The Upper Clyde

I'm full of hair brained plans this year. I heard that today was 'Trail West Fest' in Glasgow. It was quite expensive and I wasn't sure if I wanted to see all the bands. But there was an official after party you could buy tickets for that was a cèilidh dance. It was only £20 but it was 10pm to 2am. So we couldn't use public transport.

But then I spotted it was only a short walk from the Riverside Museum and there is a free Council run pontoon there. So I bought tickets to the dance and filled in the pontoon booking.

They took my booking but said we would need bridge lifts.

The last time I looked into going up the Clyde to Glasgow, I wanted to use the Plantation Quay pontoon to visit the BBC offices at Pacific Quay. I couldn't do it because they broke the Millennium Bridge and they show no sign of getting it working to open again.

Since then, two new bridges have been built across the Clyde. They both replace ferries.

The Govan-Partick Bridge is a footbridge between Govan and the Riverside Museum. We used it recently to go to a concert in Govan, taking the train to Partick. 

The Renfrew Bridge is the first opening road bridge over the Clyde.

Neither bridge has a high enough air draft for Robinetta to sneak under.

The 'official' skippers guide to the Clyde, including the Upper Clyde, is published by Peel Ports. The most recent is the 5th edition and it's really hard to find. I eventually tracked down a working link to a PDF, hidden inside another PDF. It predates both bridges and the accession of King Charles III. The only email for Peel Ports bounces.

Peel Ports engagement with the leisure boating community is woeful. They were intending to levy £100 a year to all boaters in the whole of the Clyde Estuary. They were sent home with their tail between their legs by everyone from the Scottish Government to the RYA and the marina companies. I'm not holding my breath for a new guide.

But the bridge management staff don't work for Peel Ports and are wonderful. We coordinated our upstream journey and they arranged opening times with lots of extra time in case we were late. It turned out we would be coming back down on the Sunday about the same time as Waverley and a combined opening would work. I let them know we couldn't keep up with Waverley and they understood.

The tides were great for taking the flood up but not so good for the Rosneath end. We got Worm down to the beach about 8am. Low water springs. There was 100 yards of mussel bed exposed that we normally row over. Also, it's very flat, so getting afloat was tricky.

We got Worm near the water on the trolley. We usually carry her a much shorter distance.

I had to drag her across the shells in bare feet to get her deep enough to float. But we managed.

We usually row inside Carraig an Roin. But there was so little water we decided to outside. We got Robinetta ready to go and left Worm on the mooring. We got the main up passing Rhu Marina and had a nice broad reach towards the Cockle Bank. 

I had estimated we would have enough water by 11am to get through the channel between Cockle Bank and Pillar Bank.

Alison disagreed. She insisted we head to the No 2 red at the Tail o' the Bank. She was right. We clipped the western end of the Greenock Bank and there was far less water over it than the charts and tidal predictions suggested. We saw less than 1/2 m under the keel at one point.

Safe in the channel, we made our way up river. The wind was now right behind, and neither of us wanted to run up such a narrow channel. We stowed the main and pottered up under tick over with 3 knots of tide.

The river looks wide as far as the Erskine Bridge but the navigable channel is very narrow. It's a pretty and fascinating trip, once passed the industrial docks at Port Glasgow.

Near Dumbarton, the Waverley passed us on her way to Dunoon and Tighnabruich. She gave us a happy toot on her whistle!

The tide was weaker from now on and we used the engine to arrive at the bridges on time.

Once under the Erskine Bridge it becomes a much narrower river and the channel is the full width. It becomes much more urban.

It's about three nm between each Bridge. The Renfrew Bridge opened as we got to it and closed behind us. Our timing was very good and I talked to them on the phone. They were really friendly.

It took the foot bridge people a long time to clear the pedestrians off the bridge. The people didn't seem to understand that the little boat they were watching couldn't get past them until they left the bridge.

We circled round until finally, they got the bridge open. It must be hard wanting the public to have a great experience of the bridge while trying to herd them off it!

We were on the pontoon at 3pm. Everything had gone to plan and the bridge staff had been super.

We relaxed until 5pm and then went for a light meal. Lovely. 

motoring home

 Julian got up at 1 a.m. to look for meteors, and did see two, but the sky was partially overcast, and there was more light pollution than we had hoped. However we spent a very peaceful night at anchor, with Robinetta and Worm hardly moving.

