A hot drink at Lenihuline on the West Kyle of Bute..

I had not been well for seven weeks and had missed the sea. A plan was hatched for a short trip in the shelter of the West Kyle of Bute. We arrived at the broad expanse of Ettrick Bay, where the forecast SE F4-5 wind had already picked up.

We had left our cars at Rhubodach at the north end of the Kyles of Bute so we were all set to enjoy a downwind blast.

Out little party consisted of David,...

...Phil,...

...Ian and myself.

We made rapid progress and soon had Kames on the Cowal mainland in sight.

We stopped on the shore below the South Wood of Lenihuline to adjust Ian's seat. This was not an official luncheon stop but David whipped out his flask...

...and asked "Would anyone like a hot drink?"

...it turned out to be hot mulled wine and despite the early hour,...

...who among us could refuse such a welcome liquid libation of warming liquor on the shore of Lenihuline?

Eyes left and right for Garroch Head.

We set off in the sunshine towards Gull Point at the south end of Little Cumbrae and Garroch Head on Bute beyond but...

 ...our eyes kept being drawn every way except straight ahead. Towards the SW and Arran, which was our...

 ...ultimate destination of the day.

Away to the SE, a glimpse of Ailsa Craig some 50 odd kilometres away over the open sea brought back memories of visits to that glorious granite rock opf the gannets last spring.

When we approached Little Cumbrae,  the house, castle and...

 ...cliffs of Gull Point were all illuminated in the reddish glow of the dawn.

 As we crossed from Little Cumbrae the sun rose, the light turned bluer and a...

 ...delightdful Little breeze picked up but...

 ...it did not last long. By now we had paddled far enough to enjoy the view straight up Glen Sannox to the perfect pyramid of Cir Mhor at its head but...

 ...the view to our right was also a stoater. The snow covered peaks of the Arrochar Alps, some 60 km to the north.

After a surprisingly high ferry angle across the last of the neap ebb, we arrived under St Blane's Hill on Garroch Head. Our destination was Port Leithne but the tide was...

...out just revealing a jumble of submerged boulders in the  landing zone. Maurice was able to test his dry suit when he fell into a deep hole less than half a boat length from the shore.

Despite the sun it was so cold we kept our buoyancy aids on while we enjoyed a first winter luncheon on the rocks of Garroch Head.

A marvellous winter crossing in the Firth of Clyde.

We set off from the south end of Bute with the towering mountains of Arran rising through the sea mist beyond.

Amazingly the ebb was still running despite being 2 hours after "slack" at low water. Run off from heavy rainfall in the extensive mountainous catchment area of the Firth of Clyde can overcome the flood tide.

A little breeze got up and...

...Phil and I quickly hoisted the sails.

It was a beautiful day to be on the water so late in the year. We slipped into the Tan which separates the Great and the Little Cumbraes then...

...entered the confines of Millport Bay. It was time for third luncheon.

We left the light of Rubh' an Eun to the birds.

After a splendid second luncheon in the sun we left the confines of Glencallum Bay towards...

... the lighthouse at the north entrance of the bay. As we left Glencallum we enjoyed a fine view...

 ...over the firth of Clyde channel towards Little Cumbrae and its three generations of lighthouses.

As we rounded Rubh' an Eun the birds gathered round the lighthouse then we made our way up the SE coast of Bute.

Beyond the dark rocks of Hawk's Nib and Creag a' Mhara, Bute gave way to the green of arable fields and it was time to...

...turn east back across the Firth of Clyde channel.

Some thoughts on "No tide in the Clyde" and ferry angles.

To port the mountains of Arran continued to break free from the...

 From the south end of Little Cumbrae we set off towards Bute and soon the...

 ...lighthouse was receding in our wakes.

Some say there is "no tide in the Clyde" but the ebb was in full flow and we had to set a high ferry angle on our crossing to the Island of Bute.

It was interesting to compare strategies for the ferry angle and our little flotilla were soon spread widely across the channel.

...last of the fog.There was not a breath of wind and the water was like a millpond but it was moving quickly. It is not always like this. In January 2007...

...Tony and I set off for Bute in a very similar ebb tide but a southerly wind kicked up a very uncomfortable wind against tide sea, especially as we approached Bute.

On this occasion, as we approached the lighthouse of Rubh' an Eun at the mouth of Glencallum Bay, the tide speeded up as we entered the approach to the Garroch Head tide race but our tactic of keeping a high ferry angle paid off and we slipped into the bay with little difficulty. 

As we enjoyed a second luncheon in Glencallum Bay on Bute, we reflected on the various strategies on the crossing. initially  an eddy carried us north up the west coast of Wee Cumbrae but as soon as we set off for Bute we were carried downstream to the SW by the main ebb tide. It was a a little while before we got a grip of the ferry angle but we managed to avoid the strongest current which develops to the south of Glencallum Bay. It was a neap tide and the last hour of the ebb and normally you would not expect much tide but the preceding 10 days had been particularly wet and the Firth of Clyde has a catchment area that extends deep into the mountains. Indeed the ebb was still flowing briskly some two hours into the predicted flood! As an aside, if this had been a spring ebb tide I would have used the eddy round the south end of the Little Cumbrae to carry me right up to the west point of Little Cumbrae before setting off for Bute.

Windmills not millstones round our necks in an Independent Scotland.

As we left the shelter of Glencallum Bay on Bute and 

 ...passed Rubh'an Eun lighthouse we met a most pleasing wind in the channel between Bute and Little Cumbrae Island.

We made excellent progress past the end of the little Cumbrae beyond which the new Hunterston wind turbine could be clearly seen. At 177m tall it is currently the biggest wind turbine in the UK. At the moment Scotland has the majority of UK wind turbines. They are heavily subsidised by all electricity customers throughout the UK. If Scotland were to vote for independence I doubt that subsidy would continue and I have not heard from the Yes Campaign how they would be funded and one possible outcome is that relatively few Scots will end up with windmills round our necks.

 Anyway the wind soon had us approaching Great Cumbrae and its delightful...

 ...town of Millport. Millport provides excellent fish suppers and ice creams but we decided to take...
 

 ...our first luncheon on the wonderfully situated The Eileans...

...in the middle of Millport bay. There is a lovely sandy beach (except at high tide) and it was on the sheltered side of the islands.The biz of  Millport and the problems of the world seemed a million miles away.