Taking a yacht through the Corryvreckan

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Cappen Boidseye

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Would this be a challenge? sheer stupidity or a bit of a disappointment?

I know someone who has sailed through it in a dinghy so I would think that as long as you pick your moment weather and tidewise, it should be no more than an interesting sail. So I thought I would ask some experts...
Over to you!
 
Cappen Boidseye said:
Would this be a challenge? sheer stupidity or a bit of a disappointment?
Click to expand...

Time it right, in the right weather, and it's a pleasant trip. That means slack water, basically. Get it wrong and you'll die.

As agurney says, the anchorage just off it is great fun, and the growling of the race when it's in full flow past the entrance is very dramatic.
 
the ccc guide is worth a read. tho hopefully they will have reworded "sporadic upthrusts of bottom water"!

basically wind against tide is the problem. slack is fine. tho short lived at springs. ebb (west to east) is basically fine, unless a strong east wind against you. going with the flood (e to w) is the main issue. if its been flat calm for a few days, then it will be fine tho stick to southern 1/3 cos there is a standing wave northern 2/3 of channel ie extending south from scarba shore. (there is a sudden shallowing of the sea bed here)

its been said that the main problem is when a southerly swell from previous strong winds still exists, and its a flat calm day, so folk think it will be fine... know what's been happpening to the wind for a few days previously.

enjoy. in northerlies, there is a lovely wee bay at se scarba. agurney's bay is magic too, tho the ccc guide talks about occasional surges ie pull your dingy high up beach. never seen it tho.
 
Corryvreckan Is Easy To Pass Through but Quick To Deteriorate Into Danger

There is plenty written up about it so just do your research and make plans accordingly. To be safe I would advise that you plan to pass through just before the flow turns against you, leaving sufficient margin for your passage time. Ubergeekian may be more accurate with slack water. That way you get stopped if you arrive late and are minded to give it a go.

I have left it a bit late and got stopped half way through (West to East) but getting right over to the South side provided the neccesary lull to punch through at full throttle. We were making about 8 kts across the water and only +/- 1kts ground speed. The GPS plot showed just how quick the yacht (Hallberg Rassy 36) ferry glided at speed straight across the sound. This is why it is dangerous to try and punch through. You can ferry glide straight into the overfalls in no time at all with very little control over the aspect that you present to the wave. The plotter made it obvious as well as identified the zone where we picked up on ground speed. On that day it was calm and the tour Ribs were surfing on the overfalls. I am now minded if that ever happens again I'll go round the top and not try to punch through.

If I remember correctly a Westerly Gale with a spring flood is what produces the "whirlpool" (or at least a very big diameter swirl of water) overfall and thunderous roar. I may have the current direction back to front so dont take this as Gospel.

Gales and spring flood tides aside, its quite navigable with care and the overfalls can be avoided staying relatively close to either the North or South sides of the sound. However, do your passage planning well and understand the risks as even on a calm day with a spring tide, if you entered the overfalls you could get pooped with green water.
 
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Once you have been through Corryvreckan you may be ready for "Little Corryvreckan" to the North!!
Are there any tips ? I have gone in and stemmed the tide at 6knts but never gone right through.
 
The channel between Lunga and Scarba known as the 'Grey Dogs' (after the leaping waves to be found there) is passable on the flood if you treat it as a fast flowing river and stay in the middle. It is very entertaining to shoot it in the right conditions (check for swell on the seaward side). Sometimes you can be spun right round if you lose concentration, before being spat out of the other side, but that only adds to the fun!

I second the anchorage on the south side of Corryvreckan, beautifully clear water. The hazards are all clearly marked on the chart. Worth it to walk up onto the hill and watch the whirlpool mid-tide. At slack water the Gulf is fine, even at night, as long as you check and double check your tide times and look out for heavy ground swell if going east to west.
 
have not been thru grey dogs yet, but ccc guide says flood tide may force you over rocks? am keen to kayak it first... plenty (faster) ribs go thru.

anyone got any vids of the standing wave that forms in corryvreckon at flood? plenty of tidal overfalls youtube vids etc, but none of the wave. friend of a friend, about 20 years ago, chartered a yacht from crinan, lovely sunny day etc, headed thru corryvreckon on the flood. sunbathing on the foredeck until it all went a bit pear shaped at the standing wave... they cam corded it apparently, but never seen it!
 
We went through last year with an experienced local skipper dead on slack water on a calm day - no problem at all but I would be worried if you didn't get it right.
 
bikedaft said:
have not been thru grey dogs yet, but ccc guide says flood tide may force you over rocks? am keen to kayak it first... plenty (faster) ribs go thru.

anyone got any vids of the standing wave that forms in corryvreckon at flood? plenty of tidal overfalls youtube vids etc, but none of the wave. friend of a friend, about 20 years ago, chartered a yacht from crinan, lovely sunny day etc, headed thru corryvreckon on the flood. sunbathing on the foredeck until it all went a bit pear shaped at the standing wave... they cam corded it apparently, but never seen it!
Click to expand...

There's an excellent DVD available from local chandlers and on-line at http://www.whirlpool-scotland.co.uk/

I haven't played the DVD for a while but it runs for about 50 minutes, and covers a year, so I'm sure it includes plenty of footage of 'the wave'.

Personally, I've always chickened-out of going through the Grey Dogs, I don't have enough horse power to get out of trouble. At least there's plenty of space in Corryvreckan if it goes wrong.

Alisdair
 
agurney said:
Personally, I've always chickened-out of going through the Grey Dogs, I don't have enough horse power to get out of trouble. At least there's plenty of space in Corryvreckan if it goes wrong.
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Me too. Here's what the Good Book says (1974 edition):

The channel between the islands of Scarba and Lunga is known as the Little Coirebhreacan or the Grey Dogs. It is not a recommended passage as the tide runs like a mill race and there is an island in the centre. It should only be attempted at slack water in quiet weather and the channel S. of the island should be taken. The flood runs W. at up to 8 knots from 1 1/4 hr. before H.W. to 1 1/4 hr. before L.W., but this can vary up to 1/2 hr. according to weather conditions. On the flood a race extends westward for about 2 miles.​

We had a look in, out of curiosity, while heading north for a left turn and Iona. And when I say a look, I mean a look - it was not somewhere I wanted to go!
 
agurney said:
Personally, I've always chickened-out of going through the Grey Dogs, I don't have enough horse power to get out of trouble. At least there's plenty of space in Corryvreckan if it goes wrong.
Click to expand...

that sums me up too! we had a look in the e entrance on the flood last year, but had missed slack by one hour (too long in bed at the se scarba anchorage, doh!) only went in about 100m, nowhere near where it got narrow. there were pretty big ripples already, so bailed out.

thanks for the dvd link.
 
"anyone got any vids of the standing wave that forms in corryvreckon at flood?"

In the BBC series "Three men go to Scotland" (or something) there was footage of them playing about in the Coirebhrechan. The wave broke over the stern of the boat (a fast motor boat, looked a bit like a Nelson to my untutored eyes) soaking Griff and Dara and setting off their lifejackets. May still be on iPlayer.
 
Wight Dawn said:
"anyone got any vids of the standing wave that forms in corryvreckon at flood?"

In the BBC series "Three men go to Scotland" (or something) there was footage of them playing about in the Coirebhrechan. The wave broke over the stern of the boat (a fast motor boat, looked a bit like a Nelson to my untutored eyes) soaking Griff and Dara and setting off their lifejackets. May still be on iPlayer.
Click to expand...

That's what got me thinking about seeing for myself. Good, wasn't it?
 
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