Loch Linnhe

[peasemold]

Going to Caravan Club site at Bunree south of Fort William and keen to take my SIB with me.

Anyone get any local knowledge on the advisability/pitfalls etc of SIBbing on the Loch.

Any advice appreciated.

[A1an]

Originally Posted by peasemold

Going to Caravan Club site at Bunree south of Fort William and keen to take my SIB with me.

Anyone get any local knowledge on the advisability/pitfalls etc of SIBbing on the Loch.

Any advice appreciated.

Great loch for wildlife spotting, otters and Corran and seals basking on Seal Rock between Corran and the Fort.

Watch for tide at Corran narrows, it VERY fast.

[longjohn]

Just spent a week up there based at Dunsaffnage marina near Oban. Therefore mostly based around the lower reaches of the Loch nearer the open sea. All the Lochs around there are surprisingly deep (well for me who's usually based in the Solent) - it is not uncommon for it to be well over 200 ft deep just yards from the shore. Most of the shore line is rocky (easier in a sib than rib) so mind your prop but there are some bays and beaches to land and launch at, but obviously easier to launch at designated slips.

The weather in that part of the world can change very quickly and being on the water is much colder than on land. I would imagine that at the top end of the Loch it's a good deal more settled and calm than at the sea end and you are never far from shore - tho' it can often be glassy at the sea end as well.

Loch/Sea temp last week was 7 degrees.

Scenery is spectacular (if you discount Fort William!).

[The Gurnard]

Loch leven is on your doorstep at that caravan park and it can be a bit more sheltered than loch Linnhe. As mentioned..the tides at corran and also under the ballahulish bridge are strong.

Loch leven is one of my favourite sealochs. I launch with a Sib from a big layby on the north side of the loch opposite glencoe village. There is a ruined chapel and graveyard on the island in the middle of the loch just down from glencoe village which is worth a land and wander round.. The macdonald chief from the glencoe massacre is thought to be buried there along with many other clan chiefs. Its a very scenic long narrow loch so can be very sheltered and you are never far from land. There is a slight tide flow at the narrows half way along the loch..but nothing to worry about..i often fish in the flow.

Kinlochleven has an old pier and the water is quite deep..so it can produce some fish too..great for mackerel..but its still far to early for them.


If you like fishing..rays and congers can be caught near the bridge ..but watch the tide flow here. Often if it is rough on loch leven..it can be calm on loch linnhe from corran to fort bill...because the two lochs are at right angles to each other and the hills shelter them

The water is very shallow just off glencoe village..so watch and not ground your prop if the tide is low.

To be honest..there are many great places all within easy distance of the caravan site..so im sure you will have great fun exploring them

[match]

We stop at Salen on loch Sunart which is great and it's a nice trip to Tobermory on Mull. Highly recommend anywhere around there,but yes the weather can change quickly so always have the correct gear just in case. Happy Ribbing. :-)

Sent from my iPad using Rib.net

[jambo]

Originally Posted by match

We stop at Salen on loch Sunart which is great and it's a nice trip to Tobermory on Mull. Highly recommend anywhere around there,but yes the weather can change quickly so always have the correct gear just in case. Happy Ribbing. :-)

Sent from my iPad using Rib.net

I agree with re the cruise. But the op has a 3m sib with 8 horses and I am not meaning any disrespect to him in anyway but Salen from where he is staying is a fair bit in what can be a forceful stretch of water. Better to stick to the many places near by for good days sibbing.

[69cmw]

Originally Posted by peasemold

Going to Caravan Club site at Bunree south of Fort William and keen to take my SIB with me.

Anyone get any local knowledge on the advisability/pitfalls etc of SIBbing on the Loch.

Any advice appreciated.

I have stayed at that site a few times and taken my sib, easy enough to launch if u have big launching wheels, think its about 5 miles roughly up to the fort

[peasemold]

Thanks for all the pointers.

I now feel a lot happier to give it a go. 3.3 mtrs with 8hp is not the most powerful way to travel and sometimes lacks the thrust for fast tidal currents so Loch Leven might be a great alternative.

