Scottish Berth recommendations?

CFarr

CFarr

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19 Aug 2010
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Location
Me: Well inland. Boat: Bellanoch, Crinan Canal
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I will (hopefully) be purchasing a new-to me yacht this month, currently on the South coast.
I intend to move it to somewhere on the Scottish West coast during Spring/summer as that is my preferred cruising area but could do with some help deciding on where.
I am coming to realise that the yachts home berth is going to be a compromise of facilities, cost and distance.
Based in South Yorkshire I am stuck with a long drive to wherever but have been happy to make the 7 hour drive to the Ardfern/Craobh/Oban area when chartering for a week at a time but was thinking somewhere closer would mean I would be more likely to go more often so started looking in the Clyde.

My problem is that I can get a swinging mooring in Ardfern but the distance is great or, a pontoon in somewhere like Troon but the cost is high.
Are there any swinging moorings in the Clyde area or have you any other suggestions for me to consider or indeed problems that I haven't foreseen.
I'm aware some places will be full.

Boat will be a fin keel 34ft max (Storm/Fulmar/Sadler)

Many thanks as always
Chris
 
We briefly had our last boat at Royal Northern and Clyde at Rhu. They have moorings, a lovely clubhouse and a bosun to take you to your boat. Royal Gourock have a similar set up and may be marginally more favourable on the drive (although if you are coming up the motorways there is probably not a huge amount in it). Fairlie Quay has moorings as well.

Helensburgh sailing club also have a mooring area that I think you can put your own mooring in.

There are plenty more places as well. On the whole, it is not cheap, cheap mooring, but service levels are high, and much lower prices than in the marinas.

Some of the marinas also have mooring outside (Rhu being one).
 
Hi, have a look at Fairlie Quay Marina which is just South of Largs Yacht Haven, they have swinging moorings but I am not sure of the availability or cost. The location is ideal for sailing thoughout the Clyde, Ireland and North West Scotland. Our boat is moored in Largs Yacht Haven at the moment and although it is costly I think its a good Marina, staff are very helpful and the facilities are good.
 
Portavadie Marina is one of the nicest I've been to and if you use the ferry not a million miles away. They even have hair straighteners in the shower facilities!
 
Clyde Moorings, Gareloch

Clyde Moorings operate moorings in the Gareloch, Firth of Clyde. They also have facilities for winter storage. The Gareloch is now very accessible from down south using the new M74 extension around the south of Glasgow and then over the Erskine Bridge and left to Helensburgh. The road up the east side of the Gareloch has been developed and is a straight fast road. Basically from down south, its Motorway all the way to the end of the Erskine bridge, some dual carriageway and decent trunk roads. The west side of the Gareloch is just a short hop on a normal road.

I looked into moving my boat from Largs to here and they offer both managed and new owner moorings.

http://www.clydemoorings.com/rosneath.php
 
First rate info, thanks. I knew this was the place to ask :)
I've enquired to Fairlie Quay and Clyde moorings so I'll see what they have to say.
Also considering the Yacht club route. Would I have to race? is it done to go cruising for a week or so and not participate in their events?

As for Portavadie, it is nice but I think I would prefer the West coast proper for the time it takes to get there and my hair is too short to make full use of the facilities anyway!
 
Clyde marina is about the cheapest on the Clyde probably around £1K a year cheaper for a 34 footer than Troon. Largs is the most expensive. Excellent road and rail links to Clyde Marina and good facilities and excellent staff.
It's well down the Clyde so access to the West coast around the Mull is usually quicker than the canal.
 
I think my choice would be Fairlie, well placed in my opinion for most popular areas of the Clyde and not too far from the end of the M74. Portavadie is nice but it is as far in time from the end of the M74 as Yorkshire. Rhu is 18 miles from the Cumraes so a fair sail and no closer to the end of the M74 than Fairlie
 
We moved from InverKip to James Watt Dock at Greenock, and are so far quite happy with the move. From an accessibility point of view, it is very good - only a few miles from the end of the M8, and much quicker since they completed the extension to the M74 south of Glasgow. From Yorkshire it would be a very quick drive; we come from Cambridgeshire, and the route is pretty similar; I can't see it taking much over 5 hours from South Yorkshire (either M1 or A1M to Scotch Corner, then A66/M6/M74/M8/A8 - it's motorway driving nearly all the way). I certainly think it is the most accessible Clyde marina for long distance drivers!

Ardfern or Craobh will take a lot longer; the distance isn't vastly greater, but you are much more likely to be delayed on the roads, and of course, you are driving on slow winding roads at the end of a long journey. Even the extra 15 or so miles on town roads from Greenock to Kip seemed a long way at the end of 400 miles!

We considered taking a mooring at Fairlie - it is obviously cheaper - but decided against it, as there would be too high a risk of arriving and finding that it was not feasible to get out to the boat if the weather conditions turned bad. That doesn't matter if you live reasonably close, or can see what the weather is like at your destination before setting out, but our drive is 7-8 hours, and local weather conditions are often not well predicted!
 
