Week 4 15th-21st June

Wind 3 ENE Sunny

We left Southwold on a lovely sunny morning for the 3 hour journey to Lowestoft. The sea was relatively calm and we managed to sail most of the way.

We refilled with diesel and moored at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk yacht club marina. This is located near to the Lowestoft harbour entrance. After lunch on board we wandered along the seafront. The beach is a fairly long strip of mostly fine, clean, golden sand. The town itself is looking rather neglected with lovely old buildings looking in need of some TLC and many empty shops. A recent Guardian article suggested that things are improving. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/jun/15/lowestoft-suffolk-guide-short-break-places-to-visit

We did our boat chores a day earlier as we planned to sail to Wells next to sea on Saturday, where there are maybe fewer facilities. Jobs done we had a swim and sat in the sun on the quiet beach near to the harbour.

Lowestoft is the most easterly point in the UK so in the afternoon we walked to Ness point, which is near an industrial estate north of the harbour. Not as picturesque as Lands end (most westerly point of mainland England) and Lizard (most southerly point).

In the evening we enjoyed a nice meal in the yacht club.

We got up early planning to leave Lowestoft at 6am to catch the tides going into Wells next to sea. Richard went to start the engine and ………….

After several failed attempts, advice from nearby yachtsmen and Mr Google we contacted a marine engineer. Fortunately he was able to locate the problem and replace the cable that was the electrical supply to the glow plugs.

It was 4pm and much too late to catch the tide and arrive in daylight. We walked along the beach to the First Light Festival. This celebrates the midsummer solstice (which is really on the 21st this year) and Lowestoft being the first place in the UK to experience the sunrise. There was music, beer tents, arts and culture. We didn’t stay until dawn but enjoyed some music on the beach.

Winds ESE 1-5 Sunny

Thankfully the engine started first time and we motored gently out of Lowestoft harbour. Richard had studied the charts and tides very carefully and we were confident we could reach Wells within the necessary tide window, avoiding a very long sail to Grimsby.

The clue to why the entrance to Wells next to Sea is sometimes viewed as tricky is found in its name, it is not Wells on sea but next to sea. You have to navigate lateral buoys for over two miles and minus 1.5 hours either side of high tide to reach the town and visitor pontoons. The good news was that we timed our arrival perfectly and the deputy harbour master was really helpful. The Harbour Masters at Wells working hours are completely dictated by the tides. We arrived just in time for a quick evening meal in the Edinburgh Inn.

We had a wander around the town and replenished our food supplies. Very different late morning with the tide out when we walked along to the beach.

After a late lunch we had a walk around the lovely town and out along the coast path eastwards. We had our evening meal on board.

Winds ESE 2-3 Sun, cloud and two rain showers

We left Wells next to Sea at 7:45, with the high tide. We felt a bit more confident going out. It’s quite tricky, all these unknown harbours.

We had a good sail with helpful tides. There were a couple of heavy rain showers, Sue and Maisie sat down below and Richard sheltered under the spray hood. The joy of an auto helm. We had sunny spells too and arrived near Grimsby at 6pm, perfect timing once again, the lock was open into the marina.

A lovely warm sunny day to explore Grimsby. After walking to a nearby retail park to collect some supplies for Maisie we returned to the boat for coffee and lunch.

We returned to the retail park area to investigate the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre. It was an enlightening afternoon. The museum gave a history of the local fishing industry enriched by internal mockups of a fishing trawler and old Grimsby town. We stepped aboard the Ross Tiger fishing trawler for a guided tour by a retired fisherman. There were lots of anecdotes about his career from young man, to fishing during the cod wars and as Captain of a deep water trawler off Russia, Iceland and Greenland.