Day 9  (13/5/13) Amble Marina

Bright and sunny, wind 25Kts in marina.  Found a local butcher selling home baked pork pies and lamb pies – very good indeed. I will stock up on these for my trip.  Had a very good pint of Black Sheep Bitter, walked to the pier and back through the harbour to a restaurant (The Old Quay) for razor clams and pan fried local line caught cod.  The clams were excellent but disappointingly the cod was dry and overcooked and the bread was less than fresh.  Tomorrow the wind forecast is SW F6/7 so I will just have to stay another day in this beautiful place.

Day 8  (12/5/13) Hartlepool to Amble  (46/366nm)

Depart 0800, Arrive 1600.

Wind W F6/2. Rain from 1300. Motored from 1400 due to F2.

Raymarine Autopilot switched itself from Track to Standby without warning for the fifth time this trip. I spoke to them about this problem six years ago but they had no answer.  This issue has been reported many times in the yachting press - some leading to disasters while the single handed helm slept.  I will have to be extra vigilant.  Whilst in Hartlepool Marina I heard my first Cuckoo of the year.