Hello

[GavanM]

New to the site.

Just recently bought a Honwave T38

Home is Stirling area however planning to use the rib over in Elie area

Looking for as much assistance to keep myself safe on the water.

Completed my boat handling and radio course through BSAC 20 + years ago however not did much since then.

[Peter_C]

Welcome to RIB.net

The Honwave will be a fun capable boat. Number one most important thing for boating safely is a radio with DSC, and of course an anchor, along with paddles for smaller boats. If it is often very foggy a GPS which could be considered a cell phone is important. I prefer a depth finder with fish finder with full maps to avoid rocks and find dive sites. Choose the days you head out carefully. Learn what apps to rely on for weather, waves, and tides.

[GavanM]

Thanks Peter,

Just bought a ICOM IC-M37E need to get into the manual

I have a good Garmin GPS and the rib has a fish finder that I need to av a play with however should be ok for depth.

Originally Posted by Peter_C

Welcome to RIB.net

The Honwave will be a fun capable boat. Number one most important thing for boating safely is a radio with DSC, and of course an anchor, along with paddles for smaller boats. If it is often very foggy a GPS which could be considered a cell phone is important. I prefer a depth finder with fish finder with full maps to avoid rocks and find dive sites. Choose the days you head out carefully. Learn what apps to rely on for weather, waves, and tides.

[Steve509926]

Hi and welcome Gavan.

Coincidence! I was looking at Elie only this morning. I plan on visiting Kinghorn sometime this year to do a bit of family ancestry investigation (apparently a good proportion of my ancestors hail from Kinghorn and surrounding area) and was looking for places to launch whilst I was there.

Search function on here is excellent, search for things like "maiden voyage" they will usually answer a lot of questions and if they don't just ask, no matter what the question is someone will usually have an answer. Also take a look at this thread:-

https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/what-k...sib-42712.html

What's your T38? IE2 or IE3? What OB are you planning to use?

[Fenlander]

Hi Gavin and welcome from me too.

We had a couple of holidays at Elie/Earlsferry but cottage/beach holidays without the boat. Obviously sussed out the Elie launch situation while we were up there and it didn't look ideal. Charges at the harbour are £20 for a launch and day's car parking... if you can find a car space as it gets so busy in the summer.

The slipway is exceptionally basic being a semi concreted gap in the rocks where you have to launch and go as there is really no-where to tie up and have a post engine start loiter. On days where the wind is brisk and onshore at that slip a launch is near impossible.

There seemed to be no access to launch at the harbour side of the spit the road and car park are on (The Toft) as this access is part of the watersports centre, despite hiring bikes from them we forgot to ask if they allowed access to launch that way. A phone call would check out this possibility and any charges... 01333 330962. Even if they allowed the initial sand was so deep and soft at that point and at lower tide states the harbour dries at the top end hence a fair transom wheel trundle needed.

The beaches to the east and west look sandy and attractive but there are many uncharted rock outcrops on the approach into these beaches which we saw from land at lower tide states.

Re places to go from Elie heading east St Monans harbour is very dour with nothing to see or do if you did tie up and have a walk about. Further along Pittenweem is all about the fishing with little for the casual visitor. A little further Anstruther is a much better place with lots of harbour side eateries. There is a bit of sand beach at the top of the east harbour area next to the RNLI where you can pull a SIB above the high water mark and tie to a lamp post while you have a look about.

Going west from Elie there are miles of different and usually near deserted beaches albeit taking care of rocks just offshore. Next place round is Lower Largo with little in the way of SIB friendly landing spots and nothing much to see. Similar situation at Leven further west.

Holiday lets are eye watering prices yet still book up very early.

This may all sound a bit negative but for what we like to do with the SIB we decided our 1000mls round trip and holiday cottage costs gave us better value on the west coast. Of course if you are already in Scotland of have connections to the area that totally changes things.

And our family beach holidays up there were brilliant.

[Steve509926]

Happy New Year Fen.

With that dour, negative description, perhaps my ancestral investigations will have to wait until I'm pushing myself around in a wheelchair!

[Fenlander]

Happy new year to you to Steve. Been very wrapped up in family stuff so haven’t posted much recently. Felt a bit guilty posting anything negative about an area but you know, and I’ll mention again so Gavan does, my judgement is from the perspective of a few hours or day out sibbing with a fairly accessible pontoon or beach for a mid/turnaround point and some facilities at that place. So it’s different if you were going out wave jumping for fun, fishing or Gurnard type exploring.

