Sailing West Coast of Scotland real life experiences please

xyachtdave

xyachtdave

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We need a change of scene for a while and are thinking of heading to the Firth of Clyde. I've had a look at the Imray chart C63 and it looks like plenty to do a day sail away along the coast with stunning scenery.

I'm used to the shallow East Coast and keep our boat on either a swinging mooring or marina, depending on how flush I'm feeling. The mooring is sheltered and I've never felt the need to use chain or anything really HD to keep the boat attached. Also the winters in the South (with the exception of 2 weeks in March this year) are quite tame with a bit of frost first thing and occasional gale being the only hazards.

Obviously the winters further north are much harsher, what's the realistic situation for keeping a boat in your end of the country? Do people stay in year round, or haul out earlier and launch a bit later, can you leave the rig up etc? You appear to get every storm the just misses our corner.

The ideal situation for us would be to join a yacht club with swinging mooring and safe storage ashore in the winter, looks like RCYC is the only option? Boat is 36' l and 6'6"d.

Probably worth mentioning although from the South East we're not snowflakes and the ruggedness of the area appeals, we just don't want to damage the boat overwintering it somewhere the locals know you shouldn't!

Any comments welcome, many thanks!
Dave
 
Most boats vacate their moorings by the end of September. It used to be one could rely on equinoxial gales but that seems to have changed. I have a swinging mooring at Royal Gourock YC - (Royal Clyde merged with Royal Northern quite a few years ago) - from April to September, then 3 months on a pontoon at James Watt Dock followed by 3 months ashore for fettling. JWD are happy for the rig to stay up, other yards, possibly without such substantial cradles, prefer the rig down. Some stay on their moorings but insurance companies tend not to like that.
Sailing just recently has been a matter of grabbing the good days at very short notice when I can - I live 70 miles from the boat - but definitely worth it.
If you have more questions feel free to PM me.
 
The Firth of Clyde is a great place to sail. It's not getting away from it all the way you would be if further north. Think of it as a bigger, prettier, more relaxed version of the Solent. I would say cheaper but I've not forgiven them for the £5 pint in Portavadie.

It's relatively sheltered, although the Mull of Kintyre is so fearsome they dug a ditch to avoid it. :) You do get gales and their stronger cousins but a lot of the time in Summer it is light airs sailing. You can get wind following the line of a Loch (particularly Loch Fyne) so you get more wind than forecast, but except when you head south the fetch isn't usually enough to make the seas too big.

I sailed a bit around the Medway a good while ago and I remember people being rather casual about the depth under the keel, so you will have to learn to be more cautious there. Scottish rocks don't jump out the way the way Medway mud does. But that said, nav is generally easy 95% of the time. Just avoid the trees and sheep.

Draught is no problem. I have 2.1m and I think it is only Irvine & Girvan where I've been put off by the depth.

I keep my boat in NI so can't contribute on storage.
 
We tend to make a distinction between 'the West Coast' and 'the Clyde' the latter is less exposed but less indented so there are fewer fully enclosed natural harbours and anchorages, quite a few marinas though where many boats stay afloat all year. The Clyde is fine for two or three seasons after that many folk like to get further west. I am finding it difficult to identify an all year location on the Clyde which has available mooring space, most of the Yacht Clubs like Gourock, Helensburgh etc. bring the boats ashore for the winter and all the best shelter is taken over by marinas. It can be cheapish though, at ABC it costs me £60 for a mast lift, £70 for boat craneage and not much more for 6 months storage in a yard with water and leccy, but to qualify you need to live within a 10 mile radius.
On the West Coast there are much more choices with good shelter though accessibility becomes an issue, Kilmelford or Dallen's bay have boats afloat on moorings all year.
Even exposed yards like Kerrera which use travel hoists leave masts up, but if you have been aboard a yacht ashore in a gale with the mast trying to shake the keel bolts out you might decide it is better down.
 
I would say that the Clyde area is not so dissimilar to the south coast in terms of facilities. I'm not familiar with all the moorings availability in the Clyde area (it's a bit too far south for me, except once in a while), and others will know of the availability of swing moorings, but they do exist. Get 'Welcome Anchorages' - www.welcome-anchorages.co.uk (which, despite its name, is actually moorings/marinas) and have a phone around.

Yes, the season is shorter, when I was on the Hamble my sailing season was defined by the clocks changing. Now, on the NW coast I reckon on sailing from mid/late April to late September; definitely out of the water by the first week of October.

