Portpatrick and Girvan

JumbleDuck said:
I went into Stranraer on the way south as a diversion from Portpatrick, which I would prefer not to enter in F5/6 from the west and 2m waves. Very nice people, but I completely failed in attempts to contact them in advance - I tried VHF and every phone number I could find all the way down Loch Ryan, mid-afternoon. The dredged areal down the side of the marina is very tight and I had a, cough, short delay waiting for the tide to rise ... inside the marked channel
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We did Brodick-Girvan-Wig Bay - Bangor - Peel a couple of years ago. Wig Bay - round the spit on your Starboard side on the way into Loch Ryan has quite decent shelter and a nice sandy bottom for anchoring. Girvan was OK, soft mud at low water, so the keel sat in that. A few eating houses and pubs within easy reach of the harbour. Had no plans to use Portpatrick as we spent a few days in Bangor/Belfast. If the weather was iffy coming up towards the North Channel, I'd be tempted to hide in Bangor or Glenarm for a break, as opposed to looking for shelter on the east side.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Roderick Leitch is the HM here (Girvan) and very helpful indeed. I believe he has been here a long time, so may well be the same as you met.
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Well known from Fishguard to Fishnish as being able to talk for Ayrshire. Even departing the harbour doesn't stop him. You can still hear him from the other side of Ailsa Craig. :)
 
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Storyline said:
On a practical note, I heard a rumour that the sand bar that had built up running across the inner harbour entrance was dredged when they built the new Lifeboat pontoon - anyone know if that is true ?
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That's the version I heard, and I've been in & out a couple of times since about HW+-3 with 2.1m draught and seemingly a metre or two to spare.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I went into Stranraer on the way south as a diversion from Portpatrick, which I would prefer not to enter in F5/6 from the west and 2m waves. Very nice people, but I completely failed in attempts to contact them in advance - I tried VHF and every phone number I could find all the way down Loch Ryan, mid-afternoon. The dredged areal down the side of the marina is very tight and I had a, cough, short delay waiting for the tide to rise ... inside the marked channel
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The HMs work quite short hours - not sure they even get a full working week so are probably paid as just part-timers.

Plenty of fingers on the first pontoon for visitors (nominally up to 12m but I know from experience they work for 13m) and you can go on the outside if bigger (up to 27m apparently) - I always think carefully about whether I might get caught on the outside of the first pontoon if the wind comes in strongly from the north.

And yes, the dredged channel is narrow - haven't got it wrong so far, but will keep trying.

They've also seemed to have solved the seagull problem on the pontoons - I used to have to warn crew they might go skating when stepping ashore - not to mention having to clean the shorepower cable upon departure.
 
We have never used Port Patrick as a passage harbour heading north or south, because of the relatively shallow entrance - and logistics of working the tides.
When heading Norh want to be using the most of the Ebb tide - so would arrive at low water. And heading South want to leave to catch the most of the Flood - so leaving again at low water.
So prefer not to stop there
 
dunedin said:
We have never used Port Patrick as a passage harbour heading north or south, because of the relatively shallow entrance - and logistics of working the tides.
When heading Norh want to be using the most of the Ebb tide - so would arrive at low water. And heading South want to leave to catch the most of the Flood - so leaving again at low water.
So prefer not to stop there
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Interesting line of thought - when we leave Douglas or Ramsey we aim to be at Pt of Ayre at high water to get flushed North - I think it's 17M to the Mull then another 2hrs or so. Never known a shortage of depth to enter. Claymore draws about 1.5m as did our previous boats. Tend not to stop going South.
 
dunedin said:
We have never used Port Patrick as a passage harbour heading north or south, because of the relatively shallow entrance - and logistics of working the tides.
When heading Norh want to be using the most of the Ebb tide - so would arrive at low water. And heading South want to leave to catch the most of the Flood - so leaving again at low water.
So prefer not to stop there
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On my way north I went round the Mull an hour after the tide turned and had it with me skill the way to Corsewall Pt, where I lost a knot till I was out in the mouth of Loch Ryan. Not wholly planned, but pleasing!
 
Claymore,

You've summed up my opinion of Portpatrick exactly. One of my favourite ports. Sadly I haven't been there for many years but really hope I can sail there again.

I've so many happy memories of experiences there.
 
Seajet said:
One thing to beware of is that the whole of Luce Bay can be used by the test range, anything from torpedos to air-launched rockets...
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Defunct now, I think, or at least dormant. Qinetic were trying to drum up business for the place ten years ago, but without success and it's mothballed. Not a great sailing loss, though a Luce Bay to Stranraer canal would be awful useful.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Defunct now, I think, or at least dormant. Qinetic were trying to drum up business for the place ten years ago, but without success and it's mothballed. Not a great sailing loss, though a Luce Bay to Stranraer canal would be awful useful.
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Fantastic idea - I know there would be a few locks going over Shap but an extension to the Lancaster Canal at Carnforth would be grand, would it not?
The best time we ever made was Fleetwood to Largs in 8 hrs. Towing, of course. It made me think that 25mph up the M74 was a sight better than 4kts up the Irish Sea.
Nearly went and bought a McGregor!
 
lpdsn said:
That's the version I heard, and I've been in & out a couple of times since about HW+-3 with 2.1m draught and seemingly a metre or two to spare.
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Just checked the tidal gauge web site and the ranges are;
Springs - 3.4m
Neaps - 2m
So if you entered at half tide & had a metre or two I would think it has certainly been dredged because we nearly touched at hw-4 at the entrance to the inner harbour in our previous boat which only drew 1.2m (this was 5 years ago).
 
claymore said:
.....
The best time we ever made was Fleetwood to Largs in 8 hrs. Towing, of course. It made me think that 25mph up the M74 was a sight better than 4kts up the Irish Sea.
.....
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Also got caught by the lure of the M74 - our best time was Liverpool-Gigha in 30 hours. Could have done it faster but that dammed IOM was always in the way.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Defunct now, I think, or at least dormant. Qinetic were trying to drum up business for the place ten years ago, but without success and it's mothballed. Not a great sailing loss, though a Luce Bay to Stranraer canal would be awful useful.
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Last I heard, the range is still active but not the home airfield; the range is not just for aircraft, some undersea things go on.

The canal via Stranraer is a neat idea, there's long been talk of a similar shortcut through Portland to skip out the tidal Race & general unpleasantness, it's a tiny distance but the tide ranges seem a problem; personally I'd think a lock or two would sort it out and make life a lot easier for the Coastguards & RNLI - maybe they veto the idea as they fear becoming redundant !
 
Used Port Patrick a couple of times going both ways, like most not to worried about water pontoons and showers but they do need to move the pigeons on. Had a snooze after a long hall to be woken by a pigeon in the cabin fluttering about.:disgust:

Pub across the road was good in the sunshine.

Tom
 
When sailing with a rather nervous skipper , he called up to ask how much water was in Portpatrick at half-tide.
The laconic reply from HM was " Well sir, I expect that there will be several million gallons"
 
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