West via the MoK

Robih

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The Hebrides Overture playing on Scala this morning has increased the anticipation......

For various reasons we’ve only ever passed MoK eastbound at the end of the season having transited west via the canal at the start of the season. So the good advice of being at the MoK light at LW Greenock is well used and understood. But what about westbound? This year with a new to us boat, we don’t fancy Crinan. So, does the reverse tidal guidance also apply? At the light at LW Greenock? Don’t see why it shouldn’t - to carry the flood in to the Sound of Jura? Alas my tidal atlas is on board 550 miles away so if anyone can shine a light I’d be grateful.

Happy Easter all.
 
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The westerly tide along the south of the MOK, close in on a line running west from north of Sanda, but stay closer to MOK, as there are easterly eddies close to Sanda, starts going westerly at -1 hour HW Dover or -02:20 minutes HW Greenock; also northwards close in on Atlantic side of the MOK. At HW +1 Dover, it is all west going, then all north of course up the Atlantic side of the MOK. At +5 HW Dover, Greenock +3:40, close the MOK it is now easterly but still a bit westerly at the southern end of the MOK.

Information from Reeds 2021 Almanac.

Last time I rounded the MOK it was Hawkwind's 'Brain Storm' playing and the rest of their 'Live 79' album.
 

Gary Fox

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BlowingOldBoots, your pilotage info sounds fantastic, but pretty please, what is a 'westerly' tide? 'West-going' ? or the opposite? To an alien southern sassenach, it makes no sense.
 
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Tides go in the compass direction, winds blow from the compass direction. There is no need to modify the adjective with the word 'going'. Back to competent crew for you :) (Thats just a small poke of fun, not serious).

westerly | ˈwɛstəli |
adjective
lying or moving in a westward position or direction: he stumbled slowly along in a westerly direction | the westerly end of Sunset Boulevard.
• (of a wind) blowing from the west: a stiff westerly breeze.
adverb
in or towards a westward position or direction: our plan was to keep westerly.
noun (plural westerlies)
a wind blowing from the west: high ground and prevailing westerlies give a lot of rainfall.
• (westerlies) the belt of prevailing westerly winds in medium latitudes in the southern hemisphere: icebergs tend to follow recognized paths eastward and north through the westerlies.
 

Quandary

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Our boat winters ashore here in Ardrishaig while its berth is the other end of the canal at Crinan so we usually go round each spring, stopping in Campbeltown on the way, if W winds greater than 5 are forecast we just go through the canal or wait a week. I leave C'town 2 hours before low water planning to reach the lighthouse when it is slack and like to go round close in to reduce distance travelled. If going up close to the cliffs on the west side in even light easterlies you can get some wiiliways rolling down the cliffs every ten minutes or so strong enough to put your boom in the water, the answer then is to go further out, they do not seem to travel very far.

Just to add, the williways seem to be an early season phenomenon, I have never experienced it in June or July when the air is sometimes warmer.
 
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bikedaft

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he Admiralty tide tables, with HW Dover, are v good, have always foind them to be spot on, and plenty detail. you get a good push N to Gigha if you time it right. (i also like it to be just slack at the lighthouse). further offshore is fine, just longer.
 

Quandary

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The C'town advice does not exactly match the experience of Norn Irn sailors as far as passage to and from there goes, Going to Belfast Lough it is better to leave the Paterson Rock (and Sanda )to starboard the tides work better that way and the distance is less, (you can leave 1/2 hr or so later to just reach the buoy at slack water, going to Larne or Glenarm it is quicker via Sanda Sound so you want to take advantage of the ebb through there. coming the other way the timing is to reach either the Mull Light or the Paterson Rock buoy at low water, in practice that means leaving about the same time as you get more tidal assist the more North there is in your course. From Glenarm or Rathlin you are crossing the N Channel tide with little advantage.
 

adwuk

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Only thing I'd add to the Campbeltown sailing club advice is to not be too close in at Deas point. It is tempting to stay close to avoid the worst of the standing waves, but you come out of the tide, and I think there may even be an eddy north west of the lighthouse that will hold you up. Best stay off in the tidal stream and you will get an extra knot or 3.
 

