Since the last blog where I smugly asserted how kind the winds had been, the inevitable happened and we had 4 days of stiff wind coming from the North just as we turned left at Ramsgate to head up the east coast.
John Hagan took over from Joanne to crew as we negotiated the Thames Estuary sandbanks to Shotley Marina at Harwich. (For the sailors amongst you a really interesting bit of pilotage.)
Next stop was Lowestoft then a gruelling 32 hours to Scarborough, wind on the nose, wind farms to the left, gas platforms to the right, freighters and ferries and f'n fishing boats heading to and from Grimsby, then the fog came down.

Oh, how we laughed.

In what I suspect was an act of revenge John got me a couple of pints of  something called "chilli plum" lager at a festival that was on in town. I've kept a litre in case we get low on diesel.
Jo came back for a couple of days and we cruised past some stunning Yorkshire and Northumberland headlands and cliffs to Amble where I was joined by Alan Brazewell on his first sailing trip.
I showed him all the tricks, like how to bleed the engine when you forget to open the diesel tap for the umpteenth time, how to buy  and transfer oil from another yacht whilst still sailing when your oil light comes on and how to row a dinghy really, really fast when your anchor drags and you are ashore at Lindisfarne.

Then we got to Scotland and the rain started.

Many thanks to all who have already contributed to the Charity effort through the Justgiving sites .  www.justgiving.com/kumalie1 for MS and www.justgiving.com/kumalie2 for Brain Cancer Research.

Also please keep the texts, emails and phone calls coming. They are a great support.
Pictures are: Solent ferry duel, Kumalie at Scarborough, masts and cranes at Harwich, Dunkirk "small ship" at Ramsgate.