[beamishken]

From Stirling your well placed to explore the best that Scotland has to offer. If your boating experience is rusty as you suggest your probably better off heading west to re cut your teeth. The clyde area is well sheltered and offers numerous destinations within a fairly short run of the many available launch sites, Oban area is similar with lots to explore but maybe a little more exposed. You also have loch tay & loch lomond although I'm not a fan of loch lomond its too busy & over regulated since it got national park status for me. Whilst the east coast has some lovely spots it can be wild and exposed for a small boat. In your shoes I'd start west to build confidence before venturing east
I am a little biased though, living a few mins from largs we're a little spoiled. There are dozens of excellent sheltered boating destinations right up the west coast & plenty of choices of accommodation or camping sites

Sent from my SM-G950F using RIB Net mobile app

[Poly]

Elie is not bad - its expensive because its popular with the Edinburgh second home owners. The sailing club is reasonably well organised but facilities are not a marina etc - depends what you are looking for.

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Poly

Elie is not bad - its expensive because its popular with the Edinburgh second home owners. The sailing club is reasonably well organised but facilities are not a marina etc - depends what you are looking for.

Hi Polly, is there enough there for a couple weeks of exploring? as there is around Kyle, Oban or Largs?

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Polly, is there enough there for a couple weeks of exploring? as there is around Kyle, Oban or Largs?

OK, lets be 100% clear. West is Best. If you want 2 weeks where you can go boating most days in summer, go different places regularly in a small boat and see good sights and wildlife you probably want to be on the west coast. The beaches etc will be quieter too.

Could someone base themselves on the Forth for 2 weeks and do some interesting small boat exploration. Certainly. Somewhere in the depths of the internet there is a "dinghy cruising pilot" for dinghy sailors exploring the islands and harbours of the forth which has useful and info for those with engines too - but you will cover the ground quicker.

The islands of the forth are quite interesting from an exploration / modern history / industrial archaeology perspective. If the weather is right, a well-equipped boat with a reasonably competent crew could to Elie to North Berwick

The problem is the weather isn't good at playing ball. You are basically on the North Sea when you are as far east as Elie (rather than the shelter of the Firth of Forth) and so whilst you could get 10 days of glorious sunshine and flat seas you could just as easily get 10 days of F4+ with a big swell. There are other options for hugging the coast and exploring both heading W and NE. The fife coast is a bit odd - it has old fishing villages, luxury holiday villages, commuter towns, and some ugly industrial stuff that is surrounded by fairly poor quality social housing and associated deprivation. The west is not immune to that but its easier to hide from it.

Would I go on holiday to Elie for a week? Possibly, depending what you want. I always suggest on threads about the West Coast that people need to think about their non-boating family when they talk about 2 weeks in Oban. If you need to accommodate other interests which aren't about the climbing mountains or blasting about on the water then Elie is probably better placed than Oban or Kyle. A trip to Edinburgh Shopping is quite feasible, the cinema on a rainy day will have multiple options*, you can be in St Andrews, Dundee, Stirling fairly easily. If someone is a golfer you'll have more fun / options in Elie. Its a typical small seaside village with a beach. But its a Scottish seaside village - you probably won't be sun bathing all week. If you are a towing Ringos around, SUPping, Kayaking, and SIBbing type of family you'll have fun. if you specifically want to go from A-B and A-C and A-D and... and A-H (i.e. different destinations every day its possibly not the best base. In fact its possibly not the best base even on the Forth. Somewhere more sheltered from the prevailing Westerlies would be better. Somewhere with short hops for rougher days.

Would I go for 2 weeks - probably not if my main objective was to go out on the sib as often as possible. If the main objective was just a nice family holiday in a nice bit of the country and jumping on the boat for the best 3 or 4 days then Elie would not be a bad choice.


*I should say that the Cinema in Oban is worth going to just for the experience! but is unlikely to have your major Box Office hits that shut up moaning teenagers!

[beamishken]

Shameless plug here but if you want somewhere with easy access to many different destinations and sheltered waters & onshore activities we have this available 15 mins to largs 50 mins to loch lomond 40 mins to Glasgow 50 mins to maidens (12 miles by boat to Alisa Craig) plenty of room for parking boats & secure store for small boats, bikes & outboards etc.
https://www.rib.net/forum/f8/holiday-cottage-near-largs-clyde-88964.html

Sent from my SM-G950F using RIB Net mobile app

[Steve509926]

Thanks for that insight Poly.

