Following my fantastic adventure across the Atlantic last year I have been fortunate enough to expand my sailing experience through 6 mini cruises over this Spring/Summer. Over the last few years I have completed RYA courses through an excellent sailing school on the River Humber run by BobWryde and my ambition has been to cruise past Spurn Point! This I achieved in record style with five of the mini cruises being on the East Coast.

First cruise Hull - Bridlington -Hull
Not wishing to be too daring, Bridlington, being the nearest safe haven from Spurn, was my first ambition. This I did on a Hunter Horizon 30, crewing with my son, Guy for skipper Andy. We left on the Friday night in a Northly F5/6 and decided to anchor off Hawkins Point on the North shore for the night, waiting to assess the situation the following morning. 09.00 saw us heading out in N/NW F5/6 round Spurn on a beat to Bridlington. We beat up the coast in gusts of F7 arriving in Bridlington at 22.00, just enough time to berth against the harbour wall and dash to the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club for a drink and collect a Chinese Take away. This journey which only takes 45mins by land took us 13 hours but what a great sail! My lasting memory is trying to negotiate the take away, in a strong breeze, down the ladder of the harbour wall as Wild Horizon waited to greet us, in time to settle her on her bilge keels, in the mud! We left on the Sunday morning on a lumpy following sea, finally motoring on the last leg from Grimsby to Hull Marina.

A journey of 153Nm.

Second Cruise Hull - Farne Islands - Hull
Unbelievably, I visited Bridlington again, this time in a Sigma 362, with two other crew members and skipper Mike, who is a qualified RYA instructor. This was a holiday but also gave source to a wealth of information. Mike had been a member of the Ocean youth Trust and fish inspector for Ross and had many a tale to tell and trick to play. He also had an aim which was to visit and stay the night in The Kettle at the Farne Islands, just south of Lindisfarne. Again we rounded Spurn in a F6 gusting F7 but this time on the beam. What a sail! Very difficult to prise me from the wheel! We averaged 7.3kn over the journey of 56Nm and made the RYYC again before dining on the boat with friends who were accompanying us on their first trip up the coast on their annual three week holiday on their Hunter Horizon 30, Silver Hunter. Our next destination was Blyth which is a beautiful working harbour with a lovely little marina. With boats with names Time Out, Layback, Drummer, Trumpeter, Puddle Duck, Dream On, Dream Maiden, Natural Magic and Honey Bee I wondered if I'd come to an old hippy town, showing my age now! The weather had not been the best and I always seemed to get the "Wet Watch" rain not drink as we hit squalls and the heavens opened off Whitby! However, to our delight, dolphins chose to join us and later a pilot whale glided past. Our arrival at The Kettle was magical. On a glorious early evening just before high tide we navigated our way through the half covered rocks into the tiny basin where an anchorage lay with Atlantic and Common seals, kittiwakes, guillemots, puffins, terns and cormorants welcoming us from all directions. As a glorious sunset died and the tide dropped we found ourselves in a tiny basin or "Kettle" locked by the islands. Our intention had been to inflate the dinghy and explore the islands the next day but due to the forecast of severe storms we unfortunately had to head off to shelter. This we did in Hartlepool for two days while the storms, which damaged the Seafront of the Spa in Scarborough, abated. For those who may think Hartlepool has not much to offer, there has been a huge development of the old docks into a 750 berth marina with restaurants, bars, shops etc on the quayside, all very pleasant and eased the pressure of being holed up for so long. We left a day after the storm into yet another bigger following sea and sailed overnight back to Hull.

A journey of 320Nm.

Third Cruise North Sea Race Hull - Ijmuiden - Volendam, Marker Meer
Cruise Three was actually incorporated into the North Sea Race, a biannual event from Hull to Ijmuiden on the west entrance of the Amsterdam Canal. On Wild Horizon with a crew of four we race/cruised 225Nm, through the eerie oilfields by night and on for 42 hours arriving in Ijmuiden 10 hours behind the winner! I must add there are some very keen racers from the Humber. However, our bilge keeler was not a race machine especially with a lumpy following sea and no spinnaker, and with new comers to racing aboard we were content to arrive at 05.00 in glorious sunshine to celebrate with a gin & tonic. Well we needed something after a wet, uncomfortable crossing. After a long sleep and a very delicious lunch, of mussels at the beach café we caught the rest of the fleet up in Amsterdam. Here we berthed, free, on the side of the canal in the centre of town and of course had to sample the nightlife of Old Amsterdam! The following morning into Marker Meer was a true experience, jostling with other traffic to navigate through the Orange Sluice lock, waiting for bridges to open, dodging the continuous ferries and heavy freight as fast as possible. No room for slouches at close quarters here! It was like being on the M25 until we arrived in either the Ijssel and Marker Meers where the sails went up and all was relaxed. The commercial barges are fascinating with their homes, gardens and cars all available on board and the Dutch sailing barges are a joy to behold under full sailing canvas. We journeyed on to Volendam to enjoy the Race Dinner with the rest of the fleet before flying home, leaving our trusty stead for a return journey.

A journey of 257Nm.

