Scarborough

We left Whitby when the swing bridge opened at 8am and sailed the 15 or so miles down the coast to Scarborough. We had fair tide, a breeze off the land and no rain, so a pleasant sail and were in the little Old Harbour at the end of the morning. We were welcomed by the crew of Susan J who arrived last night. Indian Runner, Letty, Onward and Moon River all arrived later today.

I hadn't been to Scarborough before but it is a lively town full of holiday makers and lots of grand buildings near the sea front. There are boat trips around the bay, and the picture shows a pirate ship returning to harbour with its crew after its latest adventure.

A little known yachting connection is with the yacht designer Albert Strange (1855-1917). He was influential  in popularising yawl rig, as suitable for gentlemen yachtsmen who sailed without a professional crew. A number of his pretty boats are still sailing. It turns out that though he designed lots of boats, this was just a hobby. His day job was as the Principal of the Scarborough School of Art.


We walked up to the castle overlooking the town. The castle was very large and the remains dominate the town. It dates from the time of Henry II and the massive masonry is still very impressive.

There is a fine view of the harbour from the castle.The Old harbour with Bonita in is the one nearest the beach.

We did a few other useful jobs, and as there is apparently no fuel available in the harbour, we took a taxi to a fuel station to fill up a few cans of diesel. 

After it got dark we welcomed in the marvellous  Barbara in Moon River who had sailed all the way from Amble today singlehanded. She was welcomed on Susan J with tea, cake and whisky.