Storage and mast - depends on the yard and whether you get a cradle. Almost certainly if no cradle - mast out (but don't you want to check fully check the mast once in a while anyway?).

Winters are not THAT much harsher. The whole area is blessed by the Gulf Stream, and snow is rare near the coast.

But why limit yourself to chart C63. If you are coming from the south, leave the Mull of Kintyre to starboard, and enjoy the real NW Scotland - that will put hairs on your chest!.
 
xyachtdave said:
Obviously the winters further north are much harsher
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Very much less than you suppose, Dave. In fact Kent probably gets rather more harsh winter weather than the Clyde. Minchsailor mentioned the Gulf Stream, which benefits the Scottish W coast but the Medway barely at all. The more noticeable effect will probably be the shorter winter days. Typically more sunny in Kent, too.

As chance would have it, today's isotherm map of the UK is not a bad example of common winter conditions. See here: https://www.carseweather.co.uk/ukisotherm.php
Note that the 8ºC isotherm goes through Glasgow and then down to Plymouth. Kent is around 5º colder.
 
Weather is not that cold on the west coast due to the gulf stream ,so frost and snow is less harsh than people think,
Ardrossan (Clyde Marina Do a great winter package and have cradles so mast stays up , mine did all last winter no issues, the Clyde area has many beautiful places to see and yes 2 to 3 seasons then head up the Crinan or round the Mull and be in Gods country , but you still have Arran , Millport ,Northern Ireland , up the sea lochs on the Upper Clyde, and Nuclear submarine spotting , you will also find it less crowded than down south and there is a large amount of overseas boats that come over from the Atlantic and the Baltic nations to enjoy the scenery and the sailing,
Head through the Crinan canal and you are in the inner Hebrides were sailing is sublime plenty of safe anchorages and great little towns to explore , you will also receive a very warm welcome.
 
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Aran from the West Kyle.

Winter sailing on the Clyde can be glorious. Days are short yes, but there are many places you can get to in 2 to 3 hours. The weather is often not much worse than in summer.
 
Have a look here. for info.
http://www.welcome-anchorages.co.uk/
As said it's a choice thing. Many leave their boats afloat all year round not many get used and many haul out for the winter because they need antifouling etc and just won't be used. It doesn't cost much more for an all year round berth in a marina with winter hard standing than just a summer season would cost. The marinas on the lower Clyde are the most expensive with Largs Topping the list for costs. Ardrossan (Clyde marina) will be around £1500 a year cheaper than Largs for a 36footer but It's a bit more exposed, troon also is. If you want cheaper consider Loch Fyne, Portavadie or Tarbert or Rothesay or Port Bannatyne on Bute but they all take longer to get to if you are driving from Down South.
The sailing can be stunning and the west coast or Ireland is within easy reach.
 
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xyachtdave said:
Obviously the winters further north are much harsher, what's the realistic situation for keeping a boat in your end of the country? Do people stay in year round, or haul out earlier and launch a bit later, can you leave the rig up etc? You appear to get every storm the just misses our corner.
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What they said, plus ...

At Port Bannatyne (where my boat is based) everybody is off the swinging moorings by the end of October. About half go ashore and half go into the marina, which fills up completely for the winter. The first few boats appear on moorings again in early May, but they don't really get populated fully until June. That may be a local thing - May often brings some nasty northeasterlies and Kames Bay is rather exposed in that direction.

The ideal situation for us would be to join a yacht club with swinging mooring and safe storage ashore in the winter, looks like RCYC is the only option? Boat is 36' l and 6'6"d.
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We're not great for yacht clubs in the south coast pink trizers, pink gin and pink face sense. The Royal Northern and Clyde has moorings on the Gareloch, and does a half-price deal for new members, but I think you have to go elsewhere for winter storage. Otherwise it's really roll-your-own. Swinging moorings are generally owned and administered through moorings associations, which makes it very cheap. I pay £45 pa to Port Bannatyne MA and another £100 for an annual inspection. Winters can then be ashore or in marinas.

Where to base probably depends on how you'll travel. From the south James Watt Dock is probably easiest by car, followed (round the coast) by Kip, Largs, Troon and Ardrossan. If you'd be flying to Glasgow, the airport has a bus link to Paisley Gilmour Street station with direct trains to Greenock (for JWD), Inverkip (for Kip), Largs (1 mile walk/taxi to the marina), Troon and Ardrossan. Rhu, the RNYC (next door) and the Gareloch generally are more of a pain by car or plane, but handy by train and you can get sleepers to and from London from Garelochhead or Helensburgh.

