POOH BEAR REPORT 2003-1 - 21 July 2003 
 
Starting: London, England - 18 June 2003 
Ending: Near Whitby, England - 28 June 2003 
 
 
Well, I thought it was summer.  And at least by the calendar, the 28th 
of June, it is.  But here I am, between Lowestoft and Whitby, on watch, 
huddled in the cockpit, motoring  through the dark.  No usable wind.  
Now if this sounds familiar, you are right.  Eight months earlier, 
after spending nearly the entire month of October gale bound in Whitby, 
Judy and I had motored through these same waters.  As then, we have on 
our long johns under our heaviest outer clothing.  As then, we stand 
our watch in the protection of the canvas dodger, thankful for the side 
curtains that block out vagrant air currents.  And as then, the wind 
has died, or been almost useless for sailing so we motor on.  
 
But now there are some big differences.  Then we were south bound on 
the final leg of our 2002 cruise of Ireland and the western Scottish 
Isles.  Now we are northbound on the initial leg of the 2003 cruise; up 
the east coast of the UK, to the Orkney and Shetland Islands, across 
the North Sea to south-west Norway, then south to western Sweden, 
Denmark, north-west Germany and Holland before returning to London.  
Yes, a fourth winter is planned in St. Catharine Haven.   
 
Then we were very much alone.  Now three little points of light, a red, 
a green, and a white, Lee and Joe Minick aboard their Mason 43, 
Southern Cross, are visible astern.  Quite comforting, though separated 
by a mile of cold (56 degree) North Sea. 
 
Another big difference is the sun.  Last year it was dark from by 
1700.  And it did not get light until almost 0800.  Now the sun sets 
around 2130 and rises by 0430.  The GPS tell me we are almost 54 
degrees north and the date is 28 June, only 6 days after the summer 
solstice.  Hence, throughout the night there is an area of light blue 
and orange on the northern horizon, proof the sun is indeed marching 
from west to east and will rise shortly. Also quite comforting. 
 
But, a little recap of the Pooh Bear's adventure for 2003 is in order.  
As many of you know, Judy and I did not return from the States to 
London until 3 May, two months late.  In case you are wondering, the 
delay was due to the surgeons trying to improve on my face (Bob's).  A 
good try, but all to no avail. 
 
Instead of sailing from London in late May as planned, it was mid-
June.  Early on the 18th of June, only shortly after high water, we 
locked from St. Catharine's.  Remember, this was our third winter in 
St. Catharine's and the guys there treat us very well.  Instead of 
commencing the locking operation at 0600 as scheduled, which would have 
meant missing the start of the ebb by over and hour, they started 45 
minutes early.   
 
Unlike last year, we had a fast smooth ride down the Thames, unjostled 
by the wakes of tour boats at that early hour, and with no autopilot 
failure or anything of the kind.  In good time we picked up a mooring 
at Queenborough and found Southern Cross nearby.  Lee and Joe had 
wintered in St. Catharine's where we became fast friends.  Joe 
regularly joined me in my afternoon ritual of coffee and a scone at the 
Riverside.  This year they plan a cruise of the Western Scottish 
Islands including the Classic Malt Liquor cruise, as we had done last 
year, though circling Great Britain counter clockwise.  A mid-May 
departure from St. Cat's gave them time for a side trip to Holland and 
Belgium, then back across the Channel to Queenborough before turning 
north in company with Pooh Bear.  As a foursome, we did some local 
sightseeing before a daysail for Harwich.  By the way, like most 
English names, but not all, ending in "wich", it is pronounced more 
like "hair-itch".  We spent the night at Suffolk Yacht Harbor where a 
strong southerly pinned both boats to the dock requiring that Piglet be 
pressed into tug service.  Piglet felt very smug at having been of such 
value. 
 
Then both boats motored up the River Orwell, past Pin Mill, and on to 
Ipswich .  Now Pin Mill may not mean too much to those of you not 
familiar with Arthur Ransome's book, "We Didn't Mean to go to Sea".  
(It may be a children's book, but it is really quite good reading for 
adults too).  And it was set right there, starting at Pin Mill.  I was 
terribly impressed and took many pictures of tiny buildings in the 
distance that probably will mean nothing to anyone else, probably not 
even me, a year from now.  But we were all so impressed that the 
following day we caught a taxi back from Ipswich to visit Pin Mill.  
Actually, this whole area and the Walton Backwaters is Arthur Ransome 
country and, had we not been so late this year, would have been several 
days exploring it.  I have vowed that we still will explore it before 
leaving the UK.   
 
