GTom
Well-known member
Found it here, don't know where exactly the moorings were: Storm Ali weather watch for Largs and Millport News
Clyde Marinas
- Thread starter Jodel
- Start date
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
Why not both? I like having a mooring which I can also use for shelter or just for a peaceful day or two aboard. Fairlie and Rhu Marina have been in a competition for years to get the most "Boats wrecked in storm" headlines.
claymore
Well-known member
You cleaned that one up nicely...
tyce
Well-known member
If they were not at Fairlie quay moorings then where are they?
Reason I ask is I was and still am seriously considering joining the mooring association at Cairnies quay just up a bit from Fairlie. Yacht will be left for potentially a few weeks at a time and as I am bit precious about it I want to make sure the location is suitable?
Reason I ask is I was and still am seriously considering joining the mooring association at Cairnies quay just up a bit from Fairlie. Yacht will be left for potentially a few weeks at a time and as I am bit precious about it I want to make sure the location is suitable?
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
I would not base my boat at Fairlie. Too many boats come ashore there in gales - at least once a year, it seems. And yes, the fetch across to Cumbrae is only a couple of miles, but as anyone who has tried Ardminish on Gigha in any sort of an easterly knows, a small fetch can be quite enough for nastiness.
ProMariner
Active member
The moorings are Fairlie Yacht Club, so owner supplied and maintained. Fairlie is a good place for a mooring (it's a Fair Lie), much more sheltered than Cairnies quay, due to the big old Hunterstone jetty giving it some shelter from the south and southwest. Storm Ali was an unusual event, but boats on moorings sometimes come ashore, fact of life, a mooring only has to suffer a single point of failure, and many owners fail to maintain or use their mooring properly. More boats used to come ashore from Cairnies quay, but very few boats now use it since Largs Yacht Haven opened and Largs SC moved, due to its more exposed location, less secure dinghy storage, weedy and underused jetty, and distance from car access.
Fairlie Yacht Club does not have a clubhouse, so is pretty cheap to be a member, and maintains a dinghy jetty and some storage. Both Fairlie and Cairnies Quay are a pain to launch a dinghy at low water. Fairlie and Cairnies quay are 10 minutes motor either side of Largs Yacht Haven, so easy enough to find shelter (or access/water/power/chandlery) as required.
The only better place than Fairlie for moorings in the Clyde on the mainland side is up Gareloch.
Fairlie Yacht Club does not have a clubhouse, so is pretty cheap to be a member, and maintains a dinghy jetty and some storage. Both Fairlie and Cairnies Quay are a pain to launch a dinghy at low water. Fairlie and Cairnies quay are 10 minutes motor either side of Largs Yacht Haven, so easy enough to find shelter (or access/water/power/chandlery) as required.
The only better place than Fairlie for moorings in the Clyde on the mainland side is up Gareloch.
awol
Well-known member
I feel I must disagree with the "only"- Tarbert, Tignabruich, Holy Loch, Carrick, even Cardwell Bay and Ashton offer better shelter than Fairlie in a southerly and are all on the "mainland".
adwuk
Active member
I assume that ProMariner works for a haulage/distribution company, as they firmly believe that much of Argyll is not mainland! That said, not many moorings in Tarbert these days, and very few of these are privately owned.
ProMariner
Active member
"Mainland side", sorry, should have been more clear.
Agreed, there are many better spots for moorings, in the whole of the Clyde estuary, with only a couple more hours driving time from the south. Loch Riddon would be my pick, if I had a teleporter. But by the time I have driven to most of them, I might as well have carried on up to Ardfern, or Loch Melfort
Yes Cardwell bay and around Gourock are generally more sheltered in a Southerly than Fairlie. Have seen each at (I hope) their worst, and the Gourock patch boats pretty well get airborne in anything from the North, or West, or East, I wouldn't swap my Fairlie mooring for there, even if it was free.
Fairlie is ok, in the last dozen years, I can remember about seven boats and one barge coming ashore, all except two being due to poor mooring tackle, or chafe at the boat end. The remaining two were knocked off their moorings by already adrift boats. All except 2 were recovered intact, as it is generally a big sandy beach, with only a couple of hard things to hit.
Agreed, there are many better spots for moorings, in the whole of the Clyde estuary, with only a couple more hours driving time from the south. Loch Riddon would be my pick, if I had a teleporter. But by the time I have driven to most of them, I might as well have carried on up to Ardfern, or Loch Melfort
Yes Cardwell bay and around Gourock are generally more sheltered in a Southerly than Fairlie. Have seen each at (I hope) their worst, and the Gourock patch boats pretty well get airborne in anything from the North, or West, or East, I wouldn't swap my Fairlie mooring for there, even if it was free.
Fairlie is ok, in the last dozen years, I can remember about seven boats and one barge coming ashore, all except two being due to poor mooring tackle, or chafe at the boat end. The remaining two were knocked off their moorings by already adrift boats. All except 2 were recovered intact, as it is generally a big sandy beach, with only a couple of hard things to hit.
GTom
Well-known member
Holy loch seems a bit open to the East, not too frequent source for trouble though.
awol
Well-known member
Lazarette Point provides a bit of shelter.