Published 14 October 2025
Background to the Cruise
I'm writing this in 2025 about an event that happened almost sixteen years ago to the day. It means I'm largely relying on the photographs to prod my memory into action. However, I do have some contemporary evidence, a couple of emails exchanged in the final week before the weekend cruise aboard Black Diamond, which I managed to find deep in my computer archives. The others aboard were far more local than I and will have learnt about the opportunity to join the group through other means. My introduction was through a post on a Norfolk Broads forum that disappeared from the web a couple of years ago. Because of the lack of emails, I strongly suspect that some of the finer details for my journey to Yorkshire will have passed between Robin Sermon and I via text and those messages are long gone.
We arrived at the marina mid-afternoon on the Friday but it was 17:51 before I got round to taking my first photograph of the trip. Black Diamond was an impressive yacht.
So, for me, the story starts with a post on the forum by Robin, who went by the user name "Speleologist". It was an invitation to join him and a few others that he knew from his local sailing club to take a cruise on Black Diamond. Robin was a well respected frequent contributor to the forum, a regular visitor to the Broads and competitor in the Three Rivers Race, so I responded with the eventual outcome of becoming one of the party that arrived in Hartlepool on the afternoon of 16 October 2009.
The emails suggest that our party consisted of Robin, Lee Byers, Ian Currie, John Groves and I, but I cannot fit any of the names in that list, other than mine, with the faces that appear in the photos I have. The full crew were at least a couple more than we five, as there was Black Diamond's skipper and, because there was spare space, we were asked if a young man could join us who needed to log some time on a suitable craft to get his RYA offshore yachtmaster certificate.
Friday 16 October 2009 - Our Party Meets in Ripon
I uploaded the images I was planning to use in this article and sent an email to all the addresses in Robin's emails hoping to make contact with others in our party, in the hope they could add to my memories of the cruise. Luckily Robin replied within 24 hours, saying that he now lives in Spain, adding that members of his family still live in his old house. He also said that one of our party lived further along the terrace and still does live there.
The emails I had retrieved give me no clue about my own arrangements for getting to Hartlepool. I know drove to Robin's place on the Thursday, which I recalled as being somewhere up north a short distance off the A1, but the emails I found reveal that he lived in Ripon, further off the A1 than I thought. The house was one in an impressive three storey Edwardian terrace, near the edge of town. I remember that I spent the the night in a top floor bedroom at his house. I don't remember anything about breakfast on the Friday morning.
Seen here, in 2024, is the impressive terrace in Ripon where our party assembled before making the trip to Hartlepool.
The first memory of the trip that Robin offered in his reply was of one of the items taken with us to Hartlepool:
There was the large tray of pork pies, sourced from Appletons of Ripon, who bake them on the premises. They still do.
Having mentioned that I do recall him leaving home in the morning, presumably to collect that tray of pies. His comment that another of our party lived further along the terrace resolves my issue with the location of his house. An early draft of this article said "Others arrived the following day to make the trip to Hartlepool" I now think it was more a case that the focus of the gathering of the crew was outside the neighbour's house, rather than Robin's. It's also clear that the whole party didn't travel together as Robin's final email before the trip said:
No doubt Ian and Ewan will liaise over transport. I'll arrange for the Ripon contingent to go a bit earlier and get the food.
But it also raises another puzzle. Who was Ewan? Perhaps another in the party without an email address or someone in the Black Diamond office? There being two cars each making their own way to Hartlepool does tie in with my memory of the journey. I don't recall there being five in the car I travelled in, which may not have been Robin's as I had initially assumed when starting to write this.
The Marina and First Night
The one thing about that journey I do remember was the realisation that I had left my sleeping bag behind, propped up against the wall outside the house where we were loading the car. It now seems likely that we travelled in the car of the neighbour who lived mid-terrace and is also why I had it stuck in my memory that Robin lived mid-terrace.
I'm sure we did arrive in Hartlepool mid-afternoon as Robin had planned. I remember sitting in Black Dianmond's saloon being utterly consumed with where I was going to obtain a sleeping bag, where I might buy one and how I was going to get to any shop, as they were some distance away. I don't remember if the planned provisioning trip mentioned in one of the emails sent earlier in the week took place, but I do know I did not join one. Nor do I remember who it was that, in the end, produced a sleeping bag for me to use, but I must assume it was procured from Black Diamond's stores, as others before me must have also come ill prepared for their time aboard. However, the solution to my sleeping bag problem was, for the rest of the party, but a minor issue resolved as, on our arrival, we were told we'd be unable to depart for the Farne Isles that day.
I distinctly remember the islands to be the intended destination of our cruise, although it is not mentioned in the emails I have found. Reading the Sailing Norh East web site these days suggests that a "Farnes Long Weekend" departure would be at around 10:00, immediately after the required safety briefing. There'd be an overnight stop at Blyth or Amble marinas, before reaching the islands the following day. You then have a second night at Amble, before the return to Hartlepool.
