Ramsay Isle of Man?? or Douglas? Or Kirkudbright?

Richard10002

Richard10002

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From Morecambe Bay, thinking of a trip to The Clyde in early April, and would like to daysail, rather than overnight in the cold.

Considering Isle of Man, Bangor, Firth of Clyde.

How sensible would it be to overnight at Ramsay, or even anchor off?

44ft, 1.5m shoal keel with a big bulb on the bottom, (flat'ish bottomed bulb). Not too sure you would want to rest on the rudder?

Douglas is obviously straightforward .... can you still tie up to the pontoon at the end of the breakwater, (like the old days), or do you have to go into the marina?

Alternative route could be Whitehaven, Kirkudbright, Portpatrick, Firth of Clyde.

Any info on Ramsay and Douglas, and also thoughts on the route welcomed.

Many Thanks

Richard
 
Richard10002 said:
How sensible would it be to overnight at Ramsay, or even anchor off?

44ft, 1.5m shoal keel with a big bulb on the bottom, (flat'ish bottomed bulb). Not too sure you would want to rest on the rudder? ...

Alternative route could be Whitehaven, Kirkudbright, Portpatrick, Firth of Clyde.

Any info on Ramsay and Douglas, and also thoughts on the route welcomed.
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Ramsey harbour is all drying, with a nice solid albeit a little muddy bottom. In suitable conditions it's possible to anchor off (but not land on) Queen's Pier, and I believe they have visitors' moorings there in the summer - I've seen them in the past.

There seems to be useful information at http://iomcruising.info/isle_of_man_north_and_east.htm

Kirkcudbright (where I'm based) has plenty of visitors' berths. At 1.5m you may be pushing it for depth at LWS, but it shouldn't be worse than a slight squidge into soft mud. Currents in the river can be quite strong (5kt+ springs with Tongland Power station at full chat) and it's worth remembering that slack water is well before high tide and well after low tide. The approach from Ross Island is tortuous but well buoyed. The harbour master is very friendly and helpful.

If it's just an overnight stop you might instead anchor behind Ross Island - good shelter and much handier for setting off next morning. Other possibilities might be Carsethorn near the entrance to the Nith (visitors' mooring) and Isle of Whithorn (anchor off).

if I were you, though, I'd go via the Isle of Man.
 
Within Ramsey will mean drying out aganist a wall. Some while since I was there last, but the fishing boats were spread out much more than earlier times, making available wall space more difficult to find. N. side below the bridge is less populated, but less water.
AFAIK, Douglas Outer Harbour pontoon still exists, in season, used as a waiting pontoon for the Marina, or for an overnight stay, not in NE'ly though.
What about Port St. Mary? Very yacht friendly. All-tide visitors moorings against the outer harbour wall, not in strong NW'ly though.
Or the W. coast, Peel is very nice, esp if the wind is E'ly
There is an excellent anchorage close E. of Mull of Galloway to await the tide.
Don't use Portpatrick if strong SW'ly is expected, go up the Irish coast.
Edit, just noticed your early April departure. Various IOM visitors' buoys and Douglas outer pontoon might not be in position, best to check with HM, but you can tie up to a wall in Douglas.
 
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Richard10002 said:
From Morecambe Bay, thinking of a trip to The Clyde in early April, and would like to daysail, rather than overnight in the cold.

Considering Isle of Man, Bangor, Firth of Clyde.

How sensible would it be to overnight at Ramsay, or even anchor off?

44ft, 1.5m shoal keel with a big bulb on the bottom, (flat'ish bottomed bulb). Not too sure you would want to rest on the rudder?

Douglas is obviously straightforward .... can you still tie up to the pontoon at the end of the breakwater, (like the old days), or do you have to go into the marina?

Alternative route could be Whitehaven, Kirkudbright, Portpatrick, Firth of Clyde.

Any info on Ramsay and Douglas, and also thoughts on the route welcomed.

Many Thanks

Richard
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Douglas pontoon still OK. Can be a bit of wash from ferries, but otherwise sound except in NE blow. In westerlies/settled conditions, can anchor off Laxey or Ramsey. In April, that might be a long-shot.

Do consider Glen Arm on the Antrim coast as alternative to Portpatrick, esp in strong westerlies. Perfect shelter, lovely setting, cheap marina.

Note that if you're tempted to buy Imray's otherwise handy new pilot to the Irish Sea (the only one to cover both sides), the info about IoM tidal streams is garbage.
 
macd said:
Do consider Glen Arm on the Antrim coast as alternative to Portpatrick, esp in strong westerlies. Perfect shelter, lovely setting, cheap marina.
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Though in another current thread several people have given Glenarm as an example of a throughly unpleasant place to visit, particularly, it seems, when the RUYC are around. Then again, I found Carnlough a nice place to go but it often provoke sucking through teeth - partly, I suspect, because it's not a marina.

Note that if you're tempted to buy Imray's otherwise handy new pilot to the Irish Sea (the only one to cover both sides), the info about IoM tidal streams is garbage.
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I bought that and gave some feedback on a thread here. Layout is dreadful, coverage is lousy (neither Carnlough nor Ravenglass exist), details are often scanty, the ordering is peculiar and now, it seems, important things are wrong. Are other Imray pilots as bad?
 
