"The Orange Box" RiB Adventures

Glorious 3 & 4 July 2011

2011-07-04T23:22:00.001+01:00

Well ! 3 glorious days on the water around Cumbrae and Bute, glorious!
Dolphins, cracking clear scenery and lots of sea-goers enjoying the weather and conditions.
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Sun 3 July 11

2011-07-03T14:19:00.000+01:00

Summer has arrived at last, Kilchattan Bay . No wind, very little cloud, scorchio!
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1st start!

2011-04-03T15:45:00.000+01:00

First start of the year and on only 2 turns of the key. Tell tale stronger than a horse peeing in a trough!!
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Aug 2010

2010-08-08T20:29:00.007+01:00

08.08.2010

Weather: Sunny. Wind:SSE

Fuelled up at Largs Yacht Haven then headed down east side of Cumbrae to south end of Bute and followed the east coast of Bute back up to Rothesay. Spent couple of hourse walking around a quiet Rothesay in the sun and warmth. Coffee at the Black Bull before heading home. Fairly "lumpy" on way back but good test for the vertebrae!!

05.08.2010

Weather: Sunny, Wind WNW 10-15mph

Great day out in the Firth of Clyde. Extremely lucky to film some playful dolphins who came alongside and followed us

03 & 04.08.2010

Weather: Fair, Wind WNW 15-20mph

Few runs testing the engine etc

02.08.2010

Weather: Sunny, Wind WNW 15-18mph

Travelled to Kames, Argyll, lunch at the Kames Hotel, very good food and as always, a warm welcome. Stayed there until 1600hrs and 40 mins later were back home, wind & tide behind us, return journey 10mins shorter than on the way there!

A Trip on Endeavour, Mon 12 July

2010-07-13T19:07:00.007+01:00

Trying out a Fuji S8100 camera on a trip on the "Endeavour". Some crackin' results ! The beauty is with 18x Optical zoom, you don't have too get too close and disturb the locals!

Relaxing behind Wee Cumbrae

Lucky enough to spot dolphins too and with considerable patience and a half-cocked shutter ready, managed to get these shots.....

April Travels, no boat though!

2010-04-15T17:52:00.013+01:00

Well, a last minute decision to take a few days in Skye led to us enjoying some fantastic weather, its more like the Med here than Scotland !!!

Monday this week saw us leaving superb weather in Cumbrae to drive northwards to Ft William our selected "stop-off", breaking the journey to Skye. Absolutely great weather all the way north, sunroof open, music on, FANTASTIC drive, up Loch Lomond side, thru Glencoe to Fort William, breath taking scenery.

Overnight in Ft William, and departed Tues AM for Skye, again, sunny, warm, Glen Shiel was fantastic, over THE bridge to Skye and still sunny!! UNbelievable scenery all the way to Portree where we'd booked the Rosedale Hotel. Can very highly recommend this hotel, looks right onto Portree's harbour, very warm welcome and staff very helpful & friendly, rooms etc spotless. A tour of the local hostelries later revealed GREAT live TRADITIONAL music in the Isles Inn, Portree,(2 accordionists (Sam & James Stewart), fiddle & guitar, BRILLIANT!). Unfortunately, the pub seemed to run out of vodka !!!

Wednesday, drove to Dunvegan Castle, some repairs going on to the roof at present but the interior is certainly quite interesting. Headed south then down to Portnalong, passing Talisker (but not stopping!!) before heading back to Portree late afternoon .

Some pics from Wednesdays drive:

Heading NE from Portnalong towards the Cuillins

The Cuillins themselves:

Thursday, we headed up Trotternish, passing the Old Man of Storr, then the Kilt Rocks and adjacent waterfall, passing Duntulm castle before heading to Uig. We stopped at the Skye Museum of Island Life, Kilmuir , have to say, the best £2.50 value for money museum ever, gives a real insight to all aspects of island life thru the ages, really excellent, don't miss it out if you visit Skye!

Here's some pics of Thursdays trip, then off to find more music!

The Old Man Of Storr:

The basalt pillars of Kilt Rocks, nr Staffin & waterfall

And the view south from the same point:

The Museum of Island Life, Kilmuir:

WELL WORTH A VISIT !