With tidal ranges of twenty to twenty-five feet throughout southeast 
England, the channel of the Orwell becomes narrow and great areas of 
water turn into mud flats twice each day. Yet sizable freighters travel 
past Harwich to Ipswich, just as we did, to dock behind the locks.  One 
purpose of our traveling up to Ipswich was to check out a well-known 
boat yard for haul-out next year; Foxes.  The price of around $200 each 
way has somewhat eliminated Foxes from at least my plans. 
 
He who sails on a slow boat must live by the tides.  That means us!  
And it always seems to mean getting up at a terribly early hour.  After 
studying the tide table we concluded an 0645 departure would catch the 
maximum benefit of the ebb.  Away from Ipswich (here of course, you 
pronounce the "wich" - you certainly wouldn't say "Ips-Itch would you?) 
as planned, but had to hold for a hour due to mechanical problems at 
the locks.  So much for our planning!  Never the less, we swept through 
Harwich (no "w") and out to sea, just as the sailing yacht Goblin did 
in "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea".  Only instead of dragging anchor to 
sea in a dense fog, we motored out in sunshine. 
 
By a little past mid-afternoon, both Southern Cross and Pooh Bear were 
secured to berths at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club in 
Lowestoft.  Very nice!  However, the trip was a motorsail all the way 
with the wind backing, what there was of it, and becoming a headwind. 
Is Pooh a sailboat or a powerboat?  Joe and Lee very kindly throttled 
back to Pooh's 5-1/2 knots although with their 10-foot longer waterline 
length, they could have move along a good knot faster.   
 
The four of us did a bit of sightseeing around Lowestoft and took the 
train to do the same in Norwich (no "w", but instead rhymes with 
"porridge" - I hope you are getting these rules).  Lowestoft is really 
quite a historic and interesting area.  One of the high points of our 
touring was that we stood on the eastern most point in Britain and took 
lots of pictures to prove it!  We then topped that by eating lunch at 
the eastern most diner in Britain.  Remember that last year while in 
Lock Nevis in the Western Isles, we ate at the most remote pub in 
Britain.  Think maybe we have something going for the Guinness Book of 
Records? 
 
After three nights we were growing too comfortable so, again, cast off 
the lines before 0800 to catch that fair tide towards Whitby.  Judy and 
I had been anticipating our stop in Whitby as a chance to visit with 
David Sykes, Alan King and Jeff Cooper, our benefactors from last 
October.  A phone call revealed it was not to be.  The day before we 
were to arrive, David was to sail from Whitby for Lowestoft with Jeff 
as crew.  It was to be the first leg of his dream trip, a crossing of 
the Atlantic.  Sue, not a blue water sailor, wished David well and will 
join him in the Caribbean.  Jeff was crewing for only a part of the 
voyage and would not return to Whitby before we left.  And Alan was on 
his boat up near Edinburgh participating in some racing activities, 
then going on to the Orkney's I believe.  However, all is not lost, as 
we may see Alan in the Orkney's and we did see David and Jeff in the 
middle of the Wash, far from land.  Our reciprocal courses had us meet 
almost head on mid-afternoon yesterday, where we circled and talked for 
a few minutes.  We went on our way, I a little sad, yet happy David is 
getting on with his dream. 
 
So far, our trip from Lowestoft to Whitby has been all motorsailing 
with winds from the east, then rain, then winds from the west and 
northwest.  The log book is a series of entries; roll out the jib, roll 
up the jib, roll out the jib, 2 reefs in the main in anticipation of 
the frontal passage after dark, roll in the jib as the wind goes too 
far ahead to fill.  One nagging problem; the bilge counter (tells how 
many time the electric bilge pump has come on) has a count of 57!   We 
can't find the source of the water and it must not be a great deal as 
the pump easily takes care of it.  Still....? 
 
Unlike the US Coast Guard, the UK Coast Guard, a non-military 
organization, will accept, even encourage, yachts filing "Passage 
Plans".  We take advantage of this service on overnight passages such 
as this one.  I just made a mental note to not forget to close the plan 
as we near Whitby. 
 
Flamborough Head lighthouse is visible broad off the port bow.  The sky 
is becoming quite a light blue and I am getting sleepy.  The sun, 
although it is only 0300, is nearing the horizon.  Southern Cross is a 
white speck astern, also motorsailing with only the mainsail.  We 
should be in Whitby in plenty of time to make the 1400 bridge opening, 
maybe even bit early, as we did a perfect job catching a fair tidal 
stream across the Wash. 
 
In another hour it will be Judy's watch and I can snug down in a warm 
bunk.  Gee, cruising sure is fun. 
 
END OF POOH BEAR REPORT 2003-1 
 
Bob & Judy    (aboard s/v Pooh Bear Stavanger, Norway)