Sandbank, Argyll and Bute
Encyclopedia
Cowal
thumb|Cowal shown within ArgyllCowal is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands.-Description:The northern part of Cowal is mostly the mountainous Argyll Forest Park. Cowal is separated from the Kintyre peninsula to the west by Loch Fyne, and from Inverclyde and North Ayrshire to...
Peninsula in Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, 2.5 miles north of Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
on the coastal A815 or the inland A885. It sits on the southern shore of the Holy Loch
Holy Loch
The Holy Loch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Robertson's Yard at Sandbank, a village on the loch, was a major wooden boat building company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
, branching off the Firth of Clyde.
Alexander Robertson started repairing boats in a small workshop at Sandbank in 1876, and Alexander Robertson and Sons Ltd (Yachtbuilders)
Alexander Robertson and Sons Ltd (Yachtbuilders)
Alexander Robertson started repairing boats in a small workshop at Sandbank, Argyll and Bute in 1876, and went on to become one of the foremost wooden boat builders on Scotland's River Clyde. The 'golden years' of Robertson's yard were in the early 1900s when they started building IYRU 12mR & 15mR...
went on to become one of the foremost wooden boat builders on Scotland's River Clyde. The 'golden years' of Robertson's yard were in the early 1900s when they started building classic 12 & 15 Metre racing yachts. Robertsons was well known for the quality of its workmanship and was chosen to build the first 15-Metre yacht designed by the legendary William Fife
William Fife
William Fife III OBE , also known as Wm. Fife, Jr., was the third generation of a family of Scottish yacht designers and builders....
(Shimna, 1907). More than 55 boats were built by Robertsons in preparation for the First World War and the yard remained busy even during the Great Depression in the 1930s, as many wealthy businessmen developed a real passion for yacht racing on the Clyde. During World War II the yard was devoted to Admiralty work, producing a wide range of large high speed Fairmile Marine Motor Boats. After the war the yard built the successful one-class Loch Longs and two David Boyd designed 12-Metre challengers for the America's Cup: Sceptre (1958) and Sovereign (1964). Due to difficult business conditions the Robertson family sold the yard in 1965, and it was turned over to GRP production work until it closed in 1980. During its 104 year history, Robertson's Yard built 500 boats, many of which are still sailing today. The yard ceased trading in the early 1980s and the site was levelled soon after. The site has since been consumed by residential building and the new Holy Loch Marina development.
Sandbank was the site of the shore facilities of the US Navy submarine base
Submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue , Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Naval Submarine Base New London, and Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base .The Israeli navy bases its growing submarine...
in the Holy Loch from 1961 to 1992. It was, for 30 years, until the end of the cold war, the home port of US Navy SUBRON
SUBRON
SUBRON is the United States Navy abbreviation for Submarine Squadron. A SUBRON usually consists of three or more submarines. It is the submarine force equivalent to a Destroyer Squadron or DESRON in the surface Navy...
-14 (Submarine Squadron-14). Nowadays, a part of the old navy complex that was the former location of Morris & Lorimer's boat building yard, is a timber loading berth and marina.
Sandbank is now the location of The Holy Loch Marina, a successful development with over 200 berths (and growing) available. There is a chandlers, brokerage and fuelling facilities onsite.
The ongoing expansion of the Holy Loch marina in 2007 has caused a few problems within the village.
This development is expected to take anything up to 12 years to complete. Using mainly dredged seabed to form an infill, which will eventually be the site of car parks, restaurant, offices and retail outlets. It is also going to be situated next to a large timber port which many of the residents object to as well as the disruption to their view of a naturally beautiful Loch.
Much of the wildlife that visit the area has been displaced or moved to other areas due to the construction.