AYE, aye me hearties, there will be no shortage of matelots on the River Clyde at Greenock this week!

No less than 250 boats are gathering at James Watt Dock for a Commonwealth Games ‘Homecoming Muster’ before heading to Glasgow on Saturday in the ‘River Clyde’s Biggest Ever Flotilla Festival’.

Organised by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), ‘Scotland the Muster’ has seen a host of feeder sailing events arriving in Greenock this week from Argyll and the isles, Ireland and Northern Ireland, Wales and England, as well as a ‘Small Ships Race’.

These colourful spectacles are great fun for sailors and spectators, but they also have a serious side, for, as RYA Scotland chief executive James Stuart noted, they help to cement the region’s role in the growing marine tourism economy and draw attention to Scotland’s world class sailing and boating.

They also follow on from two recent nautical events which highlighted the importance of the Clyde to Inverclyde.

Youngsters from Craigmarloch School took part in a race from Greenock to Glasgow as part of the build-up to the Games, and Greenock-based national sail training charity Ocean Youth Trust Scotland received a sizeable grant from a Robin Hood-type project that takes cash from criminals and uses it for community schemes.

Good luck to everyone on Saturday, and let’s hope the weather is favourable.

It would make their day if a certain Scottish Olympic cyclist was on hand at the finish to shout: “Ahoy there!”