Fourth Cruise Hoorn - Volendam
Returning two days later, I joined skipper Simon on his Beneteau First 40.1 in Hoorn in the Marker Meer. Simon was spending a month in Holland during which he invites friends to join him here and there along the Meers for a chance to sample the Dutch way of life. This was a most relaxing sail meeting up with old and making new friends. Each place, although very different, has a charm of its own, my favourite being Hoorn, a particularly charming old market town. Here I met a true Dutch gentleman who treated me to aa soup as I rested alone waiting for Bonny Blue to arrive. We visited Medenblik, and Enkhuisen, where I met two Dutch Vikings with Springer Spaniel, well they had built their own Viking boat anyway . We found a desert island teeming with bird life, before returning to Amsterdam to drop off/pick up new crew and then have a fantastic sail back to Volendam. "Don't let her drop below 6.8Kn" I hear from the skip, navigating us through the shallow waters of the Meer, as I helm a beat in a relatively light breeze, trying to keep eyes riveted on telltales, instruments, traffic and the yacht challenging us, behind! She flies.

The movement of the sailing fleet in the Meers is fascinating as it drifts out of the surrounding harbours, 150 yachts counted at any one time, returning to a new destination in the early evening to raft, often 5 alongside, socialising and relaxing. The long lazy days encompassed fresh croissants for late breakfasts, relaxing in the hammock, whiling away the soft evening sunsets with idle chatter and an aperitif before sampling the delicious Dutch cuisine, as well as the chance to gain more experience sailing a fabulous yacht. No need to travel to the BVI's or the Med!

A journey of 105Nm.

Fifth Cruise Volendam - Hull
My fifth cruise started in Volendam where I jumped ship to join my original skipper on Wild Horizon on a delivery back to Hull. The yacht had been moored in Volendam and had been well crossed by cruisers rafted up during the week she had been there and it took a long morning's hard cleaning, after rather too many Sambuca's! the night previous, in the sweltering heat, to bring her back to something-like ship-shape. Following carrying out vital checks, stocking and refuelling we headed for Amsterdam and the North Sea. As we approached Ijmiuden in the early evening we had planned to rest before starting the crossing but with the wind a perfect strength and direction and forecast to drop it was sensible to continue. From 19.00 to 11.00 the following day we reached across the North Sea, at which point the wind died and we went under motor. The oilrigs at night look like sputniks, hovering over the ground with their flashing lights, but this time the oilrigs of the Leman Field, wrapped in a sea of silk, look like children's paintings of terrier dogs, walking out of the white haze of a rolling mist. The blue skies and cotton bud clouds reflected in the mirror-like sea.

We had to enter the mouth of the Humber on the rising tide and urgency became the order of the day if we were to make Hull Marina for the lunchtime lock-in. We didn't want to miss it and have to wait around 8 hours for the next lock-in. With visibility reduced to half a mile we cut across the firing range, Donna Nook, having first radioed to check there was no action! and with the speediest passage up the Humber along the deeper traffic channel, we raced at 10Kn, with motor and tide - and a good look-out, to make the lock-in.

A journey of 236Nm

Sixth Cruise Abersoch - Aberystwyth - Abersoch
My final cruise was the memorable third time lucky cruise to Aberystwyth organised through the SCYS Pandora Cruise Fleet. After making Portmadog and Pwllheli the first two years we couldn't have picked a better weekend for our 2004 cruise. A briefing, on safety, navigation and to book the all important dinner menu, was held on the Friday evening in the Commodore's Bar and all were in agreement that we would attempt to make Aberystwyth. Eight boats comprised of three Pandora's, one Westerley Centaur, one Trimaran, one GK 24, one Hunter 26 and a Newbridge Navigator made up the fleet. Buddy boats were organised so that we could give each other a helping hand and no-one would be lost from sight. All safety requirements were aboard plus bacon for butties, fast becoming a trade-mark of the Cruising Fleet! Arthur made his launch service available for 07.30 and by 09.00 all six boats leaving from Abersoch were ready to head away past the Islands. Two boats from Pwllheli were also joining us and we kept in close radio contact.

In St Tudwal's Bay the morning sea was rough with a reasonable swell and the wind S/SW was taking some of the smaller boats off course. However as we left the Islands the sea relented, the wind abated and the sun shone so much so that by the time we were half way from the Causeway Buoy to Aberystwyth motors were on. The fleet were slowly gathering together and looking back on the fleet from For Goodness Sake, the GK24 dolphins appeared and danced and played. We arrived at Aberystwyth together, and after a wash, tidy, and pre-dinner drink all 22 of us headed into town to Harry's Restaurant for an excellent meal - highly recommended.
The organiser of the cruise! advised an early start on the morning tide to exit the marina and arrive at a reasonable time in Abersoch. By 08.00 we were all on our return. After a calm start the wind picked up, the spinnaker was raised and Roy, Tilly, Anna and I flew back to High Tide Rocks were we dropped sail and motored into Chapel Bay for lunch and a swim, all but Roy that is! Well, someone has to be responsible! As we lunched, relaxing and contemplating on our fabulous sail, I looked up to the bow to see a 40' yacht heading broadside along our anchor line. Rushing to the pointy end we fended off, at the same time as untangling their rudder from our anchor line. Quite a protracted manoeuvre but all was well and having had our meal disturbed we decided to head back to the moorings. All boats had been radioed and were safe, well and delighted that our goal had been reached with proposals for next years cruise already materialising.

A journey of 60Nm

Conclusion
A memorable Summer and another 874Nm of varied, exciting and beautiful sailing all thanks to my many friends who I cannot start to thank enough. Some may wonder "Where next" but hopefully I already have a "Trip" planned for 2005!

Judi Jackson