JumbleDuck

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:ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL: SOG? You’ll need brakes.
He's got a point. One of my grumbles about the old CCC advice - it's much better in the most recent edition - was that it gave a departure time from Gigha which assumed you could do 6 kts (from memory - might even have been 8 kts). Since there is only about an hour in hand for the Sound of Sanda if you round the Mull at LW Greenock, getting to the lighthouse two hours late could cause problems or a require a long detour.
 

wully1

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He's got a point. One of my grumbles about the old CCC advice - it's much better in the most recent edition - was that it gave a departure time from Gigha which assumed you could do 6 kts (from memory - might even have been 8 kts). Since there is only about an hour in hand for the Sound of Sanda if you round the Mull at LW Greenock, getting to the lighthouse two hours late could cause problems or a require a long detour.

He’s going west..
And do folk not work out this stuff for what their own boat can do in the forecast conditions instead of just following Pilot book advice?
 

awol

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He’s going west..
And do folk not work out this stuff for what their own boat can do in the forecast conditions instead of just following Pilot book advice?
You mean there's another way of going round the MoK without starting from Crooked-mouth-town at the "right" time? Shirley not! You'll be telling us next that you can start from outlandish places like Lamlash or Adrossan.
 

JumbleDuck

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He’s going west..
I know!
And do folk not work out this stuff for what their own boat can do in the forecast conditions instead of just following Pilot book advice?
Well, yes, which is why "Leave Gigha at HWD+2" (or whatever it said) is no use at all, particularly if the assumptions on which it is based are not given. Much batter to make clear what you are trying to achieve than present a magic formula for doing it.
 

Fascadale

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He's got a point. One of my grumbles about the old CCC advice - it's much better in the most recent edition - was that it gave a departure time from Gigha which assumed you could do 6 kts (from memory - might even have been 8 kts). Since there is only about an hour in hand for the Sound of Sanda if you round the Mull at LW Greenock, getting to the lighthouse two hours late could cause problems or a require a long detour.

I too was a bit puzzled by this bit of CCC advice. I contacted one of the CCC editors who IIRC told me that the Gigha south and MoK eastbound was being revised in the new edition
 

JumbleDuck

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I too was a bit puzzled by this bit of CCC advice. I contacted one of the CCC editors who IIRC told me that the Gigha south and MoK eastbound was being revised in the new edition
And indeed it has been. The old advice was just weird in places, and some of their tide timings were hours out.
 

Fascadale

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And indeed it has been. The old advice was just weird in places, and some of their tide timings were hours out.

But back to the OP’s question, the MoK westbound: the usual advice is to be close inshore: I have never been sure how close is close

Many many years ago my late father told me to steer close to a buoy in the Kyles of Bute, close enough to bounce a tennis ball of the buoy............I’ve never fancied that at the MoK
 

Robih

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Thanks for the helpful replies.

Interesting comments about the CCC guidance east bound being less than optimal. Last autumn (November 5th) we departed Gigha early morning in the dark to arrive MoK @ LW Greenock. It was properly lumpy at the MoK (wind SE 5 when SW 4 forecast) but the pain was shortlived. However, there was another yacht at Gigha that I expected to see leaving with us early but he didn't, he left much later. We then heard CG deploying C'town Lifeboat to the yacht's assistance with a solo skipper incapacitated through seasickness. We think the yacht was still well north of MoK light at that time, by that time we were passing C'town northbound. Then the helo called to get skipper off to hospital at C'town. Yacht towed in to C'town by the lifeboat. I've wondered since if the skipper was following CCC guidance.

I too don't know what "close inshore" means. Generally the MoK is a lee shore so I never fancy the biscuit's toss to the beach.
 
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