Largs - 19/20/21 June 2006 (day 30-32)

Yacht Gothik

Largs Yacht Haven

Largs

North Ayrshire

19 June 2006

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Logged distance: 17M

Chart distance: 17M

Time under way: 4h

Monday 19 June 2006

With gales were forecast for the next few days we sadly had to say goodbye to the (unexplored) pretty town of Lamlash and the Isle of Arran - it being such poor shelter in the bay. Our next stop was Largs where there was excellent shelter and a marina. Today a small depression was moving directly over us which meant the wind would probably be strong at times and light and variable at others giving us some interesting sailing for the short distance across the Firth of Clyde and up the Hunterston Channel to Largs (see below for weather charts).

Last night's strong wind was still evident upon waking up but by ten-thirty it had dropped to almost nothing. A small patch of blue finally appeared in the sky amongst a very interesting set of clouds. We slipped our mooring and headed directly east out of the bay under full sail with the wind dead behind us. Once in the Firth there were boats everywhere, sailing boats, fishing boats, commercial ships, ferries and, in large numbers, naval vessels. Judging by the traffic on the VHF radio there must have been some pretty big exercise going on - most of the radio calls seemed to be generated by a single American naval vessel telling everyone to get out of the way; "Fishing vessel at position such-and-such, this is warship 'D68' off your starboard bow..." etc.

Over the next two or three hours we had winds from all directions, sometimes requiring a reef, sometimes not and sometimes no wind at all causing the sails to bang and flap. Numerous times we had to alter course to avoid shipping and once or twice we had to put the engine on to do the same when no wind. At one point we had a naval frigate approach us at great speed followed by three jet-skiers buzzing around it. The frigate was aiming her fire houses at the jet-skiers, altering course violently to 'attack' them. It may have got close to try and impress us - well they did - it was quite a display.

Shortly after we had the entire fleet steaming towards us, ship after ship after ship, all shapes and sizes - even a naval catamaran. I couldn't count the number but it must have been in the region of 10 to 20 large vessels with many smaller ones, all spread out over the width of the Clyde and many miles in length. 'D68' was among them, still telling others to get out of her way - including a German navy ship in the fleet.

As we approached Largs the wind freshened and set steadily from the north west. At the upper end of a force 5 we reefed and trimmed for 65 degrees off the wind on a port tack. Ben and Keith sat out on the toe-rail and Gothik managed a steady 7.7 knots on the log, occasionally higher with a maximum registered at 8 knots. The clouds were racing overhead with patches of brilliant blue, the sea of thirst quenching clarity a dark grey-blue. Exhilarating stuff. Eventually the sailing had to come to an end and the sails came down. We motored into the very sheltered (and very busy) marina.

After berthing and finishing the jobs on deck we all remarked on how different the last few days of the trip had felt - they all seemed rather short. The day night sailing, the longer distances and the watches were missed. It maybe that plans will change if the short hops over the next month are missing something.

Tuesday 20 June 2006

Not much to remark on really - the weather was dreadful. The marina was, quite frankly, just a marina. Rubbish bar, rubbish food. A little sterile. There were obviously good things - great chandlery, friendly staff - but let's face it, marinas are not much more than a glorified car park. Lots of shiny boats but often little activity. Keith H (who was with us a few weeks ago) mentioned that yacht's in the UK, on average, are only used for 3 days a year - that being 72 hours. Looking around in a marina this figure no longer seems surprising. An expensive way to spend three days a year. The good news was that Keith and Ben were able to find a good fishing tackle shop and replace the lost tackle.

Wednesday 21 June 2006

Mid-summers day. Still holed up. Force 8 outside.

Synoptic charts for midnight Monday and lunchtime Tuesday and Wednesday (click to enlarge).

Reproduced with permission; © Crown copyright 2006 Published by the Met Office. Note that this data has been superseded and more recent versions are available.

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