RYA First Aid & VHF/GMDSS Courses Coming Soon

2010-02-02T22:36:00.003Z

Great news for anyone looking to get qualified or refresh their skills, Harry Middleditch, Geronimo Sailing School will be running courses soon. If interested, contact Harry via Geronimo Sailing School site for proposed dates or contact me for Harry's number.

October on the Clyde

2009-10-17T18:26:00.025+01:00

As was the case 2yrs ago, the weather this month on the Clyde has been fantastic!!! Really warm and sunny, much more so than the so-called "summer" months of July & August !

The Orange Box has not been on the water throughout the summer since June due to a technical hitch, but hopefully remedy is not too far off!

However, that hasn't prevented us from being able to enjoy several trips around the area with kind friends with their boats (Endeavour, Topsy, Spirit of Cumbrae, to name a few).

One or two comical sights along the way, Millport's own working magician, was spotted in College St having completed a job "not like that,............. just like that"!!!!! Fortunately, everything turned out better than Tommy Coopers usual tricks!!

Strange, but Davie "Tommy Cooper" Stevenson disappeared before I could get a second pic!!

Anyway, back to the boating!! Monday 12 Oct saw a few intrepid, cultured explorers leaving the shores of Cumbrae and setting off for Tarbert (Loch Fyne) aboard a Fairey Swordsman, the "Spirit of Cumbrae", a classic motor cruiser.

A fair pace was set by the very skilled young skipper Sandy, who expertly berthed us at Tarbert approx 1hr or so later.

A few explorers led the way to The Frigate, imagine the great disappointment in my realisation that this was a hostelry of all things and not a ship, ach well, these things are sent to try us!! A few re-acquaintences were made with friends of the fishing world who met after a number of years (Howard would get a jeely piece at any door!). Tarberts' Kenny & James (you know who you are, I won't mention second names in case you were meant to be somewhere else!!) joined the group catching up on all the Cumbrae news!

Later, we we headed for Rothesay, Isle of Bute for an hour stop to finish off a great day and empty Rothesay's fish & chip shops !!(Howard again!). Big thanks to the "Spirit of Cumbrae"s Alex & young Sandy for a superb day!

Wednesday night, 14 Oct, a wee trip on the "Endeavour" to Kilchattan Bay for dinner at the St Blanes Hotel. An eventful night and rounded off nicely on our safe return home!

With weather more like the Med than the Clyde, blue skies, mirror-like water, Fri 16 Oct saw us again heading off on the "Endeavour", this time for lunch at The Kingarth Hotel & Smiddy Bar.

Absolutely stunning weather conditions & a great lunch, here are some pics of the scenery:

After lunch we set off for a cruise round Wee Cumbrae, passing the lighthouse at Glencallum Bay, Isle of Bute (south tip)

Round towards and around the Wee Cumbrae, the colours were stunning and the castle really stood out in the sunshine:

A few seals (with some pups) could be seen and just basked in the unexpected heat!

All in all a truly fantastic day, thanks this time to the "Endeavour"s Sandy!!!

Where did that wind come from.......

2009-06-10T20:43:00.006+01:00

Sunny, warmish, wind 3-4mph N-ish, (at first..........)
Well the day started well, well in truth, better than yesterday (whole story not published on yesterdays blog!!)
A quick jaunt to the west side of Wee Cumbrae then round the west side of Bute where the sun was beating down on our arrival.

That, however, was somewhat shortlived and a rather fresh NW wind picked up. Not problematic in itself, but in the small inlet in the west rocks where we were tied up and sunbathing, it was a problem. The wind and the swells started giving the wee rib a "bit of a doing" and moreso, led to some planning requirements to get out into the open. Trying to get on was like trying to mount a bucking bronco on speed!! However, planning and good sense prevailed and we extracated ourself from the rocks.

Heading south and rounding Garrioch Head led to altogether calmer waters and pleasant sprint homewards.

This is what it was like when we arrived

Sadly, wasnt able to hold the camera steady enough to get a pic of what it was like when we were trying to get out, like 2 different places altogether.

Every day is a school day!!

Sunny Intervals! 09.06.2009

2009-06-10T09:03:00.007+01:00

Wind 4-5 mph, NW, Sunny,cloudy/cloudy,sunny.
After last weeks slight technical issue with low pressure from the outboards' tell-tale, all is well again! Its now running as it should! An hour or so on shore with the engine running with flush muffs seems to have cured the problem.
First good deed of the day was the inaugural "Millport Bay Executive Tow Service", a new service saving time for those busy folks that need to get back to work haha!! The "tow-ee" is towed to a short paddle distance from the shoreline saving them valuable minutes!!

