Craignish Cruises News

Next trip

2012-02-09T17:33:00.002Z

We will run a 3 hour trip this saturday 11th February Wildlife and Corryvreckan as it is schools half term. Weather is not looking too bad. Depart 1pm to get the best of the day

February

2012-01-31T16:35:00.002Z

The days are finally starting to get longer and preparation for the season starts in earnest.

Weather permitting and subject to a minimum of 4 passengers we will run a couple of trips later on in the month when things start to warm up a bit and the wildlife becomes more active.

Took a run out to Jura today and saw sea eagles, a great northern diver and an otter The otter was in Loch Craignish and just sat on top of the water looking at me but by the time I grabbed the camera too late.

New Year

2011-12-31T18:39:00.001Z

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THIS SEASON

2012 spring tides

2011-12-08T16:21:00.001Z

the spring tide dates for 2012 are now on the whirlpool-scotland site

Winter 2011

2011-11-11T10:59:00.005Z

We are taking a break just now to deal with a mountain of paperwork but weather permitting will run some trips over the Xmas holidays. Jeff and I took a run out last week and had some great sea eagle sightings with loads of common seals around also. Jeff is away to his winter job diving on oil platforms and will join us again next season.

september

2011-09-22T22:57:00.003+01:00

Lots happening just now. Sea Eagles are back at the nest site to see off some younger birds which are trying to muscle in so great sightings just now. The stags are rounding up the ladies getting ready for the big event. The grey seals will be pupping shortly

dolphin again

2011-07-26T00:11:00.002+01:00

David Philip photographer was with us this week and what a week, great weather and lots of wildlife. The Corry was giving some great swirls as conditions were calm and we finally got Julie from Ardfern shop out on her birthday although she stayed in the wheelhouse while we went through the whirlpools with a slightly nervous look on her face as she had never been to the Gulf in all the years she has been in Ardfern

David got a great stag shot on Jura and this bottlenose dolphin in the Dorus Mor

otter

2011-07-16T10:19:00.002+01:00

We have been seeing this otter on a regular basis at the north end of Jura, although there are plenty about they are shy and hard to spot but this one seems to be getting used to the boat and is not bothered when we turn up, will try to get some more close up shots in the coming days, David Philip is with us this week with his big lens so will hopefully the otter will show himself again.

Spring tides just now so Corryvreckan will be performing well over the next few days.

more dolphin

2011-07-03T21:01:00.003+01:00

What a day, glorious weather, Corryvreckan performing well light winds allowed us to get up close and personal with the Calliach, loads of porpoise, sea eagles flying over Scarba, and to top it all 15 bottlenose dolphin spent about 15 mins with us what a treat. We seem to be having more dolphin sightings than usual just now but so far have not seen any whale although there has been one about so we are told.

I dont want to go

2011-06-13T15:20:00.003+01:00

Sea Leopard 1 went away last week to her new job in Dover as a cross channel swim cover boat.

Her new owner Stuart Gleeson is one of twelve operators licenced to provide safety cover for cross channel swimmers. She is now based not far from where she was built and we hope that she looks after Stuart the same as she looked after us the last 9 years

June 2011

2011-06-03T19:49:00.002+01:00

After a wet and windy spell in May at last some decent weather. Spring tides at the moment have woken up the Calliach and she is giving us some good curling standing waves and this afternoon a couple of good whirlpools.

We have seen bottlenose dolphin in Corryvreckan a couple of times in the last few days let us hope they stick around for a little longer

sea eagle in nest

2011-05-15T14:57:00.002+01:00

Another great shot from David. I think that she may have hatched the last couple of days as she is now sitting on the side of the nest and being a bit more active.

Our business mobile went for a swim on Thursday so we are really sorry that we have been out of touch the last couple of days, new sim card arriving tomorrow.

We finally have our full licence for 60 passengers, the naval architect made a mistake on some of his calculations which has caused delay in the issue of the licence while the MCA check out the new calculations. At last we are fully operational and will not have to turn so many people away.

