Largs to Loch Linnhe-rounding Mull of Kintyre

[Mark-1]

snip

Forgive my ignorance, but the Chart suggests the disturbed water only extends a mile and a half offshore at the Lighthouse. At that point isn't it better to stay out in the 120m water?

Or are people just choosing to stay in the disturbed water to carry more favorable tide?

 

[dunedin]

What app is that you use to record your GPX tracks?

Standard feature of Raymarine plotter - in this case a 9 year old e7. Just save tracks onto SD card and load onto home PC.

I have a full track of the boat’s 18,500 miles we have done, printed and framed each year as “the story so far”.

 

[Minerva]

Standard feature of Raymarine plotter - in this case a 9 year old e7. Just save tracks onto SD card and load onto home PC.

I have a full track of the boat’s 18,500 miles we have done, printed and framed each year as “the story so far”.

Nice! I was planning on doing something similar on the wall of my office but hadn't thought of a tidy way of doing it.

 

[dunedin]

Forgive my ignorance, but the Chart suggests the disturbed water only extends a mile and a half offshore at the Lighthouse. At that point isn't it better to stay out in the 120m water?

Or are people just choosing to stay in the disturbed water to carry more favorable tide?

Probably yes, keeping a couple of miles off would help and that or more essential if attempting in bad weather. Watch out for the TSS boundaries (though rarely see a ship in it).
We always go round with gentle forecasts - wind strength, direction and sea state no more than slight - so generally there is a convoy closish to the shore, and rarely gone very wide. (Did go very wide once on a big boat in a F9 increasing F10+).

 

[[193211]]

Good YT video of the inner passage on what looks like a pretty calm day. “Wallop” point seems to be near the lighthouse.

 

[awol]

The lighthouse is well round the corner and I, for one, have a tendency to think I'm round before I am and get closer to the shore. In my boat when the line of surf appears it is too late to get out beyond it though I've never actually tried to reverse my track. The travelling water is going to take me there no matter what. My preference is for the mini water spouts that can form - tend to wake up any dozing crew when they land.

 

[Mark-1]

Good YT video of the inner passage on what looks like a pretty calm day. “Wallop” point seems to be near the lighthouse.

Well yes, but we've just established it's not essential to use the inner passage. The overfalls only extend about 1.5 miles, it looks like you can choose to just sail round the worst of it without adding that much time to the passage. Presumably you can also avoid the overfalls North of Sanda by errr, not going North of Sanda.

I understand people want the fastest favorable tide and don't want to lengthen their trip too much but those aren't essential.

 

[Whaup367]

I haven't done this trip frequently but when planning it I have thought the difference a few extra feet of waterline made seemed significant: the effect of a period of 3 knot adverse tide is dramatically different between planning (e g.) a 4 knot passage and a six knot one...
In addition- in March, the tide has to be "right" to make the passage in daylight, especially in a slower boat.

It's a trip that's very straightforward for an experienced skipper in a biggish boat with fair winds. In a small boat with a less effective engine it could be challenging, especially if the weather is uncooperative.

 

[[2574]]

As someone who sails a wee 23ft boat, this thread is giving me sweaty palms.

I’ve always wanted to sail from the Clyde to Gigha via the MoK but I might save that plan for the next boat.

On the upside, I can present this new information to the “minister of finance” as further supporting evidence for the purchase of a bigger boat.

We sail a 44ft Malo, when we had our last standing wave wallop (eastbound) we had green water run up the deck and hit the cockpit screen. It was just one wave, calm before and after, the whole wallop lasted no more than a minute.

 

[[193211]]

Well yes, but we've just established it's not essential to use the inner passage. The overfalls only extend about 1.5 miles, it looks like you can choose to just sail round the worst of it without adding that much time to the passage. Presumably you can also avoid the overfalls North of Sanda by errr, not going North of Sanda.

I understand people want the fastest favorable tide and don't want to lengthen their trip too much but those aren't essential.







View attachment 170535

According to the Admiralty atlas, there’s a W stream and an E stream occurring at the same time in Sanda Sound through much of the tide. Where your proposed route tracks the 50m contour it looks particularly disturbed. Maybe you’d have to go outside Sanda and therefore spend a significantly greater amount of time in unpleasant waters? The time from Arranman Barrels to the lighthouse looks about 50mins. Less time spent in a dangerous area = less risk? Perhaps that’s why the inner passage is popular?