Lunch afloat between the Eileans in Millport Bay while we decided on a plan of action and then a scoot across to Wee Cumbrae, glorious weather in the bay there. 'Nuff said......!

Afloat Again !!

2009-06-02T10:36:00.007+01:00

Well!! After the calamity of 2008, the Orange Box hit the water again on Sun 31 May !! The weather here in the west coasts of Scotland is nothing short of outstanding...day-long sunshine,heat, no wind.
So on Sunday, with good friends, we hit the water and headed to Kilchattan Bay and the St Blanes Hotel, absolutely brilliant being back on the water.

Mon 1st of June saw us heading to the west side of Bute, the weather again, outstanding......better not get toooooo used to it !!!

En route, off Wee Cumbrae a pod of 4 dolphins (small, possibly quite young) were swimming past near us, unperturbed by our presence, but even better was to happen later.

We headed off to the west side of Bute and landed to relax in the sun. The quiet was shatterred by one of the most fantastic sights we have seen so far.

About 4pm,we could hear sounds coming from the water and when we looked onto the water we couldn't believe our eyes!! There were about a dozen dolphin and what a display they put on.

Several were breaching completely out the water, completely graceful in their movements, fantastic!!! Being used to seeing them swimming and just breaching with their blow-holes, this display of completely clearing the water was beautiful to watch, but even better was to follow....

Completely oblivious to us spectating, we then got a diplay of a few of them spiralling out of the water vertically, even managing some aerial acrobatics (!!)...cork-screwing in the air and torpedoing back below the surface, an awesome, unforgettable sight!!

The only downside was that our cameras were still aboard the boat, we'd forgotton to take them ashore....aaargh!! Ah well , there's always next time (we should be so lucky!!)
Hopefully, the pictures (only taken with phone camera) capture the idyllic flavour of the day!

We had slight technical problem in that the outboard tell-tale was intermittantly not running as it should so the Orange Box got lifted out for closer inspection........more later on this

Update !

2008-09-16T00:29:00.004+01:00

Not been on the water since 8 July.....still same problem with leg, cast still on, "summer"disappearing ....

The Summer of 2008

2008-07-10T20:14:00.004+01:00

Well........after a protracted delay to the start of the Orange Box 2008 adventures, it finally reached the water on Mon 7 July!! With the search for a replacement tow car, fitting of a tow bar, replacement of the impeller and resultant repair required to the gearcase, it was then the trailer bearings crying out for attention.
But....on Mon 7 July, it all came together and.....with the quietest trailer in the West of Scotland, the Orange Box reached the slip silently and was launched for the 1st time this year! A trip to Kilchattan Bay reassured that the vessel was running beautifully!
Even better weather on Tues 8th followed and a trip planned for Rothesay & the rest of Bute was curtailed due to the skippers "luck". A slip on gravel trying to push a boat brought about a strange "popping" sound from the Skippers left calf,further investigation reveals the Achilles tendons' not really too healthy when it "pops"!
A cast & crutches later means this'll likely be the last trip update for some weeks, but keep watching, I'll maybe post the ramblings of a First Time Crutch Users Adventures !!!!!

Event of the Week

2008-06-04T19:56:00.003+01:00

During a trip out on "Endeavour" this afternoon, fortunate enough to stumble on the UK Submarine Racing Championships in the Firth of Clyde, see pic below..............

Well.....come on, what did you expect !!!hehehe

Story so far.......

2008-05-26T23:14:00.002+01:00

For all the avid followers of the Orange Box's adventures, apologies for the lack of updates since the last one.

Beset by car difficulties and then boat "challenges ",the Orange Box with crew has not yet reached the water.

HOWEVER , everything seems to be on an even keel again (pun intended) and we're ready and raring to go!
A big thanks to "Endeavour" and "Topsy" for trips while the OB was laid up!

An even bigger thanks to Sam & colleagues at Clyde Marine Propellers (Ltd) (www.propeller-repair.co.uk) who did the best welding job, can't recommend them highly enough, 1st class work!
So watch this space for the first trip of the year!.......

Visit Scotland In Miniature ?

