Bridlington Library

Bonify was in Bridlington with us last night, and this morning they very sensibly took a fair wind south to Grimsby.  But we felt it would be too soon to rush Bonita away from her old haunts and we spent the day here.

The YOD - designed to make yacht racing accessible

The photo shows boats of the Yorkshire One-Design class based in Bridlington. There are several of these lovely 25ft day racers here, all beautifully maintained and actively sailed. 

The class dates from 1898, the same year as the Howth 17. It is claimed that the Howth 17 is the world's oldest one design keel boat class and as the first 17s were delivered in April while the YOD fleet was delivered in June I suppose that is true. The Yorkshire One-Design was originally gaff (gunter) rigged but regrettably the class converted to bermudian some years ago; hopefully one day they might convert back. The class has a fascinating pirate-inspired history which can be found on the RYYC website at http://www.ryyc.org.uk/YOD_article.htm

We spent the morning in the local history section of the town library. We were looking for evidence of Bonita's previous life before 1937 when she gained the affections of the Beckett family. There are several photos that clearly show her moored in the harbour, but we could find no definite ones of her under sail. Of course in the 1920s  there were lots of yachts around with a shape roughly similar to hers which complicates the search a bit. Her long clipper bow, now unusual, was common in yachts built before 1893.  Then the fashion changed almost overnight with the launch of the Prince of Wales' yacht 'Britannia'. The spoon bow instantly became what everyone wanted, as can be seen in the Yorkshire One-Designs.

However we have come away from our visit to Bridlington with several copies of old photos and some useful contacts in the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club so we hope to find out more eventually. We have also, simply by being in the library,  absorbed a bit of the local history - such as the slightly unexpected association of Bridlington with T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and Amy Johnson, the pioneer aviator.

However we feel that one day of this is quite enough for the present and we are keen to be making progress south.

Bridlington

We left Whitby at about 7.30 this morning. The wind was a fairly gentle NE 3 - 4. I had heard that the entrance to Whitby could be dangerous in a NE wind but we were surprised how rough it was even in such moderate conditions. After clearing the rocks outside the harbour entrance we had a fine sail along the coast to Flamborough Head and around the corner to Bridlington. This is a tightly packed harbour that dries out so it is only accessible around high tide. We arrived about an hour before high water. 

Bridlington has a special significance in Bonita's history; one which we have only recently appreciated. She was based here between 1907 and 1935, being owned by a succession of local yachtsmen. In 1935 she was moved down to the Thames estuary, and today was her first return to Bridlington in 78 years.

While she was based here all her owners were members of the Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club. The club members were out racing this evening but we later visited their busy clubhouse in the town and spoke to the Commodore, Steve Stanton.

Among the pictures on their walls is this general view of the harbour, obviously old but sadly undated. Bonita can be seen on a mooring: between the two boats pulled up on the beach, Bonita is the furthest of the two yachts with their sterns to the camera. As she has her dinghy astern her owner was probably aboard at the time.

The second picture shows her tied to a pontoon in almost exactly the same position today although the photo could not be taken from the same angle as the original due to a building now being in the way.

More detective work tomorrow!

Whitby

We left Hartlepool at about 8am, encouraged by the prospect of a Northerly wind.  Indeed we could see from flags and smoke ashore that there was indeed a satisfactory northerly wind blowing inshore. However a mile or two off the coast we had a persistent SE wind.  In spite of this we arrived at Whitby at 5pm - about high water.  The harbour entrance is straightforward in most conditions although there is little water at low tide and you have to pass through an old (1908) swing bridge to get into the inner harbour and marina.  

The marina was quite full, partly due to an influx of gaffers heading south.  After a while jilling around we had to reverse Bonita into her berth under motor.  This sort of manoeuvre used to be impossible and if attempted was likely to end in tears, or at least a frank and bad tempered exchange of views with neighbouring yachtsmen. However recently I have started using an electric outboard clamped to the starboard rail to improve her maneuverability and, as long as there is no significant cross wind, it does seem to help.  It counteracts the effect of the propeller on the port side, and the old lady will spin round on the spot if conditions are right.

Whitby is a lovely town with many attractions. It was the childhood home of Captain Cook, and there is a famous and dramatic Abbey overlooking the town and surrounding countryside. 

We were berthed alongside High Barbaree and as so often on this trip were amazed at the space available on modern gaffers.  Although Whitby has many unexplored attractions we are hoping to be able to progress further tomorrow.

Newcastle to Hartlepool

The gaffers were very well looked after in Newcastle with Jim Bell's excellent organisation. On the last evening there was an informal party  on the pontoon which went much as would be expected given the mix of warm weather, relaxed gaffers and a generous supply of free whisky kindly provided by Old Poultney.

Today we left Newcastle with its series of dramatic bridges and motored down the Tyne. It was warm with little wind and we motored most of the way to Hartlepool. We locked into the marina,and tied up alongside Bonify. 

The most notable ship here is the Napoleonic era frigate Trincomalee of 1819.  I often used to sail past her when she was moored in Portsmouth harbour and called the Foudroyant. Since then she has been extensively restored and looks magnificent.

Today is Sian's birthday so after suitable preliminaries aboard we ventured out looking for a suitable restaurant to gather strength for tomorrow.

A blessing and some new crew

The Skipper, Geoff and Guy

The picture show the crew ready for a night out with the gaffers which included the pleasure of hearing the fine traditional musicians - Rothbury Hills. We have enjoyed excellent entertainment during our stay in Newcastle. 

Some of our Dutch friends seem to have struggled at times with the finer points of Geordie but could be reassured that this is a well recognised condition.

Rev Timothy Duff & High Sheriff

On the Sunday morning we had a service of blessing for the fleet by the Rev Timothy Duff assisted by George Scott who is the High Sheriff of Tyne and Wear. Some of the gaffers may have been a little casually dressed for the service but the High Sheriff was certainly not. 

The picture gives the flavour of this impressive occasion - complete with the singing of  'For those in peril on the sea'.

Today Guy and Geoff, who so valiantly helped get Bonita down from Scotland, ran out of time. Fortunately they've been replaced by Sian & Ant so all should be well. Ant previously helped on our very cold trip down the English Channel in May so he's hoping for kinder weather this time.