During February 2020 there were gales on half of the days of the month and three weekends on which the winds reached storm force. Storm Ciara coinciding with the high spring tides did the most damage, shifting tonnes of gravel and seaweed mixed onto, and under the pontoon, leaving the upper deck at a crazy […]
Hebridean Princess made three visits to Strachur Bay in March 2020, on the 3rd, 14th and 19th March. The gales only let up on Monday 2nd of March, and a work party of volunteers readily cleared the deck of tonnes of seaweed and lumps of wood and other debris, just in time for the visitors. […]
Here are some photos of a Mute Swan feeding off the pontoon weed growth (the Eiders eat the Mussels, but the Swans are vegetarians!) Not quite mute, as it had a good snort at me when it surfaced to find me there. Good to know we are providing for our feathered neighbours too.
These two specimens were caught from the pontoon in July – both fish returned alive to the loch. The Scad, the first that likely has been caught here, a visitor likely due to the good weather early in the summer, is more common further south in the UK, but not in Scottish waters, and […]
Nature Notes Ian Arnold This guillemot came to me at the pontoon whilst I was draining the dinghy, and that is where I took the photos. However, it paddled out behind me when I went to Aquila, although on the surface it could not keep up. When it saw me on the stern, it dived […]
A legendary hidden rock hazard called “The Stallion” which rears up nearly 400 feet from the sea bed to the surface of Loch Fyne opposite Strachur is about to be reined in. The treacherous barnacle-covered reef which is exposed only at very low tides is marked on the earliest charts as a threat to unwary […]
Boudicca, the cruise ship went up Loch Fyne this morning and turned just short of Dunderave Castle. She did not linger at Inveraray of course, as there is no landing with the pier shut up. According to the marinetraffic website she passed back down by Strachur at 1045hrs doing 16.7knots, heading for Tarbert. Passengers would […]
New for this summer, the Strachur pontoon has an offset hammerhead of 13.5m giving more versatility for berthing in various wind directions, with a minimum depth on the outside of 3.4m (11ft) at Low Water Springs. Extra cleats have been added where larger boats can be accommodated, and the outer end fendered, and all of […]
On Sunday 10 April 2016, a little later than planned, the pontoon was moved from its temporary moorings in Strachur Bay to its rightful position attached to the concrete anchor block on the shore of the loch, which will enable the final stage of deck modification to take place. An intrepid, if ageing, band rowed […]
By Rickety Skit The more observant residents of Strachur will have noticed that the much-celebrated and used pontoon has, well, gone. It just isn’t there. Ian Arnold, secretary of the association, said “It wisnae me!” When pressed, he confessed that he had been on the Redbay Rib owned by Martin Ashall which was observed dragging the […]
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