Cuan Sound

[Deleted member 36384]

.. and here's what it looks like when the wind gets up:

View attachment 72400


View attachment 72401

Easdale isn’t an alternative to Cuan. And in a bumpy westerly just looks like a way to stay closer to a rocky lee shore for longer?
Antares Charts has surveyed Easdale as well. Doesn’t look too attractive to me, with narrow safe entrance at East side, and quite a lot of rock extending into the channel side of the Red pillar on the West side.
But generally we shoot up and down the Sound of Luing then pass safely West of this.

No sensible navigator would attempt Easdale passage in anything other than predictable conditions. In strong winds, as we know, the whole area is risky with wind over tide problems being significant as well as exacerbated by overfalls. They are dangerous waters.

 

[Quandary]

No sensible navigator would attempt Easdale passage in anything other than predictable conditions. In strong winds, as we know, the whole area is risky with wind over tide problems being significant as well as exacerbated by overfalls. They are dangerous waters.

That's me told then, haven't done it this year in the benign conditions we have experienced but like Webby in the past when battering in to a SSW heading for the Sound of Luing I have nipped through there, I reckoned it saved about half an hour of very bouncy motoring. Of course a proper sailor would grind in his sheets hard and beat down the outside but our dog hates that. I admit that we did touch once resulting in a dent in the lead about the size of your fist but a bit of hammering next winter soon fixed it.

 

[steve yates]

I was thinking that as well, but then remember that many do it that are not local and don't have local knowledge. With a bit of care, decent pilotage that is more than watching the plotter, it is quite doable.

An old chart that shows the dangers https://maps.nls.uk/view/101953133

feck! i've been through there about 6 times and didn't know half those hazards were there

 

[Deleted member 36384]

That's me told then, ....

Not at all, it depends on how one defines 'predictable'.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I was thinking that as well, but then remember that many do it that are not local and don't have local knowledge. With a bit of care, decent pilotage that is more than watching the plotter, it is quite doable.

I agree. My small crew took me through, north to south, last time. My briefing: Aim between the first two perches, keeping closer to the Seil one than the Easdale one. Miss the boats. Go down the face of the steamer pier, past the third perch and keep on that course until you're well clear. Then head for Cuan. I'm not sure what is supposed to be complicated about it, though I agree that it would be well avoided in bad weather.

An old chart that shows the dangers https://maps.nls.uk/view/101953133

Well, sort of. A lot has changed since then. Mid Rock is marked with a CCC perch, South Rock is now part of Easdale Island (thanks to slate waste tipping) and forms the north entrance to the wee harbour and East Rock is inshore of the old pier head, so you'd have to try quite hard to hit it. That leaves only North Rock, which is easily missed by keeping east of Mid Rock, and 6 Feet Rock which you won't hit of you don't turn to or from the west too suddenly at the south end.

The other big change over the past 30 years or so is that - perhaps because of scouring - Mid Rock is now easily passable on both sides. though going to the west can raise issues with North Rock. The old CCC books (hardback to first softback) show a shallow patch all the way from Mid Rock to Easdale.

By the way, this seems like a suitable time to mention again that despite missing from Welcome Anchorages, the visitor buoy is still there. Yellow hippo beside the steamer pier. Pay at the Puffer or at the ferry hut on Easdale.

 

[webcraft]

Easdale isn’t an alternative to Cuan. And in a bumpy westerly just looks like a way to stay closer to a rocky lee shore for longer?
Antares Charts has surveyed Easdale as well. Doesn’t look too attractive to me, with narrow safe entrance at East side, and quite a lot of rock extending into the channel side of the Red pillar on the West side.
But generally we shoot up and down the Sound of Luing then pass safely West of this.

I didn't say Easdale Sound was an alternative to Cuan - it is a more comfortable passage between the Sound of Inch and Cuan Sound in boisterous conditions, saving maybe 15 minutes of unpleasant conditions round the S of Easdale.

