Best pilot book/cruising guide for N/W/S coasts Ireland

[eddystone]

Starting to plan trip to NW Scotland from Plymouth roughly late April to end August. Will (probably) go up east coast on way up (Kilmore Quay to Rathlin) but I’m aiming to come down west coast on the return trip.
Any recommendations on cruising guides?
I don’t suppose there is an equivalent to the Antares charts for NWScotland?

 

[dunedin]

No Irish equivalent of Antares Charts.

But the Irish Cruising Club sailing directions are brilliant / essential South & West Coasts of Ireland Sailing Directions -

 

[Roberto]

This is an excellent online resource
eOceanic

 

[eddystone]

Very helpful, thank you. Wasn’t aware of issue with red diesel in Eire - I’ll have to research that.

 

[dunedin]

Very helpful, thank you. Wasn’t aware of issue with red diesel in Eire - I’ll have to research that.

I don’t believe there is any “issue with red diesel” in Ireland - provided you don’t bring any red diesel with you in cans.
Red diesel in the main ships tank should be OK, as far as I know, but worth having the receipts showing purchase in GB (ie the UK other than NI).
You can’t fill up with dyed diesel in Ireland (apparently it is Green not red dye in Ireland) or in NI. But you can apparently still get a 60/40 split tax basis in NI, just with non dyed diesel. The marinas will only stock the relevant diesel.
Check with RYA or Cruising Association websites for more info.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

We used Imrays Irish sea pilot for North and East, the David Rainsbury edition, current available for £10 second hand. Little will have changed and you are using it for assistance not navigation. As much of route up start of Irish east coast is inside the grounds a moderate easterly is sheltered by the banks

Never done the West side so dont know about that. Its crinklier and exposed to the prevailing westerlies therefore maybe more challenging.

Really there are no navigational issue on the east coast and few pilotage issue just knowing which fishing ports wont accept you except in full scale storm. Kilmore Quay a better start more than Dunmore East then trundle up to Arklow, Wicklow (Wexford nice too if you wait for tide rise across the bar and are under 1.8m draft) and any one of 4 harbours in the Dublin area, or all 4 if you want to spend more time there and access Dublin via the Dart tram.

Things a bit more small scale and sparse in N Ireland but the only thing of concern is getting round Fairhead in slack on the way to Ballycastle as has giant whirlpools which give amusement in quiet tide or weather but can make horrendous troubled water in strong wind over tide.

We did Cargreen (Saltash) to Iona and the inner Hebrides in a slow 27ft the previous year but we came back via the Crinnan Canal and Clyde cruising grounds as that was all we could fit in in 3 months. Dont ignore I of Man if you are an island ticker

 

[dunedin]

….
Really there are no navigational issue on the east coast and few pilotage issue …….

Maybe not “navigational issues“ on the East coast of Ireland, but lots of places that do require some care and up to date detailed information.
Strangford and Carlingford Lough, for example, are up there in terms of interesting places to visit but with “interesting“ navigation.

People seem to come a cropper at Ardglass often enough, even Howth has its moments, eg at low tide, and Arklow Bank and the others need respect due to their shallow depths well offshore.

 

[pandos]

Very helpful, thank you. Wasn’t aware of issue with red diesel in Eire - I’ll have to research that.

There isn't an issue with red diesel in Ireland, our marked diesel is green. You'll be able to buy it without any issues, and probably easier in some places than white.

If you get dipped by customs you may have a problem but I have never heard of anyone being dipped,

Can't imagine that having green in Jerry cans would make any difference, it is legal to use green for (non propollusion) heating or battery charging or a generator...

I discussed this recently with a fisherman in a fishing harbour and he was laughing (good naturedly) at me for using only white in my boat, he reckoned mine is the only boat in the harbour that had only white fuel in it...

At the time I was short of fuel,and whilst he could only give green, I hitched a lift to a fuel station to buy some white.

 

[eddystone]

There isn't an issue with red diesel in Ireland, our marked diesel is green. You'll be able to buy it without any issues, and probably easier in some places than white.

If you get dipped by customs you may have a problem but I have never heard of anyone being dipped,

Can't imagine that having red or green in Jerry cans would make any difference, it is legal to use green for (non propollusion) heating or battery charging or a generator...

I discussed this recently with a fisherman in a fishing harbour and he was laughing (good naturedly) at me for using only white in my boat, he reckoned mine is the only boat in the harbour that had only white fuel in it...

At the time I was short of fuel,and whilst he could only give green, I hitched a lift to a fuel station to buy some white.

That’s useful to know as I would carry 40L in cans.

 

[pandos]

That’s useful to know as I would carry 40L in cans.

I just looked at the RYA guidance on the Istanbul convention..seemingly that only contemplated fuel in a vessels ordinary tanks...so excludes cans....