Unfortunately, the engine is the maximum weight I can lift into the boot of the car!!

Thanks

[kerlstone]

Been up that way many times with my sib, usually camp over the other side of the loch from where you are going though, its a great loch to explore and has been said by gurnard loch leven is also good if the winds in the wrong direction, plenty of beaches and islands to stop at, thats where a sib comes into its own as you can pull up anywhere you feel like unlike a rib.

A wee pic taken from the west side of the loch looking to the pap of glencoe in the background and i think thats your campsite on the left.
Just remember the weather can turn very quickly, so be safe and you'l love it.
Gerry.

[Cookee]

Passed through there on the way round Britain -

[Adeg]

Hi,

We are new to sibiing and due to stay at Bunree Caravan Club site in Aug 21

Absolutely love this part of Scotland, we stayed last year without SIB and explored the area bikes/walking/BNev etc, would love to give it a go on the loch(s), happy to stay close if need be

How would would we fend with our SIB 2.7 6hp with 3 persons given good weather... to visit loch Leven & FT from the site maybe?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

[The Gurnard]

Hi Adeg ..I know the area well so here is my thoughts ...

You would need to time our journey..both to Fort William and Also under the Ballachullish bridge so you had the tide pushing you through the Corran Narrows and the Ballachullish bridge. You wont get through if the tide is flowing against you which could be dangerous as the Corran Ferry wont stop for you. Then you will have to wait until the tide turns so you get pushed home again.

Personally..I would say you were ok in the bay and going down Loch Linnie if the weather is good but advise avoiding the Corran Narrows and Ballachullish Bridge at displacement speeds

[Adeg]

Thank you, appreciated

[Adeg]

So as I read it, good weather and tide study are most important for us to achieve, is there a preferred app or website for this to help pre-plan or real-time for tides and weather?

Can you define the bay?

Understand the Ballachullish bridge tide timing to and from loch leven is important but would we then encounter different tide flows to and from campsite as they are at right angles (if you know what I mean?)

Corran Ferry crossing may only be possible with practice I think

What safety essentials should we take onboard, obviously will be taking life jackets and spare fuel tank? Any idea of fuel consumption, we have a 12l spare fuel tank that we are thinking of taking with us too.

[The Gurnard]

Hi again ..yes there are various sites ..I use Easytide as my preferred site. It only gives the current 7 days ..so look it up again when you go

Show Prediction (free) - Corran 07/05/2021 for 7 days - EasyTide

Remember and add 1 hour for BST

The tide will still go in and out at Bunree Caravan site and at the same time as the Corran Narrows and under the Ballachulish bridge. However it wont have the same speed/force. Possibly only one knot off the campsite. Nothing to do with tide but beware the water is shallow for a long way out off the campsite.

To understand why.. you have to imagine there is a lot of water emptying out Loch Leven through the tight restriction under the bridge (Or going into it when the tide is on the flood) ..so it flows a lot faster in the narrow restriction under the bridge than it does in wider parts of the loch. Example it flows at a speed of around 5 or 6 knots under the bridge. (The Corran narrows are stronger and possibly around 6-8 knots)

There is a formula to work out top speed of a displacement boat which is Speed in knots =1.35 x (square root of water length in feet) . Therefore your boat will do approx 4 knots top speed ..so you can now understand why you cant go through when the tide is flowing against you.

(I presume you wont plane your SIB with a 6HP and three people so its displacement speed only.)

However there is nothing stopping you driving to Loch Leven and launching your boat from the Glencoe boat club.. If you ask and pay a small donation..they do allow it. Or launch from a layby. Same with Loch Linnhe , there is a large parking area north of the Corran Narrows and you can launch from it and go to Fort William safely from there..assuming good weather.

The "Bay" is anywhere away from the Corran Narrows and under the Ballachulish Bridge

Hope that helps

[The Gurnard]

As for fuel..my 6HP will easily do the full length of Loch Leven on 12 litres..I think I get around 40 miles but its a small RIB I use with the 6Hp..calculate yours around 30-35 miles and you should be fine at that with a little in reserve

[Adeg]

Great knowledge, thanks again...