If I didn't have a caravan Ken, your place would be on my list.

[GavanM]

Many thanks for the information. I actually got a static caravan last year (agree the prices are mad) hoping to get a season ticket to launch at Elie and then explore. Really want to do some fishing around the area.


Not planning to go anywhere unless I know the weather is good and the tide is on my side.

Love the area

Really appreciated ur post 👍



QUOTE=Fenlander;859989]Hi Gavin and welcome from me too.

We had a couple of holidays at Elie/Earlsferry but cottage/beach holidays without the boat. Obviously sussed out the Elie launch situation while we were up there and it didn't look ideal. Charges at the harbour are £20 for a launch and day's car parking... if you can find a car space as it gets so busy in the summer.

The slipway is exceptionally basic being a semi concreted gap in the rocks where you have to launch and go as there is really no-where to tie up and have a post engine start loiter. On days where the wind is brisk and onshore at that slip a launch is near impossible.

There seemed to be no access to launch at the harbour side of the spit the road and car park are on (The Toft) as this access is part of the watersports centre, despite hiring bikes from them we forgot to ask if they allowed access to launch that way. A phone call would check out this possibility and any charges... 01333 330962. Even if they allowed the initial sand was so deep and soft at that point and at lower tide states the harbour dries at the top end hence a fair transom wheel trundle needed.

The beaches to the east and west look sandy and attractive but there are many uncharted rock outcrops on the approach into these beaches which we saw from land at lower tide states.

Re places to go from Elie heading east St Monans harbour is very dour with nothing to see or do if you did tie up and have a walk about. Further along Pittenweem is all about the fishing with little for the casual visitor. A little further Anstruther is a much better place with lots of harbour side eateries. There is a bit of sand beach at the top of the east harbour area next to the RNLI where you can pull a SIB above the high water mark and tie to a lamp post while you have a look about.

Going west from Elie there are miles of different and usually near deserted beaches albeit taking care of rocks just offshore. Next place round is Lower Largo with little in the way of SIB friendly landing spots and nothing much to see. Similar situation at Leven further west.

Holiday lets are eye watering prices yet still book up very early.

This may all sound a bit negative but for what we like to do with the SIB we decided our 1000mls round trip and holiday cottage costs gave us better value on the west coast. Of course if you are already in Scotland of have connections to the area that totally changes things.

And our family beach holidays up there were brilliant.[/QUOTE]

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Thanks for that insight Poly.

If I didn't have a caravan Ken, your place would be on my list.

We had some great caravan holidays when our older kids were young, a small boat and caravan make for great holidays, best place we found was pentewan sands in Cornwall but a bit of a trek. Never did much of the west coast with the caravan, not sure the area is particularly well served with good touring sites or maybe we haven't looked . We did do loch lomond & loch tay a few times & also Oban. There is a small site near largs which is a handy base for the area.

Sent from my SM-G950F using RIB Net mobile app

[Steve509926]

Thanks Ken

[Fenlander]

Poly's post very much echoes my thoughts. I always research the launch location in great detail when we plan a possible holiday location as after all that's the crucial start point.

A bit more detail on the Elie slipway and harbour.

In this video you get a good look at the slip between 11sec & 35sec at a lower tide state. You can see the rough lower end, dog leg and surrounding rocks. At 1min the drone has panned round to give an idea of the distance to drag the SIB at lower tide states if you wanted to use the harbour side for launching, assuming the watersports guys were OK with that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN44PlAxHGI

In the next video at 1min 35sec it shows the slip at about 3/4 tide where the dog leg isn't visible and many of the rocks are covering. By full high tide there is even less visibility of the prop munching dangers. If the weather kicks up with a fair onshore element while you are out the return attempt to that narrow gap with waves surging in there looks precarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csrjJUGnOiw

In our two land based holidays in Elie there were only a few days out of a 2 weeks plus period when a launch from the slip would have been comfortable.

[Steve509926]

I remember a couple of years ago David, you said always look for a launch/recovery plan B, and if you can a plan C, if your preferred choice isn't on due to wind/tide/waves etc
Looking at that video I don't think I'm keen on plan A, and I don't see a plan B or C.
Oban here we come