The overcast night meant there was no point getting up before dawn to have another look for meteors, but we were awake by 6, and the anchor was up by 06:30. This gave us a little helpful tide past Colintraive then slack water down the East Kyle. Julian got the main sail up after we passed the ferry, then went below and cooked porridge for breakfast. I was being spoilt, as there was nothing for me to do except keep on eye on "George" to make sure he was steering straight. 

Julian went below to get more sleep after breakfast, while I stayed on watch until we were nearly at Toward. There was finally enough wind to be worth trying to sail, so I called below to warn Julian, and he came up on deck. George went off duty, and Julian took over as the engine went off. Unfortunately the wind did not last. We managed to sail until just after the Toward Cardinal, and then the engine, (and George) took over again.

We saw only one yacht trying to sail in the Clyde, yhe other three yachts we saw were motoring. Waverly steamed past us again, then as we reached Cloche Point there were the ferries. I had hoped for a little sailing breeze at this point, but the air seemed still, and we lowered the main without going head to wind. We even took the jib down and stowed it to save time once we got back to our mooring.

We were back on our home mooring half an hour before high water, and rowing away just after, with a fully laden dinghy. Julian had been away for 6 weeks, and I had for 4. It felt good to be home again. 

Lazy Day

We rowed ashore this morning to take a look at Millport. I came here at least once as a child but I only remember the aquarium.

It's a pleasant spot but the view of the harbour is the best bit. The new protection wall doesn't spoil the view at all. The small islands are really pretty, and Little Cumbrae and Arran make a lovely backdrop.

The little museum is interesting. The story is unambiguously that the Cumbraes were part of Sudrey and that the name is Norse. The name probably means that the people spoke Cumbric, as opposed to the Gaelic of Argyll.

We rowed back towards Robinetta, saying good morning to Graham from Carrie as he passed us. The Wylo we had seen in Brodick Bay had turned up over night. It was Graunuaile, so we rowed over to say hello to Richard. He's been to the outer Hebrides and Man too, this summer.

Then we set off. The Perseid meteor shower should be good tonight and I wanted to be somewhere with dark skies. The Kyle's of Bute fit the bill. We decided to go up the west of Bute to get there. A good decision. It's really lovely. Just enough wind came up to let us sail at 1.5 to 2 knots for a couple of hours. We might have got a bit further but we had an OGA zoom meeting so we motored the last bit, but not before we were passed by the Waverley again.

No rush

We stayed three nights on the Brodick visitor moorings, going ashore in Worm in order to catch the bus and do some sightseeing. Arran is advertised as “Scotland in miniature” and even in the wet weather we had there was plenty to enjoy.

The weather promised to be dry on Monday, with light north westerly winds. We went ashore to buy bread and pies, then came back to Robinetta and got ready to leave. I turned the engine on to warm up, but we raised the main and stay sails on the mooring and Julian sailed Robinetta very slowly away at 09:00.

We were not in a hurry, and dawdling along at 2 knots gave us an opportunity to deploy the mackerel line. Four fish jumped onto it, so Julian put 2 of them back, leaving us one each for lunch.

By 10:40 the wind had died away to nothing, so we put the engine back on, set George to work helming, and admired the scenery. We were heading for Millport, the main town on Great Cumbrae, maybe just for a lunch stop, maybe overnight. It was lovely to have no agenda.

After an hour the wind got up enough to sail again, so we turned the engine off, but kept George at work, using our solar panel to power him. The sky was blue, the seas were flat, and the visibility was perfect. We could even see the Paps of Jura over the Kintyre peninsula. Waverly came out from between the Cumbraes, possibly heading for Brodick, and I could see 12 yachts under sail. A little more wind would not have hurt, but otherwise conditions were wonderful.

We got the sails down before heading into the Cumbrae channel. We had never been into Cumbrae before, and our chart plotter did not show the breakwater that has been created between off lying rocks to give better shelter, so it seemed sensible to enter under engine although Julian did have up to date charts on his phone.

