After our long 70 n.mile sail down to Grimsby from Scarborough, there was not only a Force 7 red line weather warning out on Tuesday morning when we got up…but also there was no way we could sail the 50 or so n. miles to Wells in Norfolk. We had missed the early morning lock departure from Grimsby and the 1pm high tide arrival for Wells.
Not really a “rest day” …more …no way could we make our next planned destination in Norfolk. So an enforced stay in Grimsby.
So the morning was taken up going to the local “transport cafe” for a full English ..which was actually ok…located nearby in Fish Dock No 3…I think it was called the Jubilee Cafe. Then jobs….tidy up the boat, plan the passage to Wells, do laundry tasks and then do diesel refuelling in the afternoon without moving the boat .
A nice photo ….Poli Poli in front of the iconic ( we’ll to some people ) Dock Tower …resplendent lording it over the three once thriving fish docks in Grimsby. We used it as a very useful aid to navigation as it shows distinct lights at night…guiding us in to the big entry lock …as it has done for thousands of trawlers in many years gone by.
Poli Poli is to the right hand side of Dock Tower.
All night and all day the horrible screaming nor east wind had continued to blow and there was no way we were going to be able to move Poli Poli from her berth to the fuel station and back again afterwards…so we did it by pouring all our reserve fuel into the boats tank and then walking the cans back and forth to the fuel station.
After the diesel tank on the boat had been topped up, we walked into the Grimsby Town Centre by way of the new east west docks road, Riby Square, all the way up to Hainton Square via the long Freeman Street to Victoria Strreet and then to the top of the town at the Bull Ring.
We passed Riverhead and the River Freshney…where eels used to be caught on a Saturday morning. Walking up to St. James Church, we paused at the big sculpture of a trawler man hauling in the nets out at sea…a memorial to all the Grimsby fishermen who lost their lives a long way from home …as well as reading the quite moving and poignant poem inscribed at the base of the statute.
We had our meal for the day … well we did have a cooked breakfast…in the Pizza Hut opposite the House of Fraser store which, surprisingly is not closing like the one we saw in Edinburgh.
Walking back the same route we came upon a certain pub in Freeman Street . The Mariners were playing that night…away from home at Carlisle …where they won 1-0. T was so pleased that he found his football scarf and wore it about the boat.
Look closely at the Wellington Arms pub…read what says above the left hand illuminated window.
A close up of a very important event in the history of both man and woman kind!
A windy day…but not a bad day in No. 2 Fish Dock. Just hoping the wind eases for tomorrow as we have booked the 5.45am lock out for our trip to Wells on the Norfolk coast.
Toby's sailing boat Poli Poli 