2007-10-10T17:21:00.000+01:00

Wed 10/10/2007

This time its not an Orange Box trip update. Instead, six of us are heading to Sannox & Corrie, Arran on the "E*******r" (boat name disguised so they can still visit Scotland In Miniature after this blog update).

Again, unbelievably, the weather is outstanding, not only better than forecast, but better than expected at this time of year. Better in fact, than many of the "summer" days!!

Departed Millport 1100hrs and headed off, expectations high, faint with hunger looking forward to some lunch!

Many of you who follow the ramblings on the site will not be surprised that things didn't go quite to plan..............................

So now you'll be hoping the next pics are of Scotland in Miniature, in October, in some of the finest weather this year, with lots of tourists mingling around, taking in the wonders.......

Sadly not! The pics are of the south end of Bute because....................

For the 2nd time in a short number of years and as a result of landing there during one previous October Holiday week and not being able to get served, quick fone calls in advance (we were halfway there tho!) revealed that the north end of Arran was again closed til...............who knows?

The hostelries of Corrie, Sannox & Lochranza were all apparently closed for holidays, all at the one time, don't know if they are opening their doors for the Oct Hols next week, so if you're going, take a packed lunch........just in case.

Not too disheartened,some of the happy crew cracked open the packet of crisps to share for lunch

All joking aside, it was still a great day !

We headed for the always open, St Blanes Hotel, Kilchattan Bay, Bute where we had a great lunch in convivial company!

The scenery, skyscapes and seascapes on the trip back were outstanding, hopefully some of the pics that follow will convey that though , having no camera with me, I had to use my mobile phones' camera with my polarized sunglasses as a filter! :

So, what are the learning points? Well, perhaps (tongue firmly in cheek here folks) we should telephone ahead around March/April to find out in advance the 2 months in the year Scotland In Miniature is open?? Or maybe we were just unlucky, we'll put it down to experience (twice, hehehe). Its just dawned on me, Scotland In Miniatures acronym is SIM, perhaps its just a virtual location on a computer game (SIM City becomes.....make up your own mind here!!!), maybes I'll just create my own virtual lunch venue.

Ach well, these things happen, still turned out a great day so absolutely nowt lost!!

Unbelievable October

2007-10-07T16:06:00.001+01:00

Live update from Kilchattan Bay......The weather is incredible here in Scotland! After what can honestly be described as a disappointing Summer, October has reminded us just how good it can get. We've had a high all week very settled, dry warm and SUNNY! Unable to tow the OB to the slip due to car problems was fortunate enough to have a few trips on the "mighty" Endeavour which without exception, 1st class! Today as can be seen from the pic, the weather is outstanding and we decided to launch. A short blast across to Kilchattan and a picnic in the sun......it don't get much better!

Left Kilchattan Bay and 20mins later arrived at Rothesay. Very quiet there, still work going on in the harbour, Had coffee, meandered around, the scenery towards the Kyles, absolutely outstanding!

A Basking Shark at Last! (4 Sep 2007)

2007-09-05T00:30:00.002+01:00

Wind WSW Var 8-16mph, Low cloud, visibility.....not good!

Set off from Largs marina about 1345hrs, headed southwest towards Bute which was barely visible in the low (rain) cloud and it looked as if it might be a disappointing day in that local scenery couldn't really be seen. I even passed comment that we'd be unlikely to spot any dolphin or porpoise because of the waves/swells.

However, carried on thru the Tan towards south end of Bute.

As luck would have it, just northwest of the Tan buoy about 1/4 - 1/2 mile west of Westbourne on Cumbrae, luckily looked to the right hand side in time to spot a large dorsal fin in the water......couldn't believe our luck. Didn't approach too close but held position roughly 20m off to observe a 6m-7m basking shark evidently feeding.......fantastic....been hoping to see one for ages!

Thanks to Scott (co-helm & cameraman for the day) here is a pic of the dorsal fin, followed by a video clip

At one point you can see the "snout", dorsal fin and upper part of the tail fin, giving you an idea of the size of the shark (a bit difficult to hold position & camera due to conditions):

Carried on thru fairly dreich weather, delighted though at having been able to see a shark and headed to Rothesay to dry out in the Black Bull.

Spent an hour or so having a wander around, looking eastwards to see nowt but low cloud ..and no mainland.

However, set off at 1700, GPS switched on and headed back to Largs, some porpoise close by on the journey, found Largs amidst the gloom about 1725hrs!

