Spyro
Well-Known Member
You're right Nick, not like me at all. I must be spending too much time on here. I wrote that last night but when I read it again this morn I thought I had turned into my father (or maybe even my mother
)
Cruising to Islay
- Thread starter robertt
- Start date
You're right Nick, not like me at all. I must be spending too much time on here. I wrote that last night but when I read it again this morn I thought I had turned into my father (or maybe even my mother
)
Sgeir
Well-Known Member
As others have suggested the distances are wrong. With favourable conditions (and getting the tides right, ahem....) it can be done within 24 hours but a stopover at Campbeltown or Sanda would be normally be advisable.
TQA
Well-Known Member
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I made this sort of passage as my first serious cruise in a Jaguar 22.
Troon to Arran.
Arran to Campbeltown where I waited for a good weather window to go round the Mull of Kintyre.
Campbeltown to Gigha
Gigha to Jura passing Islay on the way.
I think it took me about 8 days to Jura. But I was aware that my wait in Campbeltown could have been much longer.
So your idea is well doable but your timescale scares me. I have been a liveaboard cruiser for some years now and only go on passage when I get a good forecast.
Listening to others complain about horrible trips when they are on a tight schedule is a common pastime for long term cruisers.
Troon to Arran.
Arran to Campbeltown where I waited for a good weather window to go round the Mull of Kintyre.
Campbeltown to Gigha
Gigha to Jura passing Islay on the way.
I think it took me about 8 days to Jura. But I was aware that my wait in Campbeltown could have been much longer.
So your idea is well doable but your timescale scares me. I have been a liveaboard cruiser for some years now and only go on passage when I get a good forecast.
Listening to others complain about horrible trips when they are on a tight schedule is a common pastime for long term cruisers.
uxb
Well-Known Member
Go the easy way the first time..
Any Clyde marina to ardrishaig in a day. Transit of CRINAN canal ( with a pilot) another day.
If the tide is right its then a day sail to Islay.
After your week is up leave the boat in Crinan until you have a spare weekend to take her home..
Or do the sensible thing and keep her there. A 2/12 hour drive from the dear green place is a small price to pay for the privilege of sailing in these waters.
Any Clyde marina to ardrishaig in a day. Transit of CRINAN canal ( with a pilot) another day.
If the tide is right its then a day sail to Islay.
After your week is up leave the boat in Crinan until you have a spare weekend to take her home..
Or do the sensible thing and keep her there. A 2/12 hour drive from the dear green place is a small price to pay for the privilege of sailing in these waters.
robertt
Well-Known Member
Thanks one and all for great advice. There's nothing like a healthy dose of common sense for bringing you back down to Earth. I am definitely getting ahead of myself in the aspirations dept but it does give me something to aim for!
Perhaps a sheltered mooring or anchorage or even a couple of hours out on the water will be enough to be going on with.
I hadn't considered keeping a boat near the Crinan Canal, it seems a reasonable thing to do now that I think about it as it opens up the West Coast quite nicely. It would be harder to just pop down to the boat for a quick outing or for some odd jobs though. A days sail to get there is probably an acceptable compromise if it makes sailing more accessible though as I would prob go less often if it was a longer trip to get out there. All good points to mull (no pun there) over.
Perhaps a sheltered mooring or anchorage or even a couple of hours out on the water will be enough to be going on with.
I hadn't considered keeping a boat near the Crinan Canal, it seems a reasonable thing to do now that I think about it as it opens up the West Coast quite nicely. It would be harder to just pop down to the boat for a quick outing or for some odd jobs though. A days sail to get there is probably an acceptable compromise if it makes sailing more accessible though as I would prob go less often if it was a longer trip to get out there. All good points to mull (no pun there) over.
EuanMcKenzie
Well-Known Member
There is some good advice in the above posts from folk with many more miles than I have done. Here are a few thoughts to add to them.
I did my day skipper during the winter at the nautical college in Glasgow. Tuesday or Thursday evening right through the winter.
They started by stating that, "notwithstanding the course, their aim was to impact enough knowledge on you so you could go out on the Clyde in a small boat without being a danger to yourself."
I would thoroughly recommend this over a fast track course driven at getting you through the exam.
I've also been impressed when I see the Cumbrae yachts running their practical courses round the Clyde. Looking from the outside, they come into most of the usual Clyde haunts, and always seem to be interested in giving everyone a go whilst letting you enjoy your time on the water.
