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The Tail of the Bank is the name given to the
anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
in the upper
Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
immediately North of
Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
, between
Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the histo ...
and
Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
. This area of the Firth gets its name from the deep water immediately to the west of the sandbank which marks the entrance to the navigable channel up the
Estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
of the
River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
.


Location

From the Glasgow Green Tidal Weir westwards, the
River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
is
tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...
, mixing fresh and salt water. At
Milton Island Milton Island or Green Inch was an island in the Clyde's estuarine waters close to the old ford across the river at Dumbuck near Dumbarton. The island was once part of the tidal ford supposedly built by the Romans. Industrial activity has chang ...
the river was still shallow, then past
Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...
and the confluence with the River Leven a shoal and sandbank increasingly takes up most of the width of the estuary and extends along the north shore for about to Ardmore. Areas of sandbank dry out at low tide, including the Pillar Bank off Dumbarton and
Cardross Cardross (Scottish Gaelic: ''Càrdainn Ros'') is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical ...
. By
Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...
the main flow of the river is close to the south shore, with the Cockle Bank to its north, then the Greenock Bank which extends past the waterfront harbours to a point off Ocean Terminal where the "Tail of the Bank" shelves steeply down to exceed depth. The Shoals at this depth extend northeasterly towards Ardmore, then meet a shallow slope off the northern shore. The depth continues to the northwest, and about midway across the firth between Ocean Terminal and
Craigendoran Craigendoran (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ) is a suburb at the eastern end of Helensburgh in Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Clyde. The name is from the Gaelic for "the rock of the otter". It is served by Craigendoran railway station ...
is marked by the wreck of the "sugar boat" ''
Captayannis The Captayannis was a Greece, Greek sugar-carrying vessel that sank in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland in 1974. Shipwreck On the evening of 27 January 1974, a severe storm caused the ''Captayannis'' to drag her anchor while she was waiting at the ...
'' which lies in that depth about north of Greenock Esplanade. To the west of
Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local governm ...
, a deep channel enters the
Gare Loch The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( gd, An Gearr Loch) is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands. The loch is well used for sailing, recreational boating, list of w ...
. On its west, the Rosneath peninsula forms the north shore, across the firth from the Fort Matilda suburb of Greenock. Midway between them, the Rosneath Patch reef divides the Clyde into two deep-water channels, and sets the west boundary of the anchorage. Ships approaching up the Firth of Clyde can take the Ardmore Channel along the south shore of the Rosneath Peninsula, turning north up into the Gare Loch, or the main Firth of Clyde Channel which follows the Greenock shore east-southeast to Ocean Terminal. The entrance to the dredged channel of the River Clyde is between No. 1 green conical light buoy, off Greenock Esplanade in line with Margaret Street, and No. 2 red can light buoy marking the Tail of the Bank, about from the corner of Princes Pier. The channel continues about to the centre of Glasgow. The anchorage depth varies from to , with the usual anchorage to the east of a line set by two red lights on a pillar and post at the Esplanade end of Madiera Street, Greenock. The line points to The Hole, an area up to deep to the east of the Rosneath Patch and south of Rosneath Point, a 1925 description says that large ships anchor to the west of the line.


History

In his 1828 description of Greenock, the cartographer John Wood noted: "There is a Sand-bank, which extends from
Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...
to a short distance to the westward of the Harbour, which narrows the Road for vessels opposite the Town; but at the tail of this bank there is deep water and anchorage for the largest vessels." The Tail of the Bank was a significant point of embarkation for many travellers, especially emigrants, to Canada and the United States of America. Steamships of the
Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...
en route from Liverpool to New York City regularly called at Tail of the Bank to pick up additional passengers. In the past this area was at times crowded with ships, particularly during the Second World War when the
Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...
warships of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
temporarily left
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
after the sinking of HMS ''Royal Oak'' and were based at the Tail of the Bank. The Clyde Anchorages Emergency Port (CAEP) was improvised there in September 1940 by stevedoring companies evacuated from the Royal Docks of London (closed by the first bombing raids on London). Hundreds of
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...
s of the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
convoys gathered there, as well as ships of the
Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
Navy. The upper Firth was protected by an anti-
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
boom at that time, stretching from
Cloch Cloch or Cloch Point ( gd, stone) is a point on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. There has been a lighthouse since 1797 to warn ships off The Gantocks. Location Cloch Point lies on the A770, north of Inverkip, three miles south-west ...
point across the Firth to
Dunoon Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well ...
on the
Cowal Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...
Peninsula. A monument in the form of a
Cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine (french: Croix de Lorraine, link=no), known as the Cross of Anjou in the 16th century, is a heraldic two-barred cross, consisting of a vertical line crossed by two shorter horizontal bars. In most renditions, the horizon ...
combined with an anchor was erected on
Lyle Hill Lyle Hill stands at the West End of Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland. It has scenic viewpoints accessible from Lyle Road, which was constructed in 1879–1880 and named after Provost Abram Lyle, well known as a sugar refiner. The hill's hi ...
overlooking the Tail of the Bank, to commemorate the Free French Naval Forces. It is also associated locally with the Vauquelin class destroyer '' Maillé Brézé'' which blew up off Greenock with heavy loss of life on 30 April 1940, before the Free French Naval Forces were established. By 1944 the CAEP became one of the principal destinations for US troops sent to Britain. In 1974 the "sugar boat" ''
Captayannis The Captayannis was a Greece, Greek sugar-carrying vessel that sank in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland in 1974. Shipwreck On the evening of 27 January 1974, a severe storm caused the ''Captayannis'' to drag her anchor while she was waiting at the ...
'' was at anchor at the Tail of the Bank when it was driven northwards by a storm and turned on its side on a sandbank midway between Greenock and
Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local governm ...
, forming a large shipwreck which is still visible in the middle of the Firth. Though the sugar trade has been greatly reduced, Greenock's Ocean Terminal facility now handles container freight and regular cruise-liner traffic. The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
HMNB Clyde His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...
bases on
Gare Loch The Gare Loch or Gareloch ( gd, An Gearr Loch) is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands. The loch is well used for sailing, recreational boating, list of w ...
and on
Loch Long Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Sea Loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately in length, with a width of between . The loch also has an arm, Loch Goil, on its weste ...
are linked by this area of the Clyde, and the Greenock ''Great Harbour'' is one of the three main ports providing marine services support to the Navy, formerly under the
Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) was a British Government agency which ran a variety of auxiliary vessels for His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The service from 2009 has be ...
and currently operated by
Serco Denholm Serco Marine Services is a Private Finance Initiative contract, with Serco Group, to deliver auxiliary services to His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary). Marine Services primarily operates ...
.Serco: Marine Services
"Admiralty boats" are therefore a common sight, occasionally shepherding large Navy ships.


References


External links


Burns, John Allen, Heroes of the British Merchant FleetThe Clyde's Wreck - ''Captayannis'', the "sugar boat"
{{authority control Estuaries of Scotland Landforms of Argyll and Bute Cowal Firth of Clyde River Clyde Scottish coast