Friday 3 June. Lindisfarne anchorage to Amble 20 nm

Not exactly the best nights sleep even though the water was flat. Julian had promised one of his “breakfasts” in the anchorage at the Farne Islands so that was an incentive to get going early. It had been an ambition to go there so we were fortunate that the wind was in the east which meant anchoring in “the kettle “ was feasible. There was one tripper boat there when we arrived. Once out of the swell outside it was a peaceful and lovely place. Wild . J cooked breakfast whilst I watched the seabirds. Must have been thousands. Guillemots, puffins, all types of gulls and terns, cormorants and shags. Hundreds of guillemots were standing on the cliffs all upright and so close together, they looked like tiny versions of those scenes of gatherings of penguins. The puffins on the other cliff, with their characteristic burrows visible with binoculars. The Farne Islands are also famous for Grace Darling who was the daughter of the lighthouse keeper on long stone island , and her part in a famous rescue of a shipwrecked crew in 1838. We left the anchorage around 1130 passing Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles , in order to arrive at the entrance to Amble marina at the time that we could get in over the sand bar at the entrance. It was a very lumpy sea. We only had the headsail out ( not quite fully!) we had to try to go at about 3 and a bit knots in order to get there not too soon. I was paranoid about getting anywhere near pot buoys. Half way we had to reduce the sail area as we’re still going too fast. Trying to recognise new entrances from the sea is incredibly difficult even in good visibility. We must have got the calculations right as we got in over the bar which was the shallowest part. Phew. I whizzed around trying to get fenders and lines ready once inside the harbour entrance. We had been given a berth so at least knew which side we’d be on the pontoon . Avoided the port hand bouy which is in the middle of the entrance randomly….. and landed safely with no issues! Julian went to pay for our stay and find out about the facilities.. apparently there’s a bathroom here. 👍 with a bath!

What I learned today ….. marinas in England are a lot more expensive 😳! And ….. the bath was a hoax! 😫