Given our arrival late in the afternoon of the shorter days of October and the distance to either of the two first night marinas, perhaps it was never the plan to leave on the Friday night. However, I do remember a gloom amongst our party on hearing the news that there was a two metre swell outside the harbour and the lock would not be opening to let us out that night. I don't recall what we ate for our evening meal, which I presume was taken on board.
What I do remember is that at some point after dark, some of us if not all, made our way across the lock and towards the buildings on the other side. These days there are at least half a dozen restaurants and bars there. I recall it being similar then. Our group settled on some chairs around a table outside some bar and ordered drinks. We were all dressed up in winter sailing gear with several layers of vests, shirts, jumpers, fleeces and anoraks.
While we drank and discussed the trip others around us were making their way to a night club next door. From out of this place every few minutes appeared a young girl seeming selling shots of some liqueur in an effort to entice them inside. I only remember her for what she was wearing and it wasn't much. From a distance you might have thought it was a long floor length white dress. Close up you realise that it was nothing more than an extremely loosely woven net curtain, revealing her bra and panties underneath. It was less the dress that our group commented on and more how on earth could she tolerate the biting autumn wind.
Saturday 17 October 2009 - Marina Tour
I really should have taken more pictures of the inside of Black Diamond when we arrived but I didn't. The first I took on the Saturday morning is the second you see here, as I thought it made more sense to see the entrance from the cockpit and galley area first and then swing round to see the companionway leading to the forward cabin.
I wish I could remember, but I believe this shows Robin, standing in the galley, talking to our skipper who is sitting on the steps to the cockpit. It was taken at 09:07, so the conversation was probably about when we might be able to depart.
Taken three minutes earlier than the previous picture you see the narrow corridor leading to the forward cabin. It seems the heads are to the left, but I have no memory of that part of the boat.
I must assume that these two images were taken after breakfast. As with our evening meal, I remember nothing of breakfast but suspect that it was Robin took the lead in providing eggs and bacon. In fact I remember nothing of any of our meals so, much as Athur Ransome did with toilets in his Swallows and Amazons books, I won't mention food again in this report of our cruise.
One thing I do remember from breakfast time was that the news was that the seas had not abated and there was still no chance of an early departure from the marina. With that there was little else to do than take a tour of the harbour.
By 09:22 We had started our clockwise walk around the harbour on our way to visit HMS Trincomalee. Black Diamond's mast is the one you see furthest to the right.
However, it was over an hour later, at 10:35, that I took this picture of HMS Trincomalee. I do recall that we found the museum closed and weren't able to go aboard, but I am not sure why it should take that long to get there or where we might have stopped on the way without taking another photo.
And then it was almost another 45 minutes before I took this and the next picture, at around 11:15. I really wish I could remember where we found these balls. I would have said it was across the lock by the large car park close to the night club where we drank the previous evening, but I'm not certain of that.
Regardless of where they were the youngsters were clearly having fun, in spite of the wind that seemed to make them almost uncontrollable.
It's now 11:27 and we are back at Black Diamond. For me the interesting thing about this picture is the Caribbean Class river cruiser, seen beyond the roughly furled foresail of Black Diamond. What could it be doing in a marine setting? It's a craft designed for lakes and rivers, not the sea.
A couple of minutes later and I take another shot of Black Diamond, or rather the sky, which although there are one or two blue patches, there's clearly still a lot of very heavy weather around.
Back on board there's not a lot to do but read while we wait for the weather to turn. I don't recall where everyone slept. I believe my berth was behind the white towel. Aft of that is another bunk left exposed. I don't think I had realised before seeing the bunks how much it was like sleeping in an open drawer. But you would need the foot high lip on each bunk to stop you rolling out if you were on the windward side of the boat, as you might realise when you see some of the pictures taken on the Sunday.
It's 11:40 and this is the last of the pictures I took while we remained in Hartlepool.
Departing Hartlepool
It must have been some time after 11:40 that we learned that the lock would shortly be open for traffic leaving the harbour. I also assume that we had our lunch before we left our mooring. and made our way through the lock. I only say this on the basis that the next photo I took was at 13:14 by which time we were in open water with sails hoisted. I don't remember at what point it was decided that we would not be going north to the Farne Islands. It could have been as early as the previous evening, but most likely it was during or after breakfast this day. I only remember that we were told that the seas had subsided somewhat from the two metre waves we had been told about the previous afternoon.
Taken shortly after leaving the harbour Black Diamond is in open water with sails raised. I don't recall how we went about this, but I suspect we were brought head to wind under motor to hoist the sails as I only recall dropping anchor on our return arounf lunch time on the Sunday.
It's 13:16 and a couple of minutes after the last picture was taken. It is notable how much the sky has changed since the last pick of Black Diamond in the harbour. Behind us Hartlepool is bathed in sunlight.
