Are we nearly there yet?

The short answer is yes, keep reading for a slightly longer answer(!) This final post was written from the comfort of dry land in Edinburgh, so it’s a wee bit more reflective.

Ambling up the coast

Our run from Hartlepool up to Amble was fairly routine, with winds behind us and occasional landmarks to help us mark our progress. We had a bit of excitement at the end as a rainy squall blew in as we rounded Coquet Island in our last few miles. We were glad to get tied up and eat in the boat. Calum combined an array of tins for a hearty feast.

I was keeping an eye on the forecast as the final couple of days looked quite breezy…

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Big winds to Eyemouth

We had strong wind warnings on our penultimate day – force 4 to 6, occasionally 7. But fortunately they were from the south, so a favourable direction. We set off with 40 miles to Eyemouth, in quite lumpy seas. This made steering a bit of a battle, but we took it in turns and it was manageable. Calum’s heavy weather helming has really improved in his time aboard. We enjoyed the sights as we zigzagged through the Farne Islands and then Holy Island.

About an hour from Eyemouth, a force 7 squall blew up. The boat handled it brilliantly, zooming up to 9.5 knots while we eased sail and kept her trucking. But I could see the mast pumping a bit so I went forward to drop the jib. All credit to Calum, he kept the boat pointing the right way when I was fully expecting a broach.

Eyemouth has a dramatic entry with some very nasty-looking rocks and a narrow harbour entrance where you have to radio for permission to enter. But we were soon in the calm of the harbour and tied up.

Watching Calum pack up his gear was a bit of a moment! He’d been a totally stellar crew since Brighton. He was glad to get this far up the coast but also glad to get back to normal life, I think. I couldn’t have asked for a better crewmate.

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The final leg – longer than you’d think

I was glad to have one last crew for this final leg, with Max, a very experienced member of Fisherrow Yacht Club along for what turned out to be quite a testing day round St Abb’s and up the Forth. A steady spare hand on the tiller was most welcome.

Eyemouth is only 40 miles from Fisherrow, and the navigation is fairly straightforward. But the prevailing winds mean that it’s often a long sail upwind to get back up the Forth. And so it proved! Sailing upwind means zigzagging in tacks, the boat heeling over and punching into waves.

After a bit of relatively easy sailing in force 5 to Bass Rock, the wind came right on the nose at Fidra, as I expected it would. The problem with Fidra is you often get a tantalising glimpse of Arthur’s Seat, about 12 miles south west. So home looks close! But having to sail upwind means you’re looking at 15 uncomfortable miles and 4 hours of sailing.

I think the fact that I’d expected this helped me mentally power on. It also helped that with low tide in the afternoon at Fisherrow, we had to wait until 8pm for enough water to enter the harbour. Inchkeith island was a helpful landmark as we sailed up the Forth, gradually getting bigger as we sailed closer.

After a lot of tacking and bashing through waves (and lots of reefing and unreefing of sails) we finally approached the harbour.

I was surprised and delighted to hear a noisy welcoming committee of family and folk from the sailing club. There were lots of hands to take mooring lines and help us get tied up to the wall. It was a massive relief to finally return to a familiar harbour and see my family again.

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Epilogue

It’ll probably take me a fair few days and chats to reflect on the trip. But I wanted to jot down a few reflections while they’re fresh in my mind.

If you’ve been reading these updates from the start (you’re keen!) you might remember what I thought the trip might be like just before I set off. My main hope was for just enough adventure – challenging and testing, but doable. How did I get on?

At one level the trip went very smoothly – I got to Fisherrow in one piece, had lots of fun and no major dramas along the way. I was pretty much bang on in my passage planning, with 21 days’ sailing and arriving at most ports just when I expected. It was also a lot of fun and I could feel my skills getting sharpened and my confidence in the boat growing along the way.

But of course there were weather and technical delays, so the overall trip took a bit longer than expected. I’m hugely grateful to my family and work colleagues for allowing me more time to get the job done.

Although progress was steady, I’d say the trip was harder (and occasionally scarier) than I expected. You always have to deal with the unexpected while sailing, and that’s a big part of what makes it fun. But this can be a bit more daunting when you are a fair way offshore, or approaching an unfamiliar harbour in a lumpy sea. Similarly, dealing with small technical problems can be a bit harder when trying to move on to a new port each day.

I’ve got a fair few wee practical things I’d do differently if I was starting again, but I won’t bore you with these!

When planning the trip I’d imagined doing a lot of solo sailing, with a smaller part of the trip with crew. I like sailing solo, and I did have some excellent long solo days across the western part of the south coast. But doing long consecutive days solo is quite knackering. And lumpy sea conditions meant the boat needed hand steering pretty much all the way. It was a huge help to have Will on board for a busy few days at the start.

And it was a real tonic to have Dick and Calum join in Brighton (and Dick, I’m sorry you joined for the slog to windward/stuck in the mud portion!) I am massively grateful to Calum for staying on board for longer, and being such a great crew to sail with. 12 plus days in a wee 23ft boat puts any friendship under the microscope, and we got on very well. And Max was a great help on ‘the mother of all beats’ as we battered upwind to Fisherrow.

Thanks too to Matt, who sold the boat, and got quite involved in this audacious plan.

Finally, I’m grateful to all my friends and family for supporting me in lots of different ways. Especially Stefan in the Isle of Wight and Miles and Karen in Southwold for friendly welcomes and lots of practical help, Aunty M for a lovely cuppa and some lemon drizzle cake in Southwold, and the Wardens for showing me the sights of Scarbourgh (and a chippy tea).

I’ve had loads of heartfelt and encouraging WhatsApps from so many people. This was quite an audacious/slightly daft adventure, but the fact that so many family and friends believed I could do it spurred me on. It was a dream well worth realising, even if it wasn’t all plain sailing.