Scarborough
August 12, 2021
HM 150. Scarborough - all the fun of the (very noisy) fair!
Deputy Harbour Master James Buck was a breath of fresh air and on meeting him I immediately forgave Whitby (and the whole of Yorkshire) for their previous "abruptness"! An ex Fleet Air Arm engineer, he moved to the Merchant Navy and ended up as a Chief Officer (second in command) on a Carnival cruise liner. He described working on a cruise ship the closest thing to being back in the RN - why? Precision and discipline. Did you know that the Hotel Director on a cruise ship is senior to the captain? What "he says goes" in order to keep the customers happy.... interesting situation in a storm!
James clearly loves his job and the bustle of this extraordinary town. In its heyday Scarborough was a smart spa town. Now, noisy tourists surround the working harbour and even more noisy power boats take them on short trips around the bay. On the quayside local crab boats land their catch in huge numbers, packing them off to France by lorry. When he is not managing this mayhem, he is choosing works of art for the promenade or servicing the whistle in his lighthouse.... or did he make that bit up?!
In a gesture of kindness, the Commodore of the local @scarboroughyachtclub invited all visitors to their local post race supper in the club house - strangely it was the first time I had entered any sailing club in three years of travelling the coast.
I can't pretend I was not relieved when we finally motored out of the harbour. I could not quite put my finger on this strange town on the remote shoulder of Yorkshire, maybe I will return one day and see if the HM has finished WFH! I really liked James and I do hope he sticks around in Scarborough. Along with his assistant Kevin (who stopped us going aground on the mud as we entered on a falling tide - see photo 6) they could not have been more hospitable.
Deputy Harbour Master James Buck was a breath of fresh air and on meeting him I immediately forgave Whitby (and the whole of Yorkshire) for their previous "abruptness"! An ex Fleet Air Arm engineer, he moved to the Merchant Navy and ended up as a Chief Officer (second in command) on a Carnival cruise liner. He described working on a cruise ship the closest thing to being back in the RN - why? Precision and discipline. Did you know that the Hotel Director on a cruise ship is senior to the captain? What "he says goes" in order to keep the customers happy.... interesting situation in a storm!
James clearly loves his job and the bustle of this extraordinary town. In its heyday Scarborough was a smart spa town. Now, noisy tourists surround the working harbour and even more noisy power boats take them on short trips around the bay. On the quayside local crab boats land their catch in huge numbers, packing them off to France by lorry. When he is not managing this mayhem, he is choosing works of art for the promenade or servicing the whistle in his lighthouse.... or did he make that bit up?!
In a gesture of kindness, the Commodore of the local @scarboroughyachtclub invited all visitors to their local post race supper in the club house - strangely it was the first time I had entered any sailing club in three years of travelling the coast.
I can't pretend I was not relieved when we finally motored out of the harbour. I could not quite put my finger on this strange town on the remote shoulder of Yorkshire, maybe I will return one day and see if the HM has finished WFH! I really liked James and I do hope he sticks around in Scarborough. Along with his assistant Kevin (who stopped us going aground on the mud as we entered on a falling tide - see photo 6) they could not have been more hospitable.