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I keep our boat in the Crinan Canal with access to the West coast in summer and to the Clyde via Loch Fyne early and late season, though I then would be more likely to visit Ireland than a Clyde marina.
I would suggest putting your boat somewhere easily reached down the Clyde to start with, you will get a few years before you tire of it. You can explore from there and I am sure you will eventually finish up with a mooring of your own somewhere on the West Coast as the choice of destinations from there is unrivalled. There are still locations where you can own your own mooring both in the Clyde and on the West Coast, the best places are not known to every one but once you are here you will soon find one that suits you. A high proportion of boats up here are on the market which if it ever picks up will release moorings all over the place but that may not happen this year. Owners are keeping their moorings even though the boats are staying ashore just now.
 
Spyro said:
Clyde marina is about the cheapest on the Clyde probably around £1K a year cheaper for a 34 footer than Troon. Largs is the most expensive. Excellent road and rail links to Clyde Marina and good facilities and excellent staff.
It's well down the Clyde so access to the West coast around the Mull is usually quicker than the canal.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Clyde Moorings

One more for you to think about is DRB marine (http://www.drbmarine.co.uk/moorings.html) at Rosneath.
We had our Sadler there for six seasons until advancing age forced us to move to a pontoon berth on the other side of the Gareloch. DRB were (and almost certainly still are) the most cost effective (i.e. cheap) mooring and storage provider on the Clyde. The price is that it's three hours to Rothesay and you get to see Cloch point and the big chimney at Kip more often than you might ideally want.
 
I wonder if I would be happy keeping a boat on a mooring at Fairlie or Gourock if living a distance away. They look quite exposed in the event of serious gales, and would benefit from being able to check more regularly.
Suspect Rosneath more sheltered. We kept a Fulmar on a mooring at Rhu which was OK
 
I kept my boat at Fairlie last season and would well recommend the area. Only a short hop over to the Kyles, Arran, Rothsey, Millport etc.

I got my mooring through a chap called Stuart Mackintyre (PM me for contact details if you wish). He operates several moorings in the bay and worked out considerably cheaper than Fairlie Quay marina. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

I can also recommend the Gareloch (just bought a mooring there) as my dad has sailed from there for a few seasons now. Well sheltered and good access but can seem like a bit of a slog to sail to the better parts of the Clyde at times (Around 3.5 hours to Rothesay).

I hope you enjoy the Clyde, its a cracking sailing ground and access to the West Coast proper is only a short jaunt away. I sailed from Gigha to Arran last summer in about 8-10 hours or so.
 
dunedin said:
I wonder if I would be happy keeping a boat on a mooring at Fairlie or Gourock if living a distance away. They look quite exposed in the event of serious gales, and would benefit from being able to check more regularly.
Suspect Rosneath more sheltered. We kept a Fulmar on a mooring at Rhu which was OK
Click to expand...

That's why we don't. And there is a fairish fetch to the west of Fairlie and north of Gourock, so even if the boat is perfectly safe, it might be difficult/uncomfortable or even unsafe getting out to her, which isn't a good situation to be in 5 hours drive from home. Local wind conditions on the Clyde can be very different from the averages predicted by the weather forecast, because of the effects of the local topography. Gourock not so bad in that regard, but the Largs Channel is susceptible to very nasty local conditions occasionally; I've certainly seen wind forces far in excess of the forecast there from time to time. Not usually long-lived, but it happens.
 
Many thanks gentlemen, just the sort of info I was hoping for.
I've made enquiries to several places based on the above postings so its now a matter of making the right choice, again more compromises. Is there any part of boat ownership that isn't?
Off to make the final decision on the yacht next week and then the adventure begins :)
Have a good season.
Chris
 
CFarr said:
I will (hopefully) be purchasing a new-to me yacht this month, currently on the South coast.
I intend to move it to somewhere on the Scottish West coast during Spring/summer as that is my preferred cruising area but could do with some help deciding on where.
I am coming to realise that the yachts home berth is going to be a compromise of facilities, cost and distance.
Based in South Yorkshire I am stuck with a long drive to wherever but have been happy to make the 7 hour drive to the Ardfern/Craobh/Oban area when chartering for a week at a time but was thinking somewhere closer would mean I would be more likely to go more often so started looking in the Clyde.

My problem is that I can get a swinging mooring in Ardfern but the distance is great or, a pontoon in somewhere like Troon but the cost is high.
Are there any swinging moorings in the Clyde area or have you any other suggestions for me to consider or indeed problems that I haven't foreseen.
I'm aware some places will be full.

Boat will be a fin keel 34ft max (Storm/Fulmar/Sadler)

Many thanks as always
Chris
Click to expand...

Where do you want to sail? Is the extra two hours driving worth the variety of sailing that you get to the west of Kintyre?

Personally, living that far away I would feel happier with a marina berth rather than a swinging mooring, partly because of the relative security in foul weather but mainly because of the convenience of being able to board in all weathers at any time of day/night.
I would also avoid the Crinan canal, but only because you are limited by the canal's working hours, and occasional half-tide locking.

Something to bear in mind is the weather; unless you are particularly unlucky, with the Ardfern/Craobh/Oban option it is normally possible to have a short sail and be able to drop the hook somewhere sheltered and secluded.

[comments are from personal experience, having spent several years in each of Inverkip, Fairlie, Bellanoch, Crinan and Craobh, and living three hours' brisk driving away]
 
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