Thursday, March 06, 2014

Ebb tide in the Rhu Narrows.

Our peaceful reverie on the shores of the Gare Loch came to an end as the VHF crackled into life on channel 73 as HMS Raider asked QHM Faslane for permission to pass through the Rhu Narrows. HMS Raider is an Archer class armed fast patrol boat operated by the Royal Navy in a Force Protection role with her sister ship HMS Tracker.

As the tide had now turned it was time to make our way back to Limekiln Point where...

...we looked right then left then right again before ferrying...

...across the Narrows and the shipping channel.. As the tide was ebbing at 2 knots we crossed at quite a high angle before...

...breaking out behind the special purpose light that...

...marks the end of the tidal spit on the east side of the narrows. You can see the blip in mid channel where I stopped to take the 4th photo.

Then the ebb tide slowly but steadily carried us away from the mountains and the inner Gare Loch.