Cruising to Islay

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robertt

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Hi folks
I am desperate to get into boating and in particular want to cruise the West Coast of Scotland. I live in Glasgow so could conceivably keep a boat at Kip, Largs or Troon. I have a friend who lives in Bowmore on Islay and one of my ambitions is to be able to make my way over there on my own boat. When I checked the distance on Ports.com it is 197 nm from Largs to Bowmore. I imagine (may be wrong as I'm a novice) that sailing speed is likely to be around 5 knots so this seems to imply that it would take me around 4 days to make it there assuming sailing for 10 hours/day (daylight only). Is this accurate or am I way off the mark? I'm gutted to think that if I had a whole week I would struggle to make it there and back and still have no time to spend on Islay. If this is accurate can anyone suggest where to moor on each leg of the journey as I would need to find somewhere sheltered to spend the nights.
I don't have a boat yet and have been fancying a few sailboats that are for sale at Kip and Troon but the speeds and distances involved in getting to the places I would like to visit are forcing me to consider whether a mobo might be better as my leisure time is quite limited and the greater speed would get me where I'm going within a useful timescale. But then again refuelling might be difficult in some areas. Any experience and tips from those with experience would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks
Robert
 
A very difficult question to answer. It depends on the boat, the crew, the confidence you all have in the boat and most importantly the weather. Venturing out of the Clyde takes you into sea that can be quite intimidating in fresh to strong winds. Do not take false comfort in thinking that a mobo can plough through in any weather - often a well found sailing boat would be preferable.

The Mull of Kyntyre has quite a reputation and if you had fair tide (a necessity) against a northerly wind it can get quite nasty and potentially dangerous.

If it were me I would go for a sailboat - learn to sail and then spend some considerable time building your confidence in her. Then find some crew you can trust, wait for light to moderate southerly winds and go for it. You have quite a learning curve to climb but a very enjoyable one.

Troon to Port Ellen on Islay is easily doable in daylight hours in the summer.
 
5kts in a small sailing boats is pretty well top speed, you would be damn lucky to get the weather that allows that in the specific direction you want to travel. Most cruising guides suggest planning around a speed of 3kts.

MoBos are fast, but may use a gallon a mile or more & are often incapable of maintaining planing speeds in rough water - check your charts for the locations of the overfalls along your proposed route. Of course, with good timing & decent weather overfalls cease to be a problem.

Get yourself a book on the RYA Day Skipper course (Tom Cunliffe wrote a good one) or the actual course itself with exercises. You can spend days planning summer trips for the price of a handful of charts & a used book. No danger of seasickness or any danger. And no fuel or marina charges.
 
"When I checked the distance on Ports.com it is 197 nm from Largs to Bowmore."


Looking at ports.com that is the distance around the coast - shortest distance given as 66nm if thats any help. Not sure if that is through the Crinan canal or not.
 
Last edited:
Forget about Islay as your benchmark of achievable pleasure in a given time frame. You are allowing this to colour your opinion wrongly.

If you set sail from Kip Marina you can be in Islay within 24 hours easily assuming fair wind and tide. However to do it in 24 hours you need to be confident in your abilities, the boat and have a crew that can stand watch. This is something that you should work up to.

Sailing from Kip or Largs gives you a wonderful range of places to sail to that would build up your experience. I would bet that after sailing for a season out of either of these marinas you would not be disappointed at the slowness of the yachts relative to Mobos and would see the ability to reach Islay in a different light.

If you are time poor then consider whether chartering a yacht would be a better bet. They are expensive things not to be used much and yachts benefit from being used and absolutely hate sitting around in dam, salty environments doing nothing.

If you are desperate to get sailing, then you could spend this year doing courses. Fir a bit less than £1000 you could get the RYA Competent Crew and Day Skipper Courses. This might seam like a lot of money, it is, but you would be sure of sailing by the end of it. A grand for two weeks holiday, al inclusive, is not too bad these days. It would be a good investment and could at best give you realistic expectations of your abilities in a small boat (which are significant) or just as good, decide that sailing is not for you, and the mono route would be better.

Send me a PM as I sail out of Largs and we can talk more by phone if you wish.
 
Thanks very much for replies
I assumed the Ports.com "Sea route" calculation used shortest recognised routes but maybe it's not very accurate! Does anyone use that website?
Troon to Port Ellen in one day sounds great, I would def be happy with that!
Overall I would prefer to get a sailboat now having looked at it from both sides, initially having favoured a mobo. Only problem is I would have to be able to sail single handed as on some occasions it would just be me and my two boys going out, and I fancy a boat between 26 and 30 foot.
Another question I had wondered about was (and I realise there will be a vast range of variables involved), what is typical fuel consumption on a "typical" diesel inboard engine on a sailboat of that size with, say around 10 to 15hp?
Even the roughest of estimates would be of help, thanks
 
I don't know what ports.com is all about but coastal passage planning for small vessels in not it's strong point! I just did a rough path in Google Earth which came out at 87 miles from Largs to Bowmore.
 
robertt said:
Thanks very much for replies
I assumed the Ports.com "Sea route" calculation used shortest recognised routes but maybe it's not very accurate! Does anyone use that website?
Troon to Port Ellen in one day sounds great, I would def be happy with that!
Overall I would prefer to get a sailboat now having looked at it from both sides, initially having favoured a mobo. Only problem is I would have to be able to sail single handed as on some occasions it would just be me and my two boys going out, and I fancy a boat between 26 and 30 foot.
Another question I had wondered about was (and I realise there will be a vast range of variables involved), what is typical fuel consumption on a "typical" diesel inboard engine on a sailboat of that size with, say around 10 to 15hp?
Even the roughest of estimates would be of help, thanks
Click to expand...