A long weekend on Summerled of Cumbrae doing your competent crew may be a good starting point for you (and your boys depending on their ages)
I would second the Crinan canal route also, its maybe not so adventurous but the kids will love it, mine did.
My two are now 9 and 12 and we've had the boat about five years now. Don't regret a minute of it and I don't think you will either if you approach it in the right way.
I did my day skipper during the winter at the nautical college in Glasgow. Tuesday or Thursday evening right through the winter.
They started by stating that, "notwithstanding the course, their aim was to impact enough knowledge on you so you could go out on the Clyde in a small boat without being a danger to yourself."
I would thoroughly recommend this over a fast track course driven at getting you through the exam.
I've also been impressed when I see the Cumbrae yachts running their practical courses round the Clyde. Looking from the outside, they come into most of the usual Clyde haunts, and always seem to be interested in giving everyone a go whilst letting you enjoy your time on the water.
A long weekend on Summerled of Cumbrae doing your competent crew may be a good starting point for you (and your boys depending on their ages)
I would second the Crinan canal route also, its maybe not so adventurous but the kids will love it, mine did.
My two are now 9 and 12 and we've had the boat about five years now. Don't regret a minute of it and I don't think you will either if you approach it in the right way.
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Sgeir
Well-Known Member
Just a little word about the Crinan Canal, because I slightly disagree with an esteemed forumite above. It's fine, nae probs, two adults can easily manage without assistance and there is no need for a pilot, although normally you'll probably find that you're going through in the company of other boats so the work is shared anyway.
The two person trick is quite simple - two two long lines leading back to the cockpit (we run the bow line through a block that takes it back to a winch in the cockpit). The skipper does the technical work and controls the lines from the cockpit, while, errmmm, the crew do the unskilled stuff - winding sluices up and down and opening closing the gates; efficient division of labour imho. Easy peasy, but I'm sure others may have better methods. I'll admit it's quite pleasant but can be bit boring after a couple of transits. If weather permits the MoK is always to be preferred, imho.
The downside about the canal is that, very occasionally, you'll get bad behaviour from another boat that's in a rush - tempers can get frayed and gelcoat can be slightly damaged. On gelcoat - fit a plank over the outside of your fenders - the is a spectacularly uneven surface in one of the locks.
The two person trick is quite simple - two two long lines leading back to the cockpit (we run the bow line through a block that takes it back to a winch in the cockpit). The skipper does the technical work and controls the lines from the cockpit, while, errmmm, the crew do the unskilled stuff - winding sluices up and down and opening closing the gates; efficient division of labour imho. Easy peasy, but I'm sure others may have better methods. I'll admit it's quite pleasant but can be bit boring after a couple of transits. If weather permits the MoK is always to be preferred, imho.
The downside about the canal is that, very occasionally, you'll get bad behaviour from another boat that's in a rush - tempers can get frayed and gelcoat can be slightly damaged. On gelcoat - fit a plank over the outside of your fenders - the is a spectacularly uneven surface in one of the locks.
robertt
Well-Known Member
Just a quick question re buying a boat, I have looked at the websites of Kip Marina boat sales and Euroyachts, where else is there reasonably local that I should be looking for a used sailboat?
EuanMcKenzie
Well-Known Member
the internet
western-horizon.co.uk
appollo duck
all the marina brokerages etc
Also the clubs,boatyards and marinas scattered round the Clyde area
The cheaper marinas and yards tend to have the smaller boats
try getting a copy of the welcome anchorages book through yachting life (its a free down load) and follow the links from there.
western-horizon.co.uk
appollo duck
all the marina brokerages etc
Also the clubs,boatyards and marinas scattered round the Clyde area
The cheaper marinas and yards tend to have the smaller boats
try getting a copy of the welcome anchorages book through yachting life (its a free down load) and follow the links from there.
Spyro
Well-Known Member
www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk and even ebay or gumtree. You don't mention what your budget is but a lot of the marina brokerages wont touch anything below £10k.
One of the forumites at Kip is selling his Ecume de Mer at a good price but his ad has been removed from Boatsand outboards so it might be gone. If I remember right it was between £5K -£6K.
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RabT
Active Member
Take it easy!
I was in the same situation about 1 year 6 months ago: I had an ambition to sail to Northern Ireland (no connection whatsoever) but I had never been on a sailboat in my life.