 

[[193211]]

We sail a 44ft Malo, when we had our last standing wave wallop (eastbound) we had green water run up the deck and hit the cockpit screen. It was just one wave, calm before and after, the whole wallop lasted no more than a minute.

That would be “up periscope” territory for me.

 

[Mark-1]

According to the Admiralty atlas, there’s a W stream and an E stream occurring at the same time in Sanda Sound through much of the tide. Where your proposed route tracks the 50m contour it looks particularly disturbed. Maybe you’d have to go outside Sanda and therefore spend a significantly greater amount of time in unpleasant waters? The time from Arranman Barrels to the lighthouse looks about 50mins. Less time spent in a dangerous area = less risk? Perhaps that’s why the inner passage is popular?

As I said maybe it's better to go South of Sandra too. Or hit the worst overalls at slack tide. There seem to be plenty of options, I wouldn't rule any of them out. (Including going straight through the overalls with a load of tide with me which seems to be what everyone actually does.)

 

[IanCC]

As I said maybe it's better to go South of Sandra too. Or hit the worst overalls at slack tide. There seem to be plenty of options, I wouldn't rule any of them out. (Including going straight through the overalls with a load of tide with me which seems to be what everyone actually does.)

I think it's a bizarre place. West to east this last summer timed to come around with a decent tide running and... nothing. Others there at same time, wasn't just me. I was close in and sea just south of light was boiling, very glad it was flat calm otherwise.
Next time for me sanda sound then stand off from the light a good way.

 

[[2574]]

Next time for me sanda sound then stand off from the light a good way.

I’m fast coming to the same conclusion, keeping just E of the SE corner of the TSS. It might just be a way of de-stressing the MoK. Something like this:

 

[IanCC]

I’m fast coming to the same conclusion, keeping just E of the SE corner of the TSS. It might just be a way of de-stressing the MoK. Something like this:

View attachment 170547

Agreed. Maybe no need to go as far out as tss, but be prepared to. When i came around there was a yacht shadowing me about 4 to 500 metres further out and it didn't look to me like the sea was disturbed where they were. But it probably varies from day to day.

 

[wully1]

Forgive my ignorance, but the Chart suggests the disturbed water only extends a mile and a half offshore at the Lighthouse. At that point isn't it better to stay out in the 120m water?

Or are people just choosing to stay in the disturbed water to carry more favorable tide?

When we got a ducking we were well offshore and patches of what looked like beach breaking waves were appearing in all over the place.Tried dodging round them a few times then ran straight into one. This was more or less off the headland at the south end of Machrihanish beach. It didn’t cover a big area and once past there it was a good sail to Gigha.
The lumpy area on the chart ot the Mull always seemed to be there, we call it ‘The Egg Boxes’ ‘cos that’s what they look like.. In clam weather you have an uncomfortable few minutes that may rinse off your deck but nothing worse. I personally wouldn’t choose to go in bad weather.
If you take the canal book a pilot, it makes it a very pleasant trip.

Edit : I have never seen a ship anywhere near the TSS , only vessels I’ve seen around there have been heading round the Irish coast to the south

 

[HamishMc]

I would like to thank everyone one of you super people , you have all responded with valuable information which is much appreciated . I will have to ponder a while and make a decision , my problem is , I think I have more balls than brains to I will also have to take
that into consideration

 

[awol]

I would like to thank everyone one of you super people , you have all responded with valuable information which is much appreciated . I will have to ponder a while and make a decision , my problem is , I think I have more balls than brains to I will also have to take
that into consideration

Old age will solve that problem!

 

[Martin&Rene]

I think most of the work on the canal is at the Crinan end. Give the canal a ring and see if you could stay in the dock at Ardrishaig until the canal opens.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Can’t comment on Ballachullish narrows as we don’t fit under the bridge!

Yes you can; be brave! 16m clearance above MHWS. MHWS is 4.4m at Corran so with your air draft of 18.8m and a safety margin of 1m you can get through with a low tide of 0.6m or lower. There's a minimum of 2.9m water depth in the approach which won't be a problem. I've got 0.7m more air draft so I'd only have 0.3m clearance which might twang the VHF aerial. You can go first