The Forth is a good place for a cruising dinghy, though it does not have the glamour of the west coast. Port Edgar is a good base with secure car parking and a wide, gently-sloping slipway. A fee of £4.00 covers launch and recovery of all boats of 17 feet loa and under. For dinghies under 16 feet the fee is £1.50, while canoes and windsurfers go for 75p. The full address is Port Edgar Marina, South Queensferry, Lothian EH30 9SQ, tel. 031 331 3330.

There are a number of old fishing harbours around the Forth, most of which dry out, and five inchs or islands. A good chart of the Forth is published by Briggs Marine Contractors, which contains 25 harbour plans. More detail is given in the ‘Pilot Handbook’ published by the Forth Yacht Clubs Association, price £9.50. Both are available from The Bosun’s Locker Yacht Chandler, Port Edgar tel. 031 331 1233.

One of the most attractive places to visit is Inchcolm, a small island with an abbey dating from 1123 and owned by a government agency called ‘Historic Scotland’ .The landing fee of £1.80 per head includes admission to the abbey, also use of the lavatories! If many visits are planned it will be worth becoming a ‘Friend of Scottish Monuments’ SDD, P.O. Box 157, Edinburgh EH3 5RA. This would give access to Inchcolm, and Blackness Castle above the bridges.

Sea birds and seals are much in evidence around Inchcolm and Inchbieth. For contrast visit the centre of Edinburgh, by way of a regular bus service to and from the ferry terminal at Granton Harbour. There are toilets and showers at the marina and a small cafeteria.

Further Notes

1. Keep clear of ports operated by the Forth Ports Authority which cost £10.00 for an overnight stop.

2. An excellent new pilot book has just been published by the Royal Northumbrian Yacht Club called ‘Sailing Directions, Humber and Rattray Head’ (above Peterhead) price £17.00 from Mrs Sue Mitchell, 2 Promontory Terrace, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. Mrs Mitchell is the widow of the author. It is well-written, attractively presented in A4 size, with clear charts and description and a colour photograph of a cruising dinghy on the cover! The sort of book that makes one impatient for the spring.