Cruising – North Sea Cruise
Tintin treks north
John Simpson looks back on a summer trip up the North Sea then across the Caledonian Canal to the west coast that has taken on an extra poignancy
PHOTOS JOHN SIMPSON
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ometime has elapsed now for me to write about my good friend Clive Anderson’s last fight with life. It has been a bit raw to write before. He bought his secondhand 43-foot yacht from another Scotsman at Moody’s at the top of the Hamble then asked me if I would help to sail her back to Scotland, starting at the beginning of March from the Hamble. At the time he was already fighting for his life, having been diagnosed with cancer but he opted to seize the day and carry on cruising. Our early legs were great, making many quick miles, due to a named storm blowing through just before we left. Heading east from the Solent, we were lucky to have on board Lisa: she is a very fine crew but could only do the first leg. Clive needed treatment for his cancer every two weeks, which meant we did quite a few miles in hire cars, scooting from north to south and back again. Very few serious problems occurred with his Ovni 435 APRIL 2022 Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting
Tintin, particularly as she had been a charter boat before Clive bought her and had clearly been well cared for. Berthing her was easy. Though I did experiment with her keel lifted in Lowestoft - we were immediately blown sideways quickly onto another boat. Leaving from there was tricky however as we were poorly charted and his plotter was not updated fully. We left before dawn to catch the tide with a big swell after an easterly gale, which was not very comfy; we could easily have lost her with the shifting banks there.
Benefits of shallow draft
At Hartlepool we lost the morse controls after locking into the marina. This was alleviated by a local shipwright who saw our plight from his own boat and towed us into a berth with his flubber. We left a bit late from there and just got away with her keel and rudder well raised by slithering down the mud bank after the lock. Watched by
ABOVE
Friend and skipper Clive on the Hamble prior to our trip north
the lock staff in total amazement. Given the cold, mostly northwest or northerly winds about Force 4 to 6 plus after Clive’s latest chemo, many of the early part of each of these legs he naturally felt very poorly. Those early passages were mostly on my own; whether driving to windward under sail or motoring; she was a lovely tough cruising yacht. The autopilot did most of the work, I would just duck under the sprayhood, which was okay; then do the odd trip below to check on Clive, to make a brew or eat some scoff. It felt very quiet down there; often I would start the heater to keep him warm until he felt better from his treatment. If we arrived early enough and we’d found a good fish restaurant we ate very well. Arriving later there would still be a curry house or even Chinese still open.
Bonny and Blyth
My wife Janet had fallen and hurt herself during our first leg; but my sister stepped in like a brick giving me her car to get home
