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The Farne Islands presented the only real issue on the trip to Amble, however we decided to take the easy option and pass well outside the islands. Entry to Amble Marina is over a cill that stands 0.8M over chart datum so our window for arrival was HW Dover +½hr (1245) to HW Dover -4½ (2000). The passage to the marina is through Warkworth Harbour which has a shifting sand bar at its entrance so our preference was for an arrival on the rising tide. This in turn meant that the bulk of the passage would be done with a foul tide, however given the expected tidal rates this seemed an acceptable option.
Leaving Eyemouth at LW (0700) was fine; other than the challenge of the incoming fishing fleet! The passage to the Farne Islands was clear and although we left Longstone Light some 2M to starboard we still encountered some pretty heavy tides coming from some unpredictable directions; they were however short lived. On the way down the coast an RAF Rescue Helicopter came in very close and the pilot seemed to be practising hovering in position for an air lift; we did wonder if they thought we were in trouble but were reassured when the co-pilot waved out of the window! The remainder of the trip down to Amble was straightforward although with variable wind we ended up motor sailing for much of the way. On approaching Amble, we stayed well to the East of the Pan Bush shoal and, following a tip from a Coquet boat that rafted next to us in Eyemouth, stayed mid channel until rounding the knuckle of the wooden pier then headed for the end of the stone jetty. With 4.6m of tide (we caught the last ½hr of the rise) we had no less than 4.2m of depth up the channel.
The staff at Amble Marina were most helpful and the facilities good (excellent showers and laundry), although at £24 per night it was the most expensive berth on the trip so far. There's plenty to do in and around Amble which was just as well as we were stuck there for 3 nights. The strong North Westerly built a considerable sea which was breaking over the harbour entrance and the wave height coming up the channel was such to create a significant risk of grounding in the troughs even at high water.
According to one of the locals, a strong wind with either any North or East in it could cause these conditions. With the benefit of hindsight, given the 24hr forecast we had as we arrived at Amble, it would have been worth going the additional 13M or so to get to Blyth.