Sunday evening saw all our crews get together for a Fish and Chip supper in the Swallowtail restaurant at Burnham Yacht Harbour. Our thanks to the staff for opening specially for us. The meal was lovely and everyone had a great time.  Monday morning saw a safety briefing and then the boats were off.  The sky was overcast and a few showers kept the crews busy. The sailing was exhilliarating.

Florence suffered a cooling water blockage requiring a repair to the exhaust and raw water pump. This was repaired overnight and the boats departed at high tide - taking advantage of the outgoing tidal flow up the coast towards Lowestoft and the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club.

Day two saw the yachts depart shotley for the relatively short sail to Lowestoft. The blustery conditions gave one or two challenges as did the headwinds which meant tacking their way up the coast past the Deben entrance and the Sizewell power station.

The Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht club were very hospitable and looked after the crew - even though they arrived much later then expected.  Below you can see the three yachts waiting moored up ready to leave for the 30 hour passage to Whitby.. and a welcome stop for fish and chips.

The sail to Whitby was an absolute joy. The challenges of gas rigs, wind farms and a myriad of shipping made for careful navigation and a good lookout.  The joy of sunset and sunrise combined with lovely weather was just overwhelming.

You cannot visit Whitby without a visit to the local hostelries where Captain Cook.. may have been a customer!!

After a day of rest after the epic overnight sail the crews had a magical sail from Whitby to Royal Quays in the Tyne. So week one gave us all sorts of weather, some great sailing, fantastic friendships and one or two challenges. It is never 100% plain sailing and after picking up a large amount of weed Florence suffered a damaged exhaust pipe and was towed into Shotley by Galliver II where she was repaired overnight. A by product of that was that she was lifted at Royal Quays for checking and some other minor repairs. Monet suffered some teething issues with a steaming light and wind instrument issue requiring a trip to the masthead by Skipper Adam.

The friendships and memories made on this trip will last a lifetime and this last picture says it all.

Lots of smiling faces..

If you would like to donate to Macmillan the do follow this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/premier-sailing24

Thank you.

Premier Sailing would also like to thank all of our sponsors and crews for this year’s endeavours. Their generous donations are all going straight to Macmillan, so they can help those who need it most.

Volspec Ltd, Marinestore, MOB Lifesavers, Tiptree, clarkeandcarter.co.uk/