 knots wind to help push us further up the East coast. After a few days of waiting we spotted a SE wind which would be good for us and although the wind strength was a little on the weak side we decided it may not be such a bad thing given that it was our first night passage.
Once we decided that we would be leaving the next day we walked to the local supermarket (LIDL) and packed as many things as we could into our rucksacks. We wanted to cook something that we could prepare in advance and heat up during the passage - hats off to any one who is able to cook a meal underway. I have managed it once or twice but this was in very calm conditions under motor.
I picked us up ingredients to make a lentil chilli, lots of snacks and even a sticky toffee pudding in case we wanted to treat ourselves overnight to something warm and comforting which we could heat up easily in the oven.
With the weather window identified and food stored on board the only thing left to do was to ensure that we had enough diesel in the tanks. Fortunately we were opposite a fuel berth (ABP Lowestoft Marina) so we were able to untie the lines and moor up there to fill the tanks directly.
We left from Lowestoft Cruising Club at around 14:00 for the 14:30 bridge lift. After calling Port Control for permission to leave we passed through and headed north Great Yarmouth and the Scroby sand banks which we had been warned about. We also passed by another wind farm.
The wind was dead behind us and we were able to try out goose winging for the first time - this is where you have one sail on each side of the boat. It always feels special when you are able to do this. Fortunately, the sea conditions were calm with around 0.5m swell so it was a comfortable ride.
Turning NE we headed through an area called The Would and past another sand bank known as Haisborough Sand. At this point we were sailing at around 5.5 knots with the tide in our favour, giving us an extra boost.
Once we were around 12NM offshore and didn't have to worry about the depths and any more sand banks as our only obstacles were two large wind farms.
As the sun started to fade, we made sure that we were in our thermals and full sailing gear in preparation for our night shifts to begin. At around 22:00 we decided it was time to have a nice warm bowl of the chilli that I had prepared earlier to ease us into our shifts.
Unfortunately the wind started to die at this point so we furled away the head sail but kept the main sail up to help capture what wind we had and also to balance the boat. The wind faded and we had to put the engine on shortly after this to make sure that we could still make progress.
Adam went downstairs at around 23:00 for his first rest and I kept watch up in the cockpit. Before the night sail, I couldn't really imagine myself carrying out a watch on my own but now that it came to it I found myself feeling more comfortable with the idea. I kept a close eye on the AIS for any ships and monitoring the conditions. I spotted 2 x commercial tankers and to be safe I contacted them on the VHF to ensure that they had seen us and were able to alter their course accordingly. They reassured me that they had spotted us and this made me feel at ease.
After around 3 hours it was then my turn to go downstairs and get some sleep as Adam took over for his watch. The night was fairly non eventful other than just a few small rain clouds but thanks to our cockpit ensure we were able to stay warm and dry.
As the sun rose at around 04:00 we started to make our way towards the River Humber and the leading line for the entrance to Grimsby. We had to make sure that we kept out of the TSS zone which is a essentially a motorway for large vessels.
At around 07:00 the wind picked up to 21 knots dead on the nose which meant the conditions changed as the large seas chopped us making an uncomfortable ride. We decided to continue motoring straight into it as we had to get to Grimsby for 11:00 in order to have enough water to get over the sill and into Grimsby Fish Dock via the lock. We were aiming to get there at "free flow" where the water either side of the lock is level and therefore the lock is open. If you need to request a lock opening it is an additional charge of around £20.
By this point we were getting very tired and concentration was becoming more difficult due to us both only having around 3/4 hours sleep. It was also very difficult to see the entrance amongst the commercial traffic, fishing boats and large container ships.
It wasn't until we got to around 100m until we could clearly see the entrance to the lock. But, all being said we zoomed through the lock entrance at what felt like lightening speed into the calm basin of the Fish Dock which was a relief to all of the crew.
Once we were in this basin we could relax as the wind, tide an swell calmed down as we were able to prepare for the marina. The marina staff kindly saw us coming in and were able to help catch lines to secure us for our stay.
We ended up spending a week in Grimsby due to bad weather and to take advantage of the weekly discount which meant it was only £115 for a week stay including electricity.
Overall, the night sail was a positive experience as we now feel confident that we would be capable of doing another. Despite the conditions towards the later half of the trip, we found it easier than sailing in the day as there were less hazards and the navigational lights made it easy to see things coming in the far distance.
Lauren
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