Hi Robert,

We have a 27ft yacht with a 12.5hp twin cylinder inboard diesel. At cruising revs (1800-2000 rpm) we make 5 knots in flattish water and use about 1litre per hour.

I have sailed a 25ft yacht from Gigha to Troon in 18 hours, all in daylight (July). I would say Port Ellen is about the same distance.

For a first (or second or third) trip it would be quite ambitious, but it could be broken into 2 easy days with an overnight stop at either Campbeltown or Sanda.

- W
 
machurley22 said:
I don't know what ports.com is all about but coastal passage planning for small vessels in not it's strong point! I just did a rough path in Google Earth which came out at 87 miles from Largs to Bowmore.
Click to expand...

That sounds more like it! I wondered if you could do that on Google Earth but wasn't sure how.

Is it the norm to sail during the night? Not sure I like the sound of that!
 
webcraft said:
Hi Robert,

We have a 27ft yacht with a 12.5hp twin cylinder inboard diesel. At cruising revs (1800-2000 rpm) we make 5 knots in flattish water and use about 1litre per hour.

I have sailed a 25ft yacht from Gigha to Troon in 18 hours, all in daylight (July). I would say Port Ellen is about the same distance.

For a first (or second or third) trip it would be quite ambitious, but it could be broken into 2 easy days with an overnight stop at either Campbeltown or Sanda.

- W
Click to expand...

I had thought about Sanda, is it quite safe and sheltered there?
I noticed on the bluemoment moorings website it said the mooring was unsafe and boats would have to anchor
 
Get yourself a copy of the Clyde Cruising Club or Martin Lawrence's Clyde to Colonsay Pilot - available in your local library.
The north bay of Sanda is a fine anchorage as long as the wind has south in it, but as others have said, the wind and tides need consideration.
 
Thanks, I read that the Clyde Cruising Club Pilot book has merged now and a new edition is out, but can't find it online, I could phone them direct I suppose.
 
It sounds like your priority is getting to Islay rather that getting the right boat for you to enjoy.
I don't want to put you off living the dream but judging by some of your questions and responses I think you are thinking about learning to run before you can walk. By all means get a boat and get out on the water but going solo round the Mull or with your 2 boys without first gaining a lot of experience sounds a bit adventurous. The Mull can be a pussy cat and you might go round and wonder what all the fuss was about but get the tides wrong and get stuck out there in a bit of a blow and you may well regret it.
If you do go ahead with the purchase get out on the Clyde and get a good few hundred miles and a couple of seasons under your belt before heading out West.
 
Hi Robert,

My view is that it is a good thing to have a sailing ambition. It should provide continuing motivation. However, all in good time.

You are blessed with having simply stunning cruising ground on your doorstep. You are very, very lucky.

For those with experience, a journey from The Clyde to Islay is a relatively straight forward passage. An experienced sailor would set about constructing a Passage Plan. The RYA Day Skipper shorebased course takes 40 hours of study and is aimed towards imparting the knowledge required to produce the plan.

Similarly, there are very generous people on this forum with local knowledge who will willingly give specific advice and, in exchange for beer tockens or something similar, will probably give you a day sail. Alternatively, there are many fine RYA schools within The Clyde. Cumbrae is home to the National Watersports Centre for Scotland. Their cruising boats are kept at Largs (or were in 2007). That's just one example.

The sense of satisfaction after having completed your journey to Islay will be great. If you wait a while and gain relevant experience first, you'll be aware of the required safeguards and precautions required.

I hope you fulfil your ambition soon, but safely. Good luck!
 
Spyro said:
It sounds like your priority is getting to Islay rather that getting the right boat for you to enjoy.
I don't want to put you off living the dream but judging by some of your questions and responses I think you are thinking about learning to run before you can walk. By all means get a boat and get out on the water but going solo round the Mull or with your 2 boys without first gaining a lot of experience sounds a bit adventurous. The Mull can be a pussy cat and you might go round and wonder what all the fuss was about but get the tides wrong and get stuck out there in a bit of a blow and you may well regret it.
If you do go ahead with the purchase get out on the Clyde and get a good few hundred miles and a couple of seasons under your belt before heading out West.
Click to expand...

While this is of course very sensible advice I met a guy in Porto Santo who bought an old Macwester in the UK having never sailed before and then set off for Brazil. He made it. Most people do.

- W
 
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