A meet based in and around Loch Melfort is now planned for the weekend around 24-25 June 2006.  (Had to change the date due to work commitments.) Planning information will appear here, the page will be frequently updated, so remember to refresh the page in your browser!  This page last updated 18 June 2006.

Rendezvous:

Friday 23 June, afternoon, in or around Asknish Bay, north of Craobh Haven (I expect to be in Craobh on the Thursday evening). We will aim to be around there late Saturday afternoon as well, in time for meeting up at the Bistro in the Arduanie Hotel in the evening, about 7-ish. I will have Sunshine there (yellow Tiki 21) and we are hoping that Toroa will be around as well. We may also have a Tiki 26 and with any luck Dave Peak with his "Meganesia" (or whatever he is calling it ... !).

Contact John Cooke if you aim to be with us on the Saturday evening as we need to know numbers real soon now!  NB my mobile number in the yearbook is not right - the last group of digits has a 9 missed off the end - it is +44 771 078 6029.  House number has suffered the same fate - it is +44 131 447 9157. (Both were correct in the information recently circulated to local members.)

General location:  56° 15' N, 5° 33' W

Chart: Admiralty 2326 (Leisure edition) (1:25,000); Admiralty 2169 (1:75,000) for an overview and approaches.

Ordnance Survey map: Explorer 359, Oban, Kerrera and Loch Melfort (1:25,000)

Pilot: The Yachtsman's Pilot to the West Coast of Scotland, Crinan to Canna (Martin Lawrence, Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson 1990)

A generally useful page appears to be West Coast Boating

Tides:

Friday 23 (launch day!): LW about 11am, HW about 5pm (summer time)

Monday 26: LW about 1pm  (springs)

I made a recce over the weekend 1st / 2nd April so have updated the following information on camp sites and launching.

Launch sites:

See http://www.boatlaunch.co.uk/

Melfort Pier and Harbour also details here

This is a sort of holiday village now, and the launch facilities are apparently only available if you are staying in their holiday accommodation. It looks very nice but the slip would not cope with anything bigger than a Hitia 14.

Kilmelford Yacht Haven

This has grown a lot since I last saw it, with a large number of yachts ready to be swung in when I visited at the rece.  Their main business is clearly the big yachts, and their main launching facility is a railway mounted hoist - wouldn't suit our trailer sailer catamarans. There is a slip there but it's hard rather than concrete and a bit uneven, though it would do to launch Tiki 21s well enough I guess. There are good facilites, and they do have visiting mooring rates of £14 per night for over 6m - check the website for up to date details.

Craobh Marina (pronounced "croove", long northern "ooooh"!)

When I was last at Craobh it seemed a bit "yachty", but this time they were very helpful and friendly, and seemed quite happy to accommodate some visiting trailerable cats. Apparently the Drascombes sometimes launch from there now when they have a weekend meet - I have seen them in the area further north, in Loch Creran. The slip at Craobh is superb, nice and wide, and there is plenty space in the boat park once all the yachts are in the marina. Prices are on their website - check for current - but look like £1.85 per metre each way for use of the slip and £2 per metre nightly berth rental (booking probably advisable). Facilities look good and there's a bar / restaurant as well. No chemical loo disposal though.

Camp sites:

One is shown on the OS map on Asknish Bay (Arduaine), but the ScottishCamping website says it is closed.  The recce showed this to be well and truly the case - it is a deserted overgrown area, and camping would no doubt be frowned upon unless permission from the landowner (no idea who) could be obtained.  There are no facilities anyway.  Another listed nearby (Glen Gallain) is unfortunately also closed.

The nearest camp sites are Lochgilphead Caravan Park which is about 30 minutes from Craobh Haven (less than 20 miles away) and has tent pitches as well as touring and static caravans - it looks very good. There are a couple south of Oban (a little over 20 miles away, but with some narrower roads to negotiate) about 40-45 minutes from Craobh Haven, these being the Oban Divers Caravan Park where I was told that at the time of booking you would have to check if they have room for trailerable boats, and has slightly more difficult access than the Oban Caravan and Camping Park at Gallanach which was closed when I visited but looks to have plenty space.

Anchorage:

Asknish Bay looks promising and is in the pilot.  Near the closed and overgrown campsite is an old pier, and a scrap of sandy beach (alongside the more shingly / stony stuff) where a cat or two could be beached, and this is not too far - less than half a mile - from the Loch Melfort Hotel.

There are also about three or four visitor's moorings here for customers of the Loch Melfort Hotel, which has a Bistro / Café Bar which looks good for an evening meal, though we would need an idea of numbers a week or so before the meet weekend. We noticed that the Loch Melfort Hotel also appears to have bookable showers for visitors which could be useful! They said the moorings can get busy in the summer.

Contact John Cooke (see PCA yearbook or marwynandjohn home page for contact details) if you intend to be there!