Six minutes later and there was at least one other boat close by. Perhaps that's not surprising as several would have departed Hartlepool at the same time as us.
The steel works at Middlesbrough were about four miles south of Hartlepool and we were passing them at 13:44. It's not clear to me whether the dark pall over them is rising from the works or indicates it was raining over there. It's difficult to get any sense of scale of the waves we were encountering.
The pictures you've seen up till now were taken before we had left the shelter of the shallow bay in which Hartlepool and Middlesbrough sit. Yes, the sea is a bit lumpy, but nothing likely to upset the passage of Black Diamond a substantial 45ft yacht.
Now look at the first of the next three photos. It was taken some two and a quarter hours later, shortly before 16:00, but still an hour before we reached Whitby. Look at the top of the wheel, the upper aft rail round the cockpit and the horizon, if you can call the top of the sea behind the boat that. Compare that view with what you can see in the picture, at the top of this page, which shows Black Diamond at rest in Hartlepool. If we were still in the harbour I reckon that sea should be a little above the lower rail rather than well above the top rail.
It's much the same in the following picture, taken a couple of minutes later. The camera appears to be pointing along a line that is parallel with the boat's waterline, or what should be horizontal if we were in still water and that would mean the horizon ought to be more or less central in the picture, not more than three quarters of the way towards the top. It suggests the bows are pointing as much as 20° skywards. Not only that, the flagpole indicates that we're also heeling by some 15°, not that that's unusual in a sailing boat.
The third picture is taken an hour later. We are approaching Whitby from just a little west of due north so that Saltwick Nab appears as a headland well to the east. We can only see the top of the 150ft headland and the cables running through the stanchions on the deck are nowhere near horizontal. We are still amongst significant waves.
In short, this was not a pleasant sailing experience. Although the sea still retained a substantial swell it was random and irregular in direction, yet the winds were light. Every time we passed over a crest we would swing in a different direction. Pitch, roll and yaw were all there in abundance and it meant the sails would flap uselessly most of the time, we were just not driving forward as we should. It's hardly surprising three of our number were sick, and I can very close to throwing up, especially when I went below for a few moments.
You'll notice that the jib had been lowered by the time the third picture was taken. That doesn't tell you that the engine had also been started to give us a more regular progress forward which, in turn, helped keep the main sail set properly giving us some propulsion.
I've passed my camera to one of the others. That's me on helmsman duties. In truth there's not really much to do on a coastal cruise as, unlike the Broads, there's never a river bank ahead that requires you to tack every half minute.
A wider angle version of the previous picture taken a minute later. I can't recall whether these images were taken before the yellow bucket was called into service.
It's 16:59. The bow is pointing skywards. We're a few minutes off Whitby. The headland on which the Abbey stands is just visible, terminating in the evocatively named "Saltwick Nab".
Overnight at Whitby
I had to look at satellite images to remind me of the approach into Whitby. This is not a place where there is a naturally sheltered harbour. Rather it's an ordinary river that runs almost due north into the sea that's been turned into a secure harbour through the construction of five distinct structures that protect craft mooring in the river further inland.
The first structure, working outwards from the land, is the Tate Hill pier. This stretches, at an angle, more than half way across the width of the river mouth, creating a sandy beach on the seaward side. Running out from the coast almost 300m are the East and West Piers. They converge funnel-like at their seaward end. Each has a light house at what may once have been their pierheads, but each of the piers then has a lighter weight extension forming a second funnel that reaches a further 150m into the sea.
Judging by the satellite images it would seem that the set of structures is very effective at breaking up the sea's waves, leaving the river with no swell at all.
We're inside the the outer harbour walls with the famous ruins of Whitby Abbey high above us on the headland.
It's 17:06 and we are about to pass the East Lighthouse at the end of the main harbour wall. I'd forgotten about the two lighthouses and, looking at the pictures, it took me a while to realise I had taken pictures of both.
When reviewing the photographs of our cruise I had forgotten about the two lighthouses and I assumed that people had just arrived on the balcony to wave at us. It took me a while to realise it was a second lighthouse. This one has a square viewing platform and a domed roof.
It is the last moments before we moor within Whitby Harbour. All trace of any waves have gone.
Once again, I remember nothing of our evening meal. I do recall that most of the crew opted to stay aboard that evening and that Robin and I were the only ones to go ashore. My memory says he had a particular place in mind to go which involved a bit of a walk and I just followed along. Google Maps reveals the Whitby Fishermans Amateur Rowing Club has its premises just behind the Lifeboat Stationon on the opposite side of the harbour from where we were moored. So my guess is that may have been where we went and why, not being members, I was concerned that we might not get into the place he had in mind.
My fears were unfounded and there was no problem in us accessing a members bar. I remember it being crowded but I can't recall if we even stayed long enough to buy a second pint. Nor do I remember the walk back to the boat, or at what point we all went to bed. I wish I had written this report fifteen years ago!
Next — Read about the Return to Hartlepool.