Editor

Holy Island Pilot by Ed Wingfield

Holy Island (Lindisfarne) is cut off by tides covering the causeway 2 hrs before and 3 hrs after high water. Berwick on Tweed lies 10NM to the north-west; the Farne Islands lie 6NM to the south-east. There is little high ground locally therefore Bamburgh and Holy Island Castles make unmistakable orientation points. Most of the sheltered sailing is within Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve; a large unspoiled sandy and muddy harbour.

Holy Island attracts many tourists of the ‘respectable’ type — I think you know what I mean. Most depart before the causeway covers with water. The island is unspoiled by its visitors and their requirements; it is really atmospheric. You have the choice of two pubs and a hotel, all three do meals. The facilities are a Post Office, a telephone, a village shop and public loos with washing sinks and water supply. Of interest are: the priory, the castle, round-the-island walks, the church and the village itself. Prices are higher than on the mainland. For detailed island facts and history refer to the Northumbria Tourist Board website.

The harbourmaster must be paid £2/day or £5/week. He resides at the village gift shop. The only slipway is owned by the local authority and controlled by the fishermen. NOTE. Once the HM is paid you may proceed past the ‘No Vehicles Beyond This Point’ sign. The obliging fishermen will give you permission to launch if asked respectfully, they are normally to be found about the fishing shacks near the harbour wall that protects The Ouse. Vehicles may be left nearby on the grass. (An alternative launch site is to be found at the beginning of the causeway, just east of the refuge, vehicles can be left at the car park 200m away on the mainland). Both launch sites should be used near high water.

The Ouse is a small drying inlet near the village; ‘Long Ridge’ a shingle bank in the entrance protects it from incoming swell. Anchor somewhere near the beached and abandoned trawler. Unless you are anchored high up the beach on coarse sand you will find the bottom squishy mud. Away from this area you will see that some local small boats use ‘fisherman’ anchors with upraised flukes ready to penetrate the hulls of the unwary! In the harbour entrance are a handful of deepwater moorings for fishing boats and visiting yachts. The fast tidal streams scour the sand away and even at low water the dinghy sailor can have a satisfying sail. Be aware of the reversal of tidal streams once the rising tide covers the causeway and spills in from the north.

Low water is the best time to explore the channels draining Holy Island Sands and Fenham Flats. They link up at a point sometimes favoured by Atlantic Grey Seals. I once turned a corner and inadvertently startled a colony of maybe one hundred animals. They are of course hated by fishermen but loved by the visitors. Across the entrance lies Guile Point with its obelisk shaped deep water leading line marks. Landing here is not allowed in the breeding season but a channel tucks in behind the point giving a shelter from easterly wind. Off the south-west tip of Holy Island is tiny St Cuthbert’s Island with the remains of a ruined chapel. Deep water can be found in a channel to the west called ‘The Basin’. The pilot book recommends it for yachts but I’ve never seen any there.

At HW springs it is theoretically possible to circumnavigate the island, I tried it last year but lost my bottle and retreated back into deeper water. The trouble is that the watershed is somewhere north of the causeway on Goswick Sands, the best course to set is difficult to determine, even worse is the thought of being stranded on an exposed beach on a falling tide. On the north side of the island is Coves Haven, guarded by fingers of rock projecting seawards, a small sandy beach makes a good place to stop for a picnic. The outlying reefs are favoured by yet more seals.

The deepwater route back into the harbour is to follow the buoyage and leading line on Guile Point to Burrows Hole then turn to starboard and follow the Island leading line positioned west of The Ouse into the harbour. Local shallow draught craft in settled weather will take a short cut close to the castle known as Hole Mouth.

The north-east coast gives very little joy for the dinghy sailor but this venue is the exception. A good forecast will allow a 6NM passage to the Farne Islands — pilot notes in a future Bulletin. If this pilot generates serious interest it could become a DCA cruise for summer 2000. Contact me on 0191 258 1995.