2011-05-10T17:19:00.003+01:00

More shots from David, Osprey again in Loch Craignish and looking from Craignish Point towards Corryvreckan Sea Leopard 11 in the foreground

last Sunday we had a great afternoon with the male sea eagle flying towards the nest and 4 bottlenose dolphin bow riding in Corryvreckan, they stayed with us for a good 10 minutes then an osprey flying on our way home. We also had a number of porpoise around the boat

The last 2 days we have not been out as it was a bit wet and windy so time to catch up on maintenance and paperwork

Latest news

2011-05-05T16:11:00.003+01:00

The season is well under way now with the recent great weather keeping us busy. Jeff King has joined us for the season as mate and is doing a great job.

The sea eagle is again incubating and we sometimes see her head poking up above the nest with the male coming in to check things out from time to time.

The Craignish ospreys are nest building just now David Philip, photographer, has been with us the last 10 days and has some great osprey shots, when he is on board I leave the photography to him. Big tides and calm seas in Corryvreckan just now are giving some great swirlies as I call them. All in all a great start to the season

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T12:45:00.002Z

the calm weather over the Christmas break allowed us to run some trips. Although the calm conditions are great for wildlife spotting the Corry was not as impressive as it can be.

Good wildlife sightings last week with a number of juvenile sea eagles in the area and even in Loch Craignish. Common and grey seals in good numbers with the odd otter also being seen.

Plenty of red deer down by the shores feeding

Sea Leopard 11, the hooded one

2010-12-08T14:59:00.004Z

3 of the lads from Blyth Workcats braved the conditions yesterday to travel from Canvey to Ardfern. They are here to make modifications to the canopy, fit a life raft cradle and fit foils to the inner hulls. Ardfern put cling wrap round the bow to provide shelter for the lads and keep the bow section dry while the foils are fitted.

The foils have been tested on another similar vessel and will help considerably to lift the bow earlier which will give a significant reduction in fuel consumption and reduce the amount of spray coming on board in rough conditions.

The Launch

2010-08-22T22:10:00.004+01:00

Sea Leopard 11 was officially launched into Loch Craignish on Thursday 18th August by Michael Heads of Ardbeg Distillery by breaking a bottle of Ardbeg Corryvreckan whisky over the bow before taking to the water using Ardfern Yacht Centre's new sub lift boat hoist

The day was a great success and was attended by everyone envolved with the project and various members of the press and local business people. Archie put on a magnificant sea food BBQ and Inverawe Smoke House brought some of their award winning smoked products for every one to try. Michael Heads put on a whisky tasting with Corryvreckan whisky being the tipple of the day.

Our thanks to Ardfern Yacht Centre and all the staff for all their efforts and support

Sea Leopard 11 at work

2010-08-20T07:20:00.002+01:00

2010-08-14T07:26:00.002+01:00

She has arrived

2010-08-12T22:05:00.003+01:00

She has arrived

2010-08-10T21:46:00.002+01:00

Archie, Gordon, and I brought Sea Leopard 11 up from the River Crouch arriving at 3 am after a long 730 mile trip. We had a mixed bag of weather from a force 6 on the nose in Dover Straights to a force 6 on the tail in St Georges channel so the boat was put through her paces and performed perfectly taking the waves with ease and at times surfing down the waves at speeds in excess of 20 kts
She is now fully operational and ran her first Corryvreckan trip today taking the whirlpool in her stride
today we saw a sea eagle try for a fish right beside the boat, what a treat.
photos to follow as soon as we get a chance to take some

Almost finished

2010-07-31T13:05:00.002+01:00

Sea Leopard 11 will be coming out of the shed Monday,and will be transported to Essex Marina Tuesday where she will be launched.

Sea trials and survey will be carried out Wednesday and Thursday with handover on Friday.

All being well we should have her home in Ardfern August 9th .

nearly there

2010-07-17T07:58:00.002+01:00

official launch

2010-07-09T15:00:00.002+01:00

AUGUST 18TH :

There will be an official launch of Sea Leopard II on August 18th ,when invited members of the press and local business people will join us to celebrate the arrival of the new vessel. Sea Leopard II will be launched in to the water with Ardfern Yacht Centre's new innovative sub lift boat hoist.

