Campbeltown Classics

The Campbeltown Classics are a venerable event in the OGA calendar but have been struggling in recent years. There is really only one gaffer in regular attendance, the fine Swn-y-mor. Tantina II and Naiad are classic bermudans - Naiad is a year older than Robinetta. These three boats are the heart of the Scottish OGA. This year, other areas wanted to support the event and it fitted nicely into our idea of heading north for a bit to explore Gigha, Islay and Ratlhin which we have missed so far.

Our plan came together even better than I had thought it would as we were now effectively re-creating Robinetta’s first cruise on the 80th anniversary. She left the Mersey on the 13th May 1937 and sailed to the Isle of Man, anchoring off Douglas and then in East Tarbert Bay by the Mull of Galloway and then off Arran. We left on 13th May 2017 and sailed to Peel to wait out a gale and then to Portpatrick and Campbeltown. Close enough.

Not surprisingly we were the only East Coast members due to come. Molly Cobbler now sails with the North Wales area and Master Frank from Peel is nominally part of the Northern Ireland area so we one gaffer from each of four areas and a number of classic bermudans from Scotland and Northern Ireland too.

Swn-y-mor

Friday was a fine evening and warm enough for drinks in the cockpit of Tantina II before a saunter up the road to the hotel for dinner. I sat with Warren and Jill from Swn-y-mor and got them to tell some of their tales of circumnavigation in her. Warren said his boyhood dream had been to visit the Marquesas and he knew he would never manage it except in his own boat. We had both read Robert Louis Stevenson’s account from 1888. He had been there a few years after the end of cannibalism. Warren said it was still a special place when he was there. He also had strong memories of sailing in the Mississippi. The US government has closed the river to recreational craft and provided a parallel waterway. So Swn-y-mor was one of the last yachts ever to use it.

We had a reasonably early night and a lazy Saturday morning. I did a little shopping which included a trip to the whisky shop. Campbeltown is one of the defined areas for Scotch and was once the ‘Whisky Capital of Scotland’. At it’s peak it had over 20 distilleries, although every story I read told a different number. Now it has three, two owned by Mitchells and one by a smaller company. The shop keeps a few barrels which they use for tastings and will fill bottles from while you watch. Luckily for me, someone had left one of them dripping and the sample jug was full, so they handed sips round to all in the shop. It worked - I bought a bottle!

All this made me a little late back to Robinetta where Alison told me to get a move on as we were going out for a parade of sail at noon. It was 11:50. We didn’t have much to do and were by no means the last boat out. The four gaffers and Gary Lyon’s Ocean Dove - a Maurice Griffiths ketch sailed up and down the loch for a couple of hours with OGA President Alistair Randall on the quay and the press photographer in a rib taking photos. We took some too.

We didn’t think there would be much wind but in the event we had a F3 gusting to F5 which made for a fun sail.

Master Frank

Master Frank

Ocean Dove

Swn-y-mor 

Molly Cobbler

In the evening we all went to the Sailing Club who provided a bar, dinner and a duo playing Scottish music to end a gentle and hugely enjoyable gathering.

There are other traditional boat events in Scotland, notably at Portsoy in the Moray Firth and at Tarbert in Loch Fyne. We just missed Portsoy in 2014 as we really wanted to get to Orkney. We came down from Stornaway in

2015 to the Tarbert event and really enjoyed it. Maybe the OGA isn’t needed as much in Scotland as on the East Coast.

Thanks to Neil and Gordon and the Campbeltown Sailing Club for organising a great weekend.