If you think the E. side entrance is safe then perhaps you should not attempt it. The safe channel is maybe 20m wide. The W entrance is easy though even in big seas if you know what you are doing. If coming from the North take the corner wide and aim at the red mark until maybe 100m off it, then - especially at low water - tuck in and pass closer to the green mark than the red and you will be alright.

(All estimates and not to be used for navigation . . . )

- W

 

[A1Sailor]

Well, sort of. A lot has changed since then. Mid Rock is marked with a CCC perch, South Rock is now part of Easdale Island (thanks to slate waste tipping) and forms the north entrance to the wee harbour and East Rock is inshore of the old pier head, so you'd have to try quite hard to hit it. That leaves only North Rock, which is easily missed by keeping east of Mid Rock, and 6 Feet Rock which you won't hit of you don't turn to or from the west too suddenly at the south end.

Pedant.
Good to see there is a "place to throw ballast".:encouragement:

 

[webcraft]

I agree. My small crew took me through, north to south, last time. My briefing: Aim between the first two perches, keeping closer to the Seil one than the Easdale one. Miss the boats. Go down the face of the steamer pier, past the third perch and keep on that course until you're well clear. Then head for Cuan. I'm not sure what is supposed to be complicated about it, though I agree that it would be well avoided in bad weather..

Most groundings in Easdale sound have been caused by Eastbound boats leaving the red mark to port. Other boats have grounded on the rock at the S side of the E. end because they have not taken a line close enough to the steamer pier (20m off or less)

I've been going through Easdale Sound (and Cuan) regularly for 15 years, but I still don't take either passage for granted.

- W

 

[dunedin]

Most groundings in Easdale sound have been caused by Eastbound boats leaving the red mark to port. Other boats have grounded on the rock at the S side of the E. end because they have not taken a line close enough to the steamer pier

Perhaps understandable that people might try to leave a red mark to Port when broadly heading in from open waters towards land. And it looks like the BA2386 doesn’t show any direction of buoyage for this channel.
Is this a dastardly trick to reverse the buoyage to confuse the non locals?

Any channel which has the term “most groundings” applied is certainly a little suspect. :nonchalance:

As usual Antares helps if wanted to go through Easdale, but never appealed so far (though done quite a few other rocky channels in Baltic and elsewhere on the West - including plenty of Cuan)

 

[agurney]

.. As usual Antares helps if wanted to go through Easdale, but never appealed so far (though done quite a few other rocky channels in Baltic and elsewhere on the West - including plenty of Cuan)

It's [usually] fairly sheltered and out of the swell, so is a convenient place to wait for a favourable tide.

 

[webcraft]

Perhaps understandable that people might try to leave a red mark to Port when broadly heading in from open waters towards land. And it looks like the BA2386 doesn’t show any direction of buoyage for this channel.
Is this a dastardly trick to reverse the buoyage to confuse the non locals?

Any channel which has the term “most groundings” applied is certainly a little suspect. :nonchalance:

As usual Antares helps if wanted to go through Easdale, but never appealed so far (though done quite a few other rocky channels in Baltic and elsewhere on the West - including plenty of Cuan)

The scale of Antares in Easdale (and off the Cleit rock for that matter) is so large and the area so small that you are through it (with your eyes off the hazards and on the plotter) before you realise it.

Direction of buoyage is always with the flood, unless entering a harbour . . . anyone who doesn't know the flood runs West and North in this area should probably stay away! However, I agree - the markers at the W end of Easdale Sound could be misread by someone who was unfamiliar with the area and hadn't looked at a chart . . . in which case, they probably shouldn't be there.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Perhaps understandable that people might try to leave a red mark to Port when broadly heading in from open waters towards land. And it looks like the BA2386 doesn’t show any direction of buoyage for this channel.
Is this a dastardly trick to reverse the buoyage to confuse the non locals?

It's not that long since they changed things. There is a handwritten note to myself in my A4 CCC boat (bought in 1990, I think) to say that the perches shown as black are now red and those shown as red are now green.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Direction of buoyage is always with the flood, unless entering a harbour . . . anyone who doesn't know the flood runs West and North in this area should probably stay away! However, I agree - the markers at the W end of Easdale Sound could be misread by someone who was unfamiliar with the area and hadn't looked at a chart . . . in which case, they probably shouldn't be there.