Michael Heads of Ardbeg distillery on Islay will break a bottle of the much sought after Corryvreckan Whisky over the bow and will run a tasting session during the afternoon.

Inverawe Smoke House will be offering a taste of their world renowned products and Archie is organising a seafood feast to complete the afternoon

Here's hoping the Calliach of the whirlpool will favour us by providing good weather on the day!

the build progresses well

2010-07-04T11:14:00.003+01:00

Susan and I were at Canvey last week to see progress and resolve some issues with the layout of the wheel house

The build progresses

2010-06-25T16:45:00.002+01:00

Archie was at Canvey yesterday to see progress. The wheelhouse was being put on and the deck finnished. The engines are there ready to install

I will be going to Canvey next week to finalise wheelhouse layout and other details

we have a launch date of July 29th followed by sea trials and survey and assuming no hick ups we should be on our way north with her the following week

minke whale

2010-05-24T22:27:00.002+01:00

today saw our first minke whale sighting of the season and what a sighting, she came alongside the boat and dived under the hull. At the same time the male sea eagle was flying 50 meters from us so what a day. There were also a number of porpoises and seals feeding in the area with gannets diving into shoals of fish brought to the surface by the cetacians. Also saw our first sighting of a sea eagle chick in the nest with mum now leaving the nest but keeping a watchful eye.

Sea Leopard 11

2010-04-12T20:49:00.002+01:00

Archie was down at Canvey last week and all is going well with the build, in fact it is ahead of schedule. The 300 gallon fuel tanks were going in while Archie was there , Fims engines have taken delivery of our engines and are working on them prior to delivery to Canvey in the next couple of weeks, the two section wheel house is ready to lift on once the decks are finished , and if all continues without any hitches we have a possible launch date of around the 28th June.

The build continues

2010-04-06T14:04:00.002+01:00

The build is going well and on schedule. The deck frames are in place and the deck is going on ready for the wheel house which will be started soon. We have submitted our proposed safety gear and electronics requirements to the MCA for their approval and once we hear from them will place the orders

The season got off to a good start after the cold snap and wildlife sightings have been good with the sea eagles incubating on the north end of Jura again and increasing numbers of gannets each day. Red deer have been feeding on the kelp around Pig Bay which allows us to get close without disturbing them

hull release

2010-02-25T10:41:00.004Z

The hull was released from the mould yesterday and moved to the "factory"

things start to get more interesting now as the build progresses.

Sea Leopard 1 is on the hard just now for antifouling but I need one more dry day to finnish.

Canvey Island

2010-02-07T14:14:00.005Z

The Workshop

Blyth's workshop at Canvey Island.

We are on board a 10 meter vessel being fitted out for angling charter. There are five vessels in the shed in various stages of completion. The one in the middle is a 14 meter, you could play football on the deck!!

From left to right myself Lindsay Johnston, Martin Antrobus, and Archie Macdonald

Archie is my new partner in the business, Martin is with Blyth

the hull

2010-02-07T13:25:00.002Z

The hull is now starting to look more like a boat

The MCA surveyor has had two visits so far and has approved the work to date so no hold ups

The hull will be ready for release from the mould by the 19th February all being well

the mould

2010-02-04T12:51:00.004Z

And so the mould progresses.
The inside of the mould was first cleaned and polished and then a release agent was applied to the inside of the mould to ease the lifting of the hull from the mould. Then the gel coat is applied followed by the resin and matting. And so the hull finally starts to take shape.

The Build

2010-01-20T19:59:00.004Z

The build of our new vessel starts today. Photos show a similar vessel although ours will have a larger wheelhouse and a canopy over half the deck
we will follow the build as it progresses and post photos on the blog
Sea Leopard 11 will be a Blyth 12 meter passenger vessel coded to carry around 60 passengers. She will be powered by twin iveco 400 hp engines and be fitted out with the latest electronics and safety gear. The Blyth uses cutting edge design for enhanced stability making this vessel the ideal platform for viewing wildlife and seeing corryvreckan in action. We expect to have her launched at Canvey Island early July and after extensive sea trials, stability tests ,etc we will bring her home by sea and hope to be operational by the end of July.