So, in summary, a unexpected great day rounded off with a meal at Regattas, Largs Marina

Trip Round Bute

2007-08-27T20:29:00.002+01:00

Wind 14knts, NW, sunny intervals
Departed 1310hrs, up East Kyle, thru the Narrows passed Tighnabruiach to Kames and lunch in the Kames Hotel. Departed 1730hrs down West Kyle, Inchmarnock, Garrioch Head, The Tan and back home. 1st class lunch at Kames and a handy running mooring on the shingle beach! Highly recommended!
No elusive basking sharks but nevertheless a great day!

Live Update from OnThe Water !

2007-08-26T16:02:00.002+01:00

Wind 15-20mph gusty NW, sunny intervals.
The Orange Box and crew managed a rare day out during the recent good spell of weather. Sat anchored off wee Cumbrae listening to the acts taking part in WeeFest in the sun.
Waved to Calum & Greig from Largs on the Cumbrae Voyager having a whale of a time, also saw "Panther" & crew, looking for seals this time, not chips!!
Bit breezy but warm in the sun.

Fingers crossed for another blast tomorrow!

The season so far........

2007-07-24T13:08:00.000+01:00

15 July 2007
Wind 3mph NE, sunny & warm
Trip to Kilchattan, St Blanes Hotel, lunch lovely lunch with the "Mad Macs" crew, Mark & Helen. Beautiful weather & conditions, great company, fantastic day!

Also bumped into Graeme & Alison of "Highlander" , everybody out enjoying the good weather !

23 June 2007
Wind Nil, sunny & warm.
After a great night aboard "Penhous K", a quick blast back to Cumbrae. Crackin' morning and a great run back down the East Kyle to Cumbrae.
Later that night, a fast transfer from Largs to Cumbrae for cricketing legend (he told me to say that !) Tony Judd...a new convert to RiBs (only cos Calmac had finished for the night I suspect!!)

22 June 2007
Wind 12mph NW, sunny & bright & thundery (Yikes!!)
Running late (as usual), a mad dash from Largs Marina to Colintraive to meet up with yacht "Penhous K" and crew for a birthday celebration! (31mins from Largs to Colintraive).
Gave the Rothesay ferry a run for its money (but he won!). 1st class meal at The Colintraive Hotel and a "few" drams and nightcaps. A tranquil overnight stay aboard, beautiful setting.

Staff very kindly put 3 candles on the table to commemorate the birthday celebration. (They were frightened to bring out the appropriate number of candles for the birthday chap in case the fire alarm was activated!!)

13 June 2007
Wind variable 16-23mph Easterly, Cloudy, but dry
The Orange Box skipper had a day off to 'crew' the "Raven". This machine ate the waves for a burst over to Lochranza and a very pleasant RV with "Cowal" owned by Russel & Elspeth. Pretty lumpy water both directions, but Raven and her skipper coped admirably!! Lunch at the Lochranza Hotel and return to Millport, Isle of Cumbrae & Largs on the adjacent island of Great Britain!!

7 June 2007
Wind 2-8mph, mostly sunny, warm
Maintenance & couple of local journeys only !!

6 June 2007
Wind 2mph, SUNNY AND very WARM!!
Kerrycroy, Bute, absolutely tranquil!!
Trip down to Kilchattan where we found half of Cumbrae there, "Topsy", "Endeavour" & "The Orange Box"!

Back to Cumbrae & a tandem run later with "Raven"....some machine!

Met the Skipper & crew of RiB "Panther" (pic 6 below)on the hunt for chips on Cumbrae.....better luck next time guys !!! Crackin Rib & nice folks!!

Dave D, skipper of "Panther" also kindly sent me video footage from off Arran of a rare whale sighting

2 May 2007
An informative, educational day with Howard & Donald aboard the "Aplysia". Left Cumbrae 0800hrs, up the East Kyle to Loch Riddon in search of aurelia (jellyfish) & mud samples. (Loch Riddon is a breeding ground for aurelia) Best brunch ever at Loch Riddon courtesy of Chef Howard, best BLTs in the land. Great Day, many thanks chaps!

April 2007
No winter trips due to almost constant high winds. A slow start to 2007 due to maintenance, new steering, flat battery bits n pieces! Managed a trip to Kilchattan aboard Donalds "Topsy", 1st Class!