Solent to the Clyde

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kidnapped

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Idle chat on way back to Lymington this afternoon turned more serious when my crew suddenly got enthusiastic about 'trying the Clyde and Westren Isles' for a season ... next season. What do you guys reckon?
I have not sailed a passage/ series of passages like this before, although pretty experienced. I do not envisage any real problems along south coast [Falmouth], but where from there? I imagine Dublin would figure somewhere, if only for a guinness, then Belfast Lough or straight to the Clyde. How long would you anticipate taking, assuming reasonable weather windows? Is Spring or Autumn better? Any other advice? There may be crewing opps for scuttlebutters if this comes off. Yacht is well found, heavy displacement 45 footer, all mod nav gear etc.

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Scilly, Arklow (wonderful steak reastaurant), Dun Laoghaire or Howth (rather than Dublin); Carlingford Lough and especially Strangford Lough (get your tides right; Portaferry Marina, Audley's Roads and Ringhaddy anchorages, Ballydorn CC Lightship; you probably then won't want to go any further but if you do) Bangor or Carrickfergus and then I'll let somebody else take over...

Guaranteed great fun..

John

PS http://www.fjiordlands.org/strngfrd/

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Wonderful idea! You'll absoutely love it.

From Falmouth, why not go up the Irish side the accros to Ghia and on up to the western isles, and go back down the Cumbria/Wales side on the way back.

Alternatly, leave your yacht on the Clyde & commute! Sleasy jet fly to Glasgow & I'm sure that you will find berthing charges cheaper than round the south coast. I would love to see the comparison between a berth on the Hamble vs berth on the west coast plus cheap air fares

Also consider leaving your yacht up here at the end of the season, then in the next season, you could come up through the Caledonian canal, Moray Firth, up to Orkney & Shetland. There are many possibilities. Go for it !

If you do decide to come up and are looking for crew, please send me a PM

Jim

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Then of course, you'd be really silly if you didn't leave the boat in Kirkwall so that the following year you could nip across to Norway and do the Baltic area leaving the boat in Denmark as you can get to Our Hoose with Ryanair from Stansted. This would mean that the following year you could come down the Dutch coast and get back to where you started from... Now for 2007, did you ever consider the Falklands?

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Claymore
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Great idea - we did it this year, though we plan to stay up for substantially longer than a season.

If you want to sail in Scotland, you might also consider having the boat transported up - a bit of a cop-out, but it's your choice whether you'd rather spend your holidays sailing in Scotland, or passage-making to get the boat round. And do factor in the cost of charts for the passage.

Regarding price, you can't really lose. You can easily save a couple of thousand on marina fees, while Ryanair Bournemouth<->Prestwick return can be had for 25-50 pounds with a bit of advance booking.

Rich

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I wondered how long it would be before someone lampooned this whole silly idea. "oh, dearest, i feel that there are no enuf midges here, and it would be much nicer to spend 6 hours in a car or altentively a few hours in an airport so we can enjoy double the rainfall, so how about scotland eh?" tsk, eh?

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Falmouth to Howth in April took us about 36 hours if I remember. After this passage you are cruising! I would suggest Carlingford marina, then Strangford, Bangor (one tide) Then Gigha (or Glenarm if weather turns bad) or Campbeltown and through Crinan Canal for a bit of fun. Try Rathlin Island or Ballycastle on the way.
Get your tides right from Dublin north, esp. Strangford, Donaghadee sound and North Channel. Best book is ICC Sailing Directions for N & E coast of Ireland (Imray).
Great idea to leave the boat in Scotland and get a couple of seasons out of it.
Good luck.

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Depends a little on crew strength but I maintain it would be better to do Penzance to either Scotland or Northern Ireland in one leg. Stopping en route sounds nice but there are so many pleasant places that you would waste a lot of good sailing time with the prevailing wind under you. In two overnights you can make it all the way across the border.

Your best route is straight up the middle of the Irish Sea, this minimises adverse tides and keeps off the dangers. West of the Smalls and everything else off Pembroke but east of Tuskar Rock, then about midway between Anglesey and Dun Laoghaire. Start heading a little west at this stage to put you in the right place to round Kintyre. Avoid IOM if at all possible - it has a bad reputation for its own weather and I know many who were stuck there for days when outside was quite reasonable. The Clyde is great in bad weather but can also be difficult to leave. Tricky in poor weather around the Mull and time consuming through the canal.

The best stopping places if forced, IMHO are Holyhead, a good all-weather port but with few other attractions, Bangor, one of the best marinas in UK and a great place for Guinness and the RUYC., Ardglass, a nice little friendly place well placed for the really good anchorages in Scotland, such as Gigha, Port Ellen and hundreds of others. I wouldn't bother with Dublin but Howth is OK.

Spring weather can feature a fair proportion of north easterlies but there is always a good sprinkling of South-westerlies. When it really blows, Ireland gives a good lee and it is well worth closing the coast, but not too close as there are many banks.

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Re: Solent to the Baltic

I would suggest that those Southern Yachties just go direct to the Baltic.. Warmer and reeaaally much much nicer than Scotland.. Scotland is full of midges, glass fibre eating sea-monsters and maelstrom whirlpools and frenzied stampeding deer

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