There are 14 visitor moorings at Millport, and every one of them was taken when we got there. We were wondering if we should go on, or anchor, when the yacht Scooby-Doo came past. We have seen her before at Holy Loch, and he called out that it was good to see Robinetta again. I shouted over that all the moorings were taken, to which he replied, “That’s what anchors are for.”

He was right. I set out 20m of chain, and we dropped anchor next to Scooby-Doo. Five minutes later there was a vacant mooring. In the next 30 minutes at least 5 moorings came free, but the yachts kept coming as well as leaving, and they were never available for long. Once of the yachts that arrived was Carrie, a Heard 23 we had seen at Peel and that lives in the Clyde. We invited her skipper over for a cup of tea, then settled down for a quiet evening.

An unpleasant Start

We woke a little early and started moving. Alison had remembered last thing yesterday that we needed to rearrange the rope on the ladder so both ends were above water at high tide. Whew. They were only one rung out of the water this morning.

Alison prepared the boat and I went up the ladder and dropped the power cable and the bow and stern lines down.

We were ready to go, except for the ladder line, by the time the engine had warmed up. I pulled the stern in and let go the ladder and Alison expertly manoeuvred us round the tight corner out of the inner harbour.

So far, so good.

The sea state didn't look any worse than the conditions in the outer harbour, so we carried on and I went to the fore deck to get the bowsprit out and the jib bent on.

We had meant to get the cover off the staysail before leaving, but had forgotten.

As we got into the narrow, rocky, entrance, Alison shouted that there was very little power coming from the engine. But we were committed now, with no room to turn around. We would have to get out if we wanted to get in again.

The sea state in the entrance wasn't what we expected. A short chop was coming straight in, making Robinetta pitch uncomfortably.

I got the bowsprit out, but Alison was desperate to have the staysail to give us a bit more speed. Getting the cover off was hard work. I was hanging on tight with my upper arms while the boat pitched and I tried to undo the clips and the zip. Even getting the halyard shackled on was fraught with the risk of dropping the pin.

I managed.

Alison got the sail up and it did pull. We got up from 1 1/2 to maybe 2 knots, and gradually got out of the entrance into safe water. But the sea was still pitching Robinetta violently.

I got the jib on eventually, and the staysail and jib covers dropped through the fore hatch. The port hinge is coming loose again.

I had two ropes and two fenders up at the bow. I managed to pass the fenders and one hanked rope back to the cockpit and tied the other rope around my waist and to the lines running across the cabin top and made my way back.

It had taken 1/2 an hour and it hadn't been easy.

The cockpit was crowded with ropes and fenders. Alison had been just as busy steering as I had been. I got the remaining ropes hanked and that helped a lot. Alison could now move over so I could get everything stowed.

We got on course. Now we were rolling, rather than pitching. The engine was working now. Perhaps the prop had caught some weed and it had slipped off.

OK. There was a decent wind. We got the main up, keeping the small reef in to balance the no 2 jib. It was a beam reach. Life was getting better. We turned the engine off. 

By 7am we were sailing nicely towards Corsewall Point.  I checked a few options. Arran still seemed nearest, apart from Girvan, which was now too close.

Lamlash came first, but the moorings at Brodick are free, and Brodick Bay is more sheltered from the southerly winds we expect.

Soon, we could see Ailsa Craig beyond the end of the headland. 

The wind was dropping and Alison had promised to switch jibs if we needed to. I thought we did. We changed jibs before shaking out the reef so I had the smaller main while we only had the staysail to balance the sail plan. 

Once past Corsewall Point, the wind backed and we were broad reaching. We could not point directly towards the east coast of Arran but we had plenty of time for long boards between gybes.

I spotted a dolphin in the far distance jumping vertically way out of the water three times. Later, we were visited by a small pod, but they didn't stay to play. 

The wind came and went, but it was often strong enough to want to put reefs back in, and then light enough to shake them out again. The seas were always lively. 

We gybed around Ailsa Craig and then towards the Pladda light.

We expected to gybe again, but we were able to just make it round Holy Isle. Maybe we got a little veer, maybe we were just trying really hard.

East of Holy Isle, the wind dropped completely and the sea went smooth. We shook out the reef and waited. Suddenly the wind came in from the west. Then it died again. We could see it on the water a few boat lengths away, so we knew when it was coming.