Still can't imagine anyone in Ireland caring that you are paying the UK government less tax by carrying 40l of red instead of 40l of white......

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Maybe not “navigational issues“ on the East coast of Ireland, but lots of places that do require some care and up to date detailed information.
Strangford and Carlingford Lough, for example, are up there in terms of interesting places to visit but with “interesting“ navigation.

People seem to come a cropper at Ardglass often enough, even Howth has its moments, eg at low tide, and Arklow Bank and the others need respect due to their shallow depths well offshore.

It goes without saying that a cruising yacht must have full paper charts as well as such chartplotter as available. I would trust a cruising sailor to know to avoid offshore breaking banks in poor weather but i suggested going inside the grounds from kilmore though last time we went dale direct to arklow through the well marked gap. It shows as shallow at low tide at howth but there is a clear channel by keeping off and following the buoys and we never had any issue in maybe 6 visits. Only been to ardglass twice and thought it another tidal harbour with charm enough to justify the fiddlyness The tides outside carlingford are something else and wind over tide to be avoided especially if F6 but thats not navigational

As for red diesel the marina in uk where they only had red, gave us proper receipt indicating relevant tax paid etc and told us that it was thus ok for eu as clearly not under the counter

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Starting to plan trip to NW Scotland from Plymouth roughly late April to end August. Will (probably) go up east coast on way up (Kilmore Quay to Rathlin) but I’m aiming to come down west coast on the return trip.
Any recommendations on cruising guides?
I don’t suppose there is an equivalent to the Antares charts for NWScotland?

Would be great if you were to create a sailing travellog .
Have enjoyed many for Scotand but there are very few for the west coast of Ireland. I expect that Atlantic waves throwing boulders a few hundred feet to cliff tops might put a few off. Probaly not many bolt holes exist but would be great to hear about it.

 

[dansaskip]

Would be great if you were to create a sailing travellog .
Have enjoyed many for Scotand but there are very few for the west coast of Ireland. I

I went around a few years ago. You might find my blog entries on it interesting - it is here.
Sailing around Ireland - Sea Bear

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I went around a few years ago. You might find my blog entries on it interesting - it is here.
Sailing around Ireland - Sea Bear

Brilliant !.
Thanks.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Would be great if you were to create a sailing travellog .
Have enjoyed many for Scotand but there are very few for the west coast of Ireland. I expect that Atlantic waves throwing boulders a few hundred feet to cliff tops might put a few off. Probaly not many bolt holes exist but would be great to hear about it.

Hardly worse than N Cornwall and NW Devon though admittedly twice as long. We bought our cornish family a framed picture of waves topping the 120ft cliff at Sennen on 8 March 2008 - which coincidentally (or not) was when our boat sunk on the moorings near Bristol

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Hardly worse than N Cornwall and NW Devon though admittedly twice as long. We bought our cornish family a framed picture of waves topping the 120ft cliff at Sennen on 8 March 2008 - which coincidentally (or not) was when our boat sunk on the moorings near Bristol

I lived in the West Country for a couple of years and there were certainly some wild weather down there.
Looks like Sennen faces the full might of the Atlantic like the west coast of Ireland.
Bad luck with your boat sinking on the mooring.

 

[Slowtack]

Worthwhile listening to the regular Met Eireann sea area forecasts as you approach the south east corner before deciding on your timing schedule and deciding on clockwise vs anticlockwise route... Need to know the names and the locations of the various headlands used in the forecasts to identify the weather patterns en route.... The forecasts are announced on ch 16 and the actual forecasts are provided on the various working channels as advised in the ch16 announcement...

 

[Supertramp]

Worthwhile listening to the regular Met Eireann sea area forecasts as you approach the south east corner before deciding on your timing schedule and deciding on clockwise vs anticlockwise route... Need to know the names and the locations of the various headlands used in the forecasts to identify the weather patterns en route.... The forecasts are announced on ch 16 and the actual forecasts are provided on the various working channels as advised in the ch16 announcement...

And you can look up the actual history at several weather buoys around the Irish coast - useful when sat in shelter and wondering what it's really like outside.

 

[Roberto]

Worthwhile listening to the regular Met Eireann sea area forecasts as you approach the south east corner before deciding on your timing schedule and deciding on clockwise vs anticlockwise route... Need to know the names and the locations of the various headlands used in the forecasts to identify the weather patterns en route.... The forecasts are announced on ch 16 and the actual forecasts are provided on the various working channels as advised in the ch16 announcement...

Is there any voice recording available online of VHF bulletins, even old? The Irish coast is split every time in very variable segments, all of the 20+ geographic points are used as starting/ending points, the pronounciation of a same location word is sometimes very different too.
It would be very useful if some sample audio voice recordings were made available to practice listening beforehand, in particular for foreigners.

 

[Slowtack]

All the forecasts including the Sea Area Forecast and Coastal Reports are available in English text on the Met Eireann app.