Tayport

Tayport is tidal and access is about 3.5 hours either side of High Water....

.... except for shallow draft boats. When this and the currents outside in the Tay Estuary are taken into account there is a fairly narrow time window open to the visiting sailor to arrive at the outer buoys. If the wind is foul and you are using your engine then it will take about an hour to transit from the buoys depending on your speed through the water so basically you have to do your sums carefully. Currents on the charts are given as 1.9 kts on springs but that is out where it is fairly wide - nearer to Tayport you can expect 3+ kts at half flood. Outbound will be even more interesting as you will want to get out through the harbour entrance as soon as there is enough water; but that will mean pegging an adverse tide all the way down to the outer buoys to get round the sand spits which you will reach about the turn of the tide at HW.

You will notice that there is a Fairway Mark way out on the 20metre contour; that is there for the cargo vessels going up to the docks at Dundee and should not trouble the normal yacht skipper. You can aim to enter between the Abertay PHM and the Abertay ECM , though if you have very good navigation gear you could join the channel about halfway between that set of buoys and the next set in (the Inner PHM & the Inner SHM) always remembering that the soundings on the chart are all of thirty years old. Once in the channel it is just a matter of buoy hopping up to the entrance to Tayport. At night there is a sector light just to the West of Tayport to keep you within the channel as far as the Larick Pile (unlit)

There is also a much shallower channel to/from St Andrews Bay between the Green Scalp and the Abertay Sands which is used by shallow draft local fishermen but even they suggest that you don't use that as it calls for local and recent knowledge. (We looked at it at about 2/3 flood with an easterly 2 to 3 and there was white water all over the place even in those conditions so not recommended)

On a hazy day the entrance to the harbour can be difficult to pick out until you are quite close, though you will see the Larick Pile Light (marked on the chart as an obstruction and shown in our photo gallery)) from quite far away. Broughty Castle on the North bank of the channel is prominent and can be a good indication of the location of Tayport; they have also painted the walls on either side of the harbour entrance white, to make them easier to pick out. As a further aid there is a red & white striped pole on the East pierhead and a green and white pole on the West side both of which carry flashing lights (Fl 5sec) of the appropriate colour at night.

Off the harbour entrance, and not shown on the Admiralty chart, is a small, unlit PHM which you should round before aiming for the harbour entrance. There are yellow, unlit triangular day marks, (aligned on 185°T) on the West side of the harbour entrance (one on the wall and one on a pole on the other side of the street) which will assist you on keeping to the channel. Beware, the current which has been favourable to you all the way up the channel will become a cross current here which means you should consider clearing away for harbour before the Larick Pile Light or risk being run aground whilst attempting to start the engine!! Seriously – 10 minutes at 3 kts is quarter of a mile unless you have enough crew for one to stay on the helm and motor into the current whilst you rig fenders and lines.

The Tayport website can be found at h ttp://www.tayportharbour.org.uk/