Splendid, snowy, soaring scenery, serenity and successful paddle sailing to Sannox on a Sunday.

 As we approached Arran...

...the snow topped granite ridges of Glen Sannox soared higher and...

...higher above us. You could travel half way round the globe and still not find scenery to match, yet it is right here on our doorstep. It is not just the scenery that delights the eye on this crossing. On this occasion we saw porpoises and on previous crossings to Arran, we have seen common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, minke whales and basking sharks not to mention numerous otters round the shore..

In the lee of  the Cock of Arran, Sannox Bay was like a millpond. It was hard to believe we had so much fun out in mid channel.

The winter storms had stripped a lot of the sand off the beach since our last visit but all was calm when we arrived.

We wasted no time in unpacking our things for as well deserved second luncheon and a dram of 10 year old Jura to celebrate Maurice's successful induction to the world of paddle sailing!

The Cock of Arran was pointing to the distant Paps of Jura.

We set off from Garroch Head on Bute on the 11km crossing to Sannox on Arran in...

...glorious conditions.

 As we cleared the end of Bute a...

 ...lovely wind filled in from the west and we...

 ...were soon enjoying paddle sailing with...

... one of the best views in the world, which looks straight up...

 ...Glen Sannox to the wonderfully symmetrical cone of Cir Mhor at its head.

Once clear of Bute the wind was steady and we made great speed.

In mid channel the wind picked up to a force 4, which was blowing against the incoming tide and so it got a bit lumpy to take my Canon 5D Mk3 out of its waterproof deck bag. So there is now a short intermission without photos but it was cracking fun!

Maurice was on his first day out with his new Flat Earth kayak sail and as we were on a close reach, the conditions were quite challenging for a newcomer to kayak sailing. However, Maurice proved to be a quick learner and by the time we were two thirds of the way across...

 ...the conditions flattened again as the tide lessened.

 It was one of the most enjoyable crossings of the Sound of Bute I have ever done.

 Conditions continued to moderate as we...

...drew into the wind shadow of the Cock of Arran which was pointing to....

...the distant Paps of Jura, which were heaving above the horizon some 63km away to the NW.

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.

Dropping hints, raising sails in the lee of Ailsa Craig.

 When we arrived back at the lighthouse after our early morning circumnavigation of Ailsa Craig the weather changed. The wind began to pick up and clouds an low level fog obscured the distant...

...coast of Ayrshire. We took a compass bearing and a GPS bearing on a waypoint for Girvan, our destination. The 16km crossing to Girvan is a good bit shorter than the 21km crossing from Arran, which Tony and I had done the previous day. However, Ailsa Craig stands in splendid isolation and it is very exposed to sudden changes in weather.

No sooner had we set off than the wind increased and became very unstable in direction and gusty as we were in the lee of the Craig. Looking back we saw an amazing sight as...

  ...the SE wind whipped a plume of mist to leeward of the rock.

Initially we didn't launch the sails as the gusty wind was all over the place from dead ahead to dead astern.At first Phil and Tony were a bit reluctant to launch the sails. I dropped several hints: "It's steadying.", "It's gone round to the north." and "It's settled to a beam reach." Eventually I tired of hints and launched the sail.

This hint could not be ignored and the others quickly followed suit and we set off on a cracking beam reach towards an unseen Girvan. The bulk of Ailsa Craig rapidly...

...receded in our smiling wakes. Remarkably it was still only 08:38am!

Scared the willies out of them on Ailsa.

After the High Speed Catamaran Express passed behind us, we could at last relax on our crossing from Pladda to...

 ...Ailsa Craig. We enjoyed a light but steady tail wind which helped speed...

...the final few kilometres. Perhaps we relaxed too much because we let the now flooding tide...

 ...carry us a kilometre to the east rather than keeping our ferry angle.

After our 22km crossing, we were rather hot and bothered by the time we made landfall at the lighthouse spit. Tony and I went for a quick swim. A couple of large grey seals swam unexpectedly round the corner of the spit. I am not sure who got the willies scared out of them more, us or the seals.

After evacuating the water, Tony and I ate our luncheon and watched a tiny speck grow into Phil who arrived on a solo crossing of the 16km from Girvan on the Ayrshire coast..

Uneasy moments and movements on the crossing to Ailsa Craig.

When we left Pladda for Ailsa Craig there was no wind but the ebb tide was running in its third hour and the water had an uneasy movement..

 This looking back at Pladda from 1.7km  to the south of the lighthouse. A shallow ridge runs out here from Arran in line with Pladda and kicks up a nasty tide race if there is any wind. The Ardrossan Campbeltown ferry keeps well off Pladda for this reason.

Ahead lay Ailsa Craig and at 08:47 the 07:45 Larne Troon high speed catamaran ferry crossed our path but safely well ahead.

We continued in a southerly direction on our long crossing to Ailsa Craig until a rumble of engines from behind...

broke the monotony. The MV Ingunn is a Dutch registered 3000Gt general cargo vessel. Compared with the HSC Express's 40 knots, she was travelling at a leisurely 11 knots. We did not pay her much attention but...

...she kicked up a really dirty, steep breaking wake. I shouted a warning to Tony and we both swung our heavily loaded bouts round to meet the wake. I just got my camera away in time as the wake broke over our bows to chest height and we both had to brace.

 The Ingunn motored on oblivious to her wake and our presence.

A little breeze got up and we hoisted our sails. At last we began to make out detail on Ailsa Craig. Then we heard the roar of HSC Express's engines starting at 11am as she left Troon some 36km away to the NE. We kept looking over our shoulders but...

...fortunately due to our early start, she crossed our path well behind us. We breathed a great sigh of relief as another uneasy moment had passed. At least we had suffered no uneasy involuntary movements.