We set off from Whitby on the last bridge opening for the morning tide at 10.30. We didn’t want to leave any earlier as our destination Bridport is only accessible 2 hrs either side of HW.
Once again there was very little breeze and what there was came from the SE right on the nose, so another day motoring. We followed the spectacular cliffs along the coast past Scarborough, with its Abbey and castle overlooking the bay. I was treated to a quick glimpse of what I think was a Minke Whale. It was far too big to be a dolphin, but the glimpse I got wasnt long enough to take in any more detail. It breached the water a little ahead to port. Sadly it disappeared and I didnt see it again.
We continued on with FlamBorough Head slowly coming into view. I had always been under the impression Flamborough Head was a very high cliff, but was nowhere as high as I expected. We negotiated the multiple pot markers and inquisitive seals when suddenly Jeddo went around in a circle. The autopilot had failed again.
You may remember my autopilot failed leaving the Isle of Man which was the commutator in the motor had disintegrated. This time the push rod that connects to the tiller was detached from the mechanism. I brought out the old Autohelm 2000 for the last few miles to Bridlington.
As we approached the harbour we came across a LM 27 Yacht, flying a Dutch flag, anchored outside. The same one that I had rescued the crew who were being swept out to sea in their dinghy at Holy Island. HW at Bridlington was 22.20 and we arrived about 19.00, too early to go in. We had a good look at the charts and tide levels and came to the conclusion there should be enough water for us to creep in with our shallow draft.
I slowly led the way in with plenty of water in the entrance passing the moored fishing boats. A couple of places it got a little shallower, but nothing alarming. I crept towards the marina when suddenly i ran out of water and gently came to a halt in soft mud. It transpired that the commercial part of the harbour is dredged, but not the marina, hence the 2hrs either side of HW guidance. We did manage to get on the berth about 30min earlier than advised.
Arriving late we decided to stay an extra night. This gave an oportunity to keep up to date with the laundry, stock up from the supermarket, top up the fuels tanks and for me to see if I could do any thing with my autopilot. With a bit of struggling I managed to open up the drive and find that a small roll pin that connects the worm drive that pushes the arm in and out, to the gear box had sheared. Where could I get another one from, especially on a Sunday? It’s certainly not something I would have in the toolbox on the boat, I found a mall screw that I was able to drive the old broken pin out with, and found an old used split pin that fitted the hole. There is a chandler just outside the marina, but their main trade was more re3lated to the nearby beach. They did have some split pins, but all too large for my needs and the smallest nuts and bolts also to large. I managed to straighten the pin I had and cut it down in length. The looped head was still in the way, but bending that 90 degrees allowed me to reassemble the drive. The worm drive seemed quite dry so I greased that.
We have set off this morning for the Humber, and so far the autopilot has worked faultlessly, and quieter and smoother running than it has for a long time.. The spare sitting ready just in case.