After doing some research, I did Competent Crew (sea-sick on my first day, did not know my port from my starboard...) and got the Day Skipper ticket a few months after that.
I then got a boat (Albin Vega) and a mooring in the Clyde. Timing was perfect, April 1st 2011 start.
Last season was my first and managed to do about 750m until mid-October, single-handed pretty much all of the time, on my own boat. I did not leave the Clyde, but got as far as Campbeltown, Tarbert/Portavadie and Greenock from Troon. And plenty of trips to Arran, Bute and Cumbraes of course.
Trust me: you will have plenty of options and "excitement" in the Clyde for your first year. Rounding the Mull should not be under-estimated, more so for novices like us. This season my big target is to make it to Northern Ireland single-handed and visit a few places there. I would not have been able to do that if I had not clocked the miles in "safe waters" first.
I strongly recommend you do CC and DS first to find out if you will like it before buying anything, and do lots of research on the boats you are likely to buy and talk to lots of people. It is very easy to make a mistake.
Some good advice in the posts above, but if you want to chat with a novice feel free to PM me. Good luck!
I was in the same situation about 1 year 6 months ago: I had an ambition to sail to Northern Ireland (no connection whatsoever) but I had never been on a sailboat in my life.
After doing some research, I did Competent Crew (sea-sick on my first day, did not know my port from my starboard...) and got the Day Skipper ticket a few months after that.
I then got a boat (Albin Vega) and a mooring in the Clyde. Timing was perfect, April 1st 2011 start.
Last season was my first and managed to do about 750m until mid-October, single-handed pretty much all of the time, on my own boat. I did not leave the Clyde, but got as far as Campbeltown, Tarbert/Portavadie and Greenock from Troon. And plenty of trips to Arran, Bute and Cumbraes of course.
Trust me: you will have plenty of options and "excitement" in the Clyde for your first year. Rounding the Mull should not be under-estimated, more so for novices like us. This season my big target is to make it to Northern Ireland single-handed and visit a few places there. I would not have been able to do that if I had not clocked the miles in "safe waters" first.
I strongly recommend you do CC and DS first to find out if you will like it before buying anything, and do lots of research on the boats you are likely to buy and talk to lots of people. It is very easy to make a mistake.
Some good advice in the posts above, but if you want to chat with a novice feel free to PM me. Good luck!
uxb
Well-Known Member
As has been said a quick check of the Clyde Marina sites will give you an idea of whats for sale- if you go looking take along a mate who knows about boats....another pair of eyes is very useful for a sense check of anything that catches your eye.
Quandary
Well-Known Member
Couple of points re responses above
1. Scottish Canals (formerly B.W. which now only exists in England/Wales) have undertaken to provide assistance with locks to shorthanded (2 or less) boats this year. However I have some doubts about it working effectively when the Canal gets busy, but if you have plenty of time no problem, pilots are still available and operating for those who want an expert service.
2. Fender planks can and often do get caught in the gates as you pass them, causing the odd bit of damage to bows and pulpits as you are swung into them so they need great care in use, I prefer a skirt behind big fat fenders.
If anyone is buying and wants a bargain it appears that about half the boats out here are on the market just now, few of them with big brokers, so if you fancy a UFO 27, a Folkboat or others in the sub 33 ft size there are lots of guys out here in the sticks just wanting to give up and keen to sell.
1. Scottish Canals (formerly B.W. which now only exists in England/Wales) have undertaken to provide assistance with locks to shorthanded (2 or less) boats this year. However I have some doubts about it working effectively when the Canal gets busy, but if you have plenty of time no problem, pilots are still available and operating for those who want an expert service.
2. Fender planks can and often do get caught in the gates as you pass them, causing the odd bit of damage to bows and pulpits as you are swung into them so they need great care in use, I prefer a skirt behind big fat fenders.
If anyone is buying and wants a bargain it appears that about half the boats out here are on the market just now, few of them with big brokers, so if you fancy a UFO 27, a Folkboat or others in the sub 33 ft size there are lots of guys out here in the sticks just wanting to give up and keen to sell.
PeteCooper
Well-Known Member
Still for sale Ian - I paid for an advert on B&O and the paid adverts seem to have a finite life whereas the free ones go on forever.
It's still on Apolloduck - I'll put it back on B&O soon.
