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Home > News > Summer Sailing around the Beautiful West Coast of Scotland
Home > News > Summer Sailing around the Beautiful West Coast of Scotland

Summer Sailing around the Beautiful West Coast of Scotland

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Published 15:43 on 1 Aug 2018

As members of Ripon Sailing Club, we joined Andy Hague on his yacht "Jester" to experience big boat sailing. A group of five of us have just returned from a sun packed week's adventure. Meeting at Stranraer on Friday 13th July 2013. We set sail early Saturday morning to catch the tide.

Day 1 we sailed up the Firth of Clyde to Largs Marina. This was the longest day's sailing but helped the group get to know each other. Andy is very experienced and you always feel that you're in a safe pair of hands.

Day two was up towards Glasgow, passing a couple of submarines on their way in and out of Faslane. The weather was damp but we had some good strong wind putting "Jester" through her paces. We finished the day in Holy Loch, where we found a lovely little marina and a local pub serving great local beer.

Day three we sailed down to Rothesay. No submarines today but a good day, sailing once again all the way. We found a little marina, with some rather unusual Victorian toilets! We also managed to find a lovely little micro-brewery, and as it was sunny we chatted the afternoon away.

Day four was my favourite day. We sailed up and around the Kyles of Bute; absolutely stunning; Once again the wind was kind to us and we sailed the majority of the way. We arrived in Tarbert which is also stunning. We had a walk up to the castle and a browse around the shops for presents to take back home. We had heard of a tiny shed selling fresh sea food across the harbour, so we fired up the little tender and set off on a mission to buy some scallops for supper.

Day five was beautifully sunny, however we had no wind at all. We decided to motor down to Lochranza, an amazing spot. Some crazy people decided to go for a swim in the bay, we had a few G&Ts and sat in the sunshine, chatting about the week's antics.

Day six we sailed down to Campbelltown. Arrived in time for a stroll around the town and a spot of lunch. We booked for dinner in a brilliant little bistro and had a great final evening's meal to celebrate a fabulous week. Andy is a great host, and ensures that everyone is included in the sailing and that all have a go.

Day seven was an early start to get back across to Stranraer. Wet, windy and choppy we wrapped up and set off back to where we started a week ago. Five people who did not know each other, had some good laughs, saw some fabulous sights sand sailed a few hundred miles. I would highly recommend giving big boat sailing a go with Andy and "Jester".

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Last updated 16:53 on 27 March 2024

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