Two issues, I think. (1) The green one is not easy to spot if you don't know where to look for it and is often red with rust (2) Going the wrong side of the red one doesn't matter at once, as long as you are not too close, but can set you up for a character builing encounter with North Rock. That said, if you know what to look for and what to do when you see it, there really isn't anything to worry about - it's nice and straightforward. I agree completely about the outside route - on more than one occasions I've climbed Big Hill and see yachts having a hell of a time getting past on the outside when the inside route was fine.

 

[lpdsn]

Direction of buoyage is always with the flood, unless entering a harbour . . .

Does that mean there are harbours where the flood comes out?

 

[agurney]

Does that mean there are harbours where the flood comes out?

Does Lamlash Harbour count?

 

[lpdsn]

Does Lamlash Bay count?

Not really, it's just a sound pretending to a harbour.

Bouyage still goes with the flood through it.

 

[agurney]

Not really, it's just a sound pretending to a harbour.

Bouyage still goes with the flood through it.

So, no different to Easdale then.

 

[lpdsn]

So, no different to Easdale then.

Just the same as Lamlash. But if you think of a harbour with one entrance where the flood comes out let me know. I've always wanted to know where the tide comes from.

 

[[2574]]

Well, we are no longer Cuan virgins.

We left Kerrera a little late so had no choice but to motor directly in to a 25kt S breeze over the ebb tide - 30kts over the deck. Not pleasant.

As we passed through the Sound of Insh I looked longingly at the quiet water in Easdale Sound and indeed there was a motor-sailor just passing through. But in the conditions it didn't seem to be the right place for a newbie. So we pressed on south and rounded Easdale. When we turned east the sea state improved and as we closed Cuan Sound it improved further.

We arrived at Cuan Sound in the last half an hour of ebb. Not too much tide to worry about, maybe a couple of knots. Identifying the perch on Cleit Rock took a minute or two. I had Antares charts running so picked the mid-channel and passed through very easily. I was expecting more of a tidal push on to the rock than there actually was - just late in the ebb I expect. The anchorages to the south looked cosy - but that for another day.

Leaving Cuan Sound in to Seil Sound very straightforward - mind the rock at the point of Torsa.

So, given my choice I'd have had a nice 12kts of warm breeze and blue sky - but that's asking too much. Other than that it wasnt too bad - I wouldn't recommend a newbie taking it at the top of the ebb; it would all happen rather quickly!

Now tucked up at Kilmelford Yacht Haven - which is very nice indeed.

Thanks for your earlier advices/reassurances one and all.

Rob

 

[claymore]

Well, we are no longer Cuan virgins.

We left Kerrera a little late so had no choice but to motor directly in to a 25kt S breeze over the ebb tide - 30kts over the deck. Not pleasant.

As we passed through the Sound of Insh I looked longingly at the quiet water in Easdale Sound and indeed there was a motor-sailor just passing through. But in the conditions it didn't seem to be the right place for a newbie. So we pressed on south and rounded Easdale. When we turned east the sea state improved and as we closed Cuan Sound it improved further.

We arrived at Cuan Sound in the last half an hour of ebb. Not too much tide to worry about, maybe a couple of knots. Identifying the perch on Cleit Rock took a minute or two. I had Antares charts running so picked the mid-channel and passed through very easily. I was expecting more of a tidal push on to the rock than there actually was - just late in the ebb I expect. The anchorages to the south looked cosy - but that for another day.

Leaving Cuan Sound in to Seil Sound very straightforward - mind the rock at the point of Torsa.

So, given my choice I'd have had a nice 12kts of warm breeze and blue sky - but that's asking too much. Other than that it wasnt too bad - I wouldn't recommend a newbie taking it at the top of the ebb; it would all happen rather quickly!

Now tucked up at Kilmelford Yacht Haven - which is very nice indeed.

Thanks for your earlier advices/reassurances one and all.

Rob

Give David McColl a kiss from me....