Craobh to Ardrossan: The Long Way Round

Craobh Haven to Ardrossan: The Long Way Around

Our sailing journey continues, and it’s been anything but simple. This week, we faced a major decision: take the shortcut through the Crinan Canal or embark on the scenic, long way around. After a series of confusing and contradictory accounts, a single phone call made our choice for us.

We’ve found that the information about the Crinan Canal varies wildly depending on where you look—the official Scottish Canals website, the Crinan Canal’s own site, and the ever-present Facebook sailing forums all seemed to offer different advice. Our boat has a 2-meter draft in saltwater, which increases to about 2.1 meters in the less-dense freshwater of a canal. While some sailors had boasted of successful transits, others confessed to grounding. We placed a call to the canal’s sea lock, and the man on the other end was a straight shooter. He told us the maximum depth for transit was 2 meters and that we were simply too deep. When Tracey questioned him about other boats making it, he simply replied, “They lied, and then complained about grounding” before hanging up. Decision made! We were taking the long way around, and our new route would include stops at Port Ellen on Islay, Campbeltown, and finally, Ardrossan.

The Glassy Passage to Islay

We waved Olly off and headed for the fuel pontoon before leaving Craobh. It was a scorching day with no wind, and the water was like glass, providing a perfect mirror of the surrounding landscape. Of course, the wind was on the nose, so there would be no sailing today. Nick's passage plan, however, was a masterpiece of tidal mathematics. We zipped along at anywhere between 6-10 knots, cutting our journey time from eight hours down to a comfortable six and a half. The Corryvreckan at 9.5 knots would have been far more interesting had the day not been so calm.

It felt so good to be back on the water and moving again! The new scenery was stunning, and we're not sure words can ever do justice to the views. With the sun beating down and the sea flat calm, the water was so clear and blue that you could see deep into its depths. While moving through the Sound of Jura, we spotted giant jellyfish pulsating their way through the water. The hours passed quickly as we diligently logged our progress using our new Raymarine chartplotter. There’s a lot of learning to do with all this new tech!

As we passed Craighouse, a "pan pan" call came over the radio—a sailing yacht had suffered engine failure and was requesting a tow. We were just about to respond when another vessel radioed in, saying they could see the boat and were on their way to assist. We could only spot the sailboat in question, but as a RIB came zooming towards us, Nick pointed them in the right direction. We were happy to continue our journey knowing that the distressed vessel, Grace, was being towed to safety.

Soon, we began to spy the masts of several boats anchored along our route. Having left our new dinghy back down south, anchoring wasn't an option, so we had to push on to Port Ellen. As we approached the port, we started to spot the famous distilleries. Islay is world-renowned for its smoky, peaty whiskies, and we passed Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig—three of the most iconic distilleries on the island. After passing inside the small Isle of Texa, we followed the buoys into Port Ellen. The port is a busy hub for ferry services (from Kennacraig on the mainland) and commercial fishing. Fortunately, there was plenty of space for us in the small marina, which operates on a first-come, first-served basis as do many of the marinas in Scotland.

After tying up, Pepper was thrilled to have a run on the beautiful, golden sandy beach. It had been a while since she had played in the sand! We were thankful it was a one-night stop, as the port’s constant noise from refrigeration lorries left us with little sleep. The fee was a reasonable £27 for the night. Exhausted from the long day and the build up to coming into a new port, we skipped the local pub and tucked in early.

Rounding the Mull of Kintyre

The next day, with the weather still looking perfect, we left Port Ellen at midday to catch the best of the tide to take us to Campbeltown. The start of the journey was smooth, with our main excitement coming from updating the hourly log and trying to keep up with Vernon Kay's radio quiz. To get to Campbeltown, we had to round the Mull of Kintyre, a magnificent headland (the word 'mull' is from the Gaelic maol, meaning 'headland' or 'promontory'). Of course, Nick had Paul McCartney's classic song queued up on Spotify, claiming it simply had to be done!

The landscape began to change as we sailed onward. Purple heather sprawled over the hills replacing the vibrant greens we had been used to seeing. It was a pinch-yourself moment, realizing we were here on our own boat, doing all the things we had once only dreamed of. As we rounded the Mull, we had Paul McCartney's voice belting out across the water, with Nick miming along and pretending to play the bagpipes, it would have looked funny to anyone watching but I’m sure the locals are used to it. We'd been told we could stay close to the rocks for a shortcut, but playing it safe, we steered a bit further out. Big mistake. We spotted some overfalls—areas of turbulent, confused water caused by strong currents—and it got very lumpy. Pepper was not a fan! It only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity as Tracey tried to keep a terrified Pepper calm.

Back in calm waters, we noted the huge landmass of Ireland on our starboard side. The scenery changed again, this time from the purple hills to beaches nestled in dips, with cars visible along the roads. We passed Sanda Island and, through the mist, caught a glimpse of Ailsa Craig. This iconic isle, famous as the source of granite used for curling stones, felt like a homecoming for Tracey, who hadn't seen it since she left Scotland in 2011.

Ardrossan and the Promise of Dits

Emotion aside, we still had to get into Campbeltown, another new port to tick off the list. We rounded Davaar Island and followed the marker buoys into Campbeltown Loch. The harbour master was there to greet us, and our preferred starboard-side-to approach made for an easy docking. Campbeltown is steeped in history; it was once hailed as the "whisky capital of the world," boasting over 30 distilleries in the late 19th century, though only a handful remain today. It was also a major fishing and trading port. With only one night to stop, we knew we wouldn't be able to explore its history this time. A fair was in town, and the noise carried over the water. We prayed for a quiet night, but sadly, our prayers were not answered. The wind picked up, and we awoke to the boat being pinned against the pontoon, with endless banging and water slap against the stern.

The next morning, we debated whether to leave or wait it out. But as other boats began to empty out of the marina, we decided that if they could do it, so could we. Nick helped another boat leave before us, and then, with a perfectly executed spring off, we were underway. The weather was a far cry from the previous two days, and we put on our warm coats as we headed for Ardrossan. Nick decided to deviate from the planned route, heading towards Arran to find shelter from the conditions. It worked well, and although it was still bumpy, it wasn't too bad. Pepper, however, saw things differently, and it took about an hour to calm her down.

As we rounded Pladda, we spotted dolphins! They came and played in our bow, as if they knew we were feeling a little low and needed a boost. Our spirits lifted immediately. With Ailsa Craig standing proud to our right, we rounded the bottom of Arran and began our final approach to Ardrossan. Tracey spotted the familiar landmarks of Prestwick and Troon, and the small lighthouse on Lady Isle, sparking happy reflections from her previous time living here. The entrance to Ardrossan seemed to take forever to reach, but we were finally the first boat to arrive for the rally. We enjoyed a quiet night to ourselves, settling in and getting the electrics sorted. We're looking forward to the next four days and nights of meeting up with like-minded “loonies” (as Nick calls them) to swap stories and sailing tips. The promise of hot and sunny weather makes it an even better prospect!Read more