This was the fun bit of the day. We were only 4 miles from our destination. We had a little really nice beam to fine reaching for an hour.

The it was time to put the engine on, get the sails down, and pick up a mooring in Brodick Bay. We were under sail for 10  hours without the engine. It started a bit stressfully, but it has been a good day. 

Changing plans

Neither of us slept well as the mooring was not very sheltered. We were awake before the alarm, and Julian turned his phone on at 5 a..m. to check the weather. The strong winds that we had seen forecast yesterday evening, due to arrive East of the Isle of Man on Tuesday and pass through by Thursday morning, were now coming earlier, and staying longer. We could certainly get to Whitehaven today, but the winds after that would be too strong for Robinetta, and in the wrong direction. We would not be able to leave in time to get to the Sea Festival at Barrow.

Some things are not meant to be. Maybe we will get to Barrow another year. The winds were perfect to get North today, so we decided to head for Portpatrick. We came off the mooring at 06:00, and Julian spent the next 40 minutes getting the foredeck and sails sorted. We had brought in the bowsprit while in Peel, so that had to go out, then he bent on the no.2. jib, and got the staysail ready.

The sea state was a bit rolly, but not too bad, and once I pulled up the staysail Robinetta steadied a bit. Then I began to get the main up, planning to put in a reef to balance the no 2 jib. It took two goes to get the reef in well, and Julian had to take over the hauling, but by 07:00 the engine was off, and we were sailing on a very broad reach straight for Portpatrick.

Once the sails were set we did not need to touch them again until we put the engine on again to take them down before entering Portpatrick. We had a lovely sail, through a couple of bits of interesting but unthreatening sea state just off the Mull of Galloway. We did not notice the 3.5 knots of tide that could have swept us towards the Solway Firth, and while adverse tide did take our speed down to about 3.5 knots for a couple of hours, for much of the time we were reaching along at 4.5-5 knots.

We entered Portpatrick at 16:15, and were able to moor up next to a ladder rather than needing to raft up. By 16:30 the engine was off and we were settled.

9 hours of sailing, with no engine needed. Bliss. We will probably be here until Thursday, unless the weather moderates on Wednesday. Time for some sight seeing!

 

Moving out of the harbour

Peel’s limited tidal access meant we had to either get up in the small hours of Monday morning, or leave on Sunday afternoon and go on to a waiting buoy in the harbour. We wanted to get fuel, which was available through a hose just beyond the flap gate and bridge, and we decided it would be easier to do this in daylight. There was no rush through, the flap gate did not close until 5pm, so we could stay and listen to music, have lunch, and watch the carnival procession before we left.

With the procession over, we headed back to Robinetta. We had already moved Worm so the motor boat moored beside us could get out as soon as the flap gate opened, so there was little to do. We called up the harbour master, who told us the next bridge lift was at 15:00. We had less than five minutes to warm up the engine, cast off, and head for the bridge.

We made it, only to be told that there was a yacht already on the fuel dock. This was not really a problem, as we just moored up ahead of him and waited for him to finish and move clear. Then Julian pulled us forward on ropes, and sent down the fuel hose.

I had had to guess how much fuel we would need, as the system worked with a pre-payment fob. We had motored for 40 hours since we last filled up, and after dipping the tanks I had through we had room for 13 litres in each tank, plus 15 into our spare cans, so I bought 40 litres. In reality I could only squeeze in 35 litres…

Julian took the fob back to the harbour master, then cast off our mooring ropes and rejoined me on Robinetta.

There were two free waiting buoys, with the 2 most sheltered already taken. Those yachts were lying inshore of the buoys, but the pick up lines were training off shore. We had to go the “wrong” side of the buoy so Julian could reach the line and bring it on board, then try and manoeuvre Robinetta to lie to the buoy the same way as the others. Words were exchanged.

We ate a light dinner on board, and planned our next day’s passage. We had hoped to anchor at Whithorn on Monday evening, explore it on Tuesday, then sail to Whitehaven on Wednesday, but the forecast winds to the east of the Isle of Man for Tuesday and Wednesday meant that we should head straight to Whitehaven. The best time to leave to get round the Point of Ayr before the overfalls began was 06:00. We set the alarm for 05:30, and turned in for an early night.