As Quandary says, the Clyde is fun and, I'd day, good for winters afloat. Scottish winter nights are long and cold, and the Clyde offers lots of short hops, particularly in the northern half. However, you'll probably want to head out to the hairy bits, either round the Mull of Kintyre or through the collapsing remains of the Crinan Canal, and once you're out you may want to stay there. I bring my boat back to the Clyde for winter convenience, as I live 100 miles further south, but I took my last boat through the canal for two weeks the first time, six weeks the second time and five years the third time ...
 
I’m a “first timer” berth holder in The Clyde, having had to find a new home following the demise of my previous, long term base (Holyhead).

Welcomes are always warm and friendly. Some of the most spectacular scenery that the UK has to offer. During the summer we travelled as far as Lough Foyle, Londonderry.

It’s certainly true that you should plan for 4 seasons of weather in any one day. That said, the many Whisky Distillery tours make good weather bound excursions.

My haul-out was earlier this week. Yard provided cradle is very robust, more so than my own which is still in north Wales. My mast remains up and I have nothing but respect for the Yard guys.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Swinging moorings are generally owned and administered through moorings associations, which makes it very cheap.
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To be clear, the hardware is the boat owner's and costs circa £1k if bought new, 2nd hand can be available. Where it is dropped is in the province of the mooring association, or the Crown Estates if you want to be independent.

Ashton (RGYC), Cardwell Bay (CBSC), Holy Loch, Fairlie, Tignabruich, Tarbert, Lochranza, Lamlash and more all have moorings associations some of which involve yacht club membership.
 
Very few moorings in Tarbert these days, and most of those that are left are owned by the harbour board. That said, I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a slot on the pontoons. It is a very well protected anchorage, and so quite a few of the larger boats (say 30' +) stay in all year. The winter sailing can be superb, and hopefully (once ex-Oscar is out of the way) we will be off for a sail tomorrow.
 
awol said:
To be clear, the hardware is the boat owner's and costs circa £1k if bought new, 2nd hand can be available. Where it is dropped is in the province of the mooring association, or the Crown Estates if you want to be independent.

Ashton (RGYC), Cardwell Bay (CBSC), Holy Loch, Fairlie, Tignabruich, Tarbert, Lochranza, Lamlash and more all have moorings associations some of which involve yacht club membership.
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You are absolutely right. I missed a comma: I should have written that "Moorings are generally owned, and administered through moorings associations ..." Thanks for spotting and clarifying my mistake.
 
Can't comment much on anything south of the MoK as my sailing has mostly been north of that. The brief time I've spent there it did seem quite civilised, with lots of day sail possibilities and well equipped marinas.

In the eight years I've had a yacht, I have spent one winter on a pontoon and two winters ashore- and the rest of the time on swing moorings. Perhaps I have just been very lucky.
Of course there are moorings and there are moorings. Some people's ideas of a heavy mooring is a lump of concrete and some half inch chain... up here people generally use fish farm equipment- multiple 150kg+ anchors, stud link ground chain, 19mm riser chain, 600l rigid buoy, seasteel strop 30mm or more.
Most of the fishing boats around here use a similar setup, and stay in commission all year round.
 
rotrax said:
Correct. We spent 6 weeks in the Clyde 2014, late June early July.

It was 7 degrees C in mid July!
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That sort of thing happens occasionally. When the South is basking in 30 plus we regularly hit the high teens, so don't be expecting roasting summer weather. There are glorious summer days - and they are long. Mind you, the occasional one or two good days are often separated by 2 or three wet and windy days.... Not cold by Scottish standards but 10-15C is not unusual :)
 
pagoda said:
That sort of thing happens occasionally. When the South is basking in 30 plus we regularly hit the high teens, so don't be expecting roasting summer weather. There are glorious summer days - and they are long. Mind you, the occasional one or two good days are often separated by 2 or three wet and windy days.... Not cold by Scottish standards but 10-15C is not unusual :)
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this summer was nearly 5 weeks on the trot of wall to wall sunshine , very very rare temps drop to 7 degrees in fact I would question this on were and when that temp was recorded.
Best weather May to early July , then Rainy August kicks in :cool:
 
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