Glenarm, surely its not on a route to the Clyde from the south, unless you intend taking the tide north and coming down through the Crinan Canal. Carnlough in the same bay but even further north, is even more rarely dredged now and unlike the secure marina at Glenarm you may be subject to some abuse or a few rocks if you forget to hide your red ( or blue) ensign.
I am not sure why all the members of RUYC have been singled out for opprobrium, Sir Thomas Lipton was one when the English clubs would not admit someone who was 'in trade'.
 
I better qualify what I said about Carnlough as I do not want to tarnish the reputation of all the Antrim coast. Carnlough is a slightly downmarket holiday village with a lot of caravans. (It does have quite a good hotel near the harbour) In summer it attracts a substantial influx from Belfast's Falls Road, particularly at weekends, it is oddly polarized for an Antrim coastal village but the locals are not the problem, so it is fine out of season. Some of the youth can get bored or drunk and by tradition their main hobby has been throwing stones, a boat flying a Union flag is an ideal target.
 
Quandary said:
I better qualify what I said about Carnlough as I do not want to tarnish the reputation of all the Antrim coast. Carnlough is a slightly downmarket holiday village with a lot of caravans. (It does have quite a good hotel near the harbour) In summer it attracts a substantial influx from Belfast's Falls Road, particularly at weekends, it is oddly polarized for an Antrim coastal village but the locals are not the problem, so it is fine out of season. Some of the youth can get bored or drunk and by tradition their main hobby has been throwing stones, a boat flying a Union flag is an ideal target.
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Ah. Perhaps my Scottish Ensign protected me ...
 
Douglas is the no brainer, or possibly Peel if you can get the tides right for the lock.

The entrance into Port Patrick is a bit tight and strong currents can run past, so less you've got loads of power, check what the tides doing, then you sort of crab in.
 
mlthomas said:
I’ve used the bouys outside Ramsey before, access all tides, or you could go round the top and onto Peel although I believe this is tidal.
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Peel outer harbour is tidal. Mooring buoys in season (absent at present -- I looked) but exposed to anything with much north in it. Inner harbour has cil so stays wet, accessible approx HW+/-2. Pontoons or lie against wall.

Note that all major IoM harbours now have fuel pumps alongside, although paying can be a bit of a rigmarole.
 
Ubergeekian said:
I bought that and gave some feedback on a thread here. Layout is dreadful, coverage is lousy (neither Carnlough nor Ravenglass exist), details are often scanty, the ordering is peculiar and now, it seems, important things are wrong. Are other Imray pilots as bad?
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I must declare an interest (not that it stopped my earlier criticism): the boss of Imray has been a friend for 40 years. In general I'd say Imray pilots are excellent. But the IoM stuff in the new Irish Sea pilot is dated, incomplete and sometimes plain wrong.

Perhaps the most glaring error is re tidal flows on IoM W coast. These divide at Contrary Head just S of Peel, then more-or-less follow the coast. Pilot book claims they flow TO the Head when the tide is making, whereas the opposite is the case. Claimed flow timings through Calf Sound are also in error.
 
Thanks macd, we were planning to go across to Ramsey over either of the next two weekends for a bit more time on the water before doing the coastal skipper exam later in March – would give us a bit of a moment if we turned up at night looking for something that wasn’t there.
Plan B being worked up now
Cheers
Mark
 
The inside of Peel Breakwater is available at all states of the tide provided that you can find room amongst the fishing boats. Not if wind is in the N. though.
 
earlybird said:
The inside of Peel Breakwater is available at all states of the tide provided that you can find room amongst the fishing boats. Not if wind is in the N. though.
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...and if you must moor alongside a fishing boat, I can recommend PL1. They take more care of your lines than you do. They once left from inside me, tied me back up sound as a pound (this was a while ago), and didn't even wake me.
 
macd said:
I presume you meant the mooring buoys, but can confirm that the Isle of Man's still here, too. Can't speak for Ramsey, though -- it's practically a different country, way up there.
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Ramsey's still there and hanging on by its fingernails. Or at least it was last Saturday.
 
Regarding the tidal streams round the Isle of Man, the Manx Sailing and Cruising Club (Ramsey) published 12 page leaflet giving the streams all round the island hour by hour. I'm not sure if it is still in print, but Manx members might confirm. I've used it for the last 35 years, and if doing a circumnavigation, it is invaluable.
Dave
 
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islecastle1 said:
Regarding the tidal streams round the Isle of Man, the Manx Sailing and Cruising Club (Ramsey) published 12 page leaflet giving the streams all round the island hour by hour. I'm not sure if it is still in print, but Manx members might confirm. I've used it for the last 35 years, and if doing a circumnavigation, it is invaluable.
Dave
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The booklet was out of print. However if you go to www.gov.im/transport/harbours/tides.xml you'll see similar tidal streams chartlets reproduced from something I knocked up a few years ago. (I'd have mentioned this before, but had no idea it was there until I asked mr Google.)
 
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