HOLY ISLAND

I wanted to draw everyone’s attention to the recent Northeast rally at Holy Island in May. If you went, then like me you will have enjoyed yourself, if you didn’t then you missed a treat. I took my Kittiwake 14, Koriana, up on the Friday and by teatime was sailing amongst a group of over 200 seals, on a circumnavigation of the Inner Sound with one of the DCA co-hosts, Ed Wingfield.

Saturday unfortunately, due to the weather, saw us in our cars doing the tourist bit. Visiting the well-filmed Bamburgh Castle, and learning more about the heroic Grace Darling at the RNLI museum. However by mid afternoon I was once more sailing in a brisk wind out into the Inner Sound.

Sunday became a day never to forget with Ed in his boat and me with Ed’s father, Len, as crew for mine, making the crossing to the Farne Islands. Having been brought up on a diet of Enid Blyton’s ‘Adventure’ series, I was thrilled to be at anchor in The Kettle with flights of puffins all around. I had never seen one in real life before, and here I was in a naturalist’s paradise. Other wildlife abounded with seals and porpoise and other sea birds galore.

With family commitments to fulfil, I was unable to make the final day of the rally, but I understand that it went as well as the rest of the weekend.

Ed and Bill are to be congratulated on coming up with the idea and organising an excellent rally. The location was superb, Holy Island is linked to the real world by a causeway and so becomes a place of myths and legends when the tide rises. Some of England’s earliest history was written here and it is a place of solemn pilgrimage for many. With some of the finest coastline and wildlife for hundreds of miles, you would be sorry to miss it if the event comes round next year. I’ll be there. Tim Roberts