Hamble to Ireland

PhilipStapleton

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It's dark outside and my thoughts are turning to the big trip next year - Brest last year, Amsterdam the year before, so how about Southern Ireland next? The problem is I can only afford 2-3 weeks and a couple of long weekends. My co-owner is in an even worse position. He might get two weeks if he's lucky. I've also a quartet of experienced friends who join me for different legs, but they can usually only take one week each.**

So, any advice on how to get there from the Hamble*, where to base the boat, where to cruise - even when to go? She's a fin-keeled 32 footer, and we often sail short handed. I enjoy passage making, but it is supposed to be a holiday!

Any experience with paying for a delivery or crew-off-the-web would also be welcome.


* I know - left out of the river, right, right again and you can't miss it!
** Non-sailing wives - don't you love 'em (I certainly do!)
 

Twister_Ken

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Thinking exactly the same myself. Current favourite seems to be to set off on a Friday evening with the objective of getting the boat at least to Plymouth and maybe to Falmouth that weekend. Leave it there and rejoin it when the holiday starts, do ireland, and bring it back to the West Country. Then recover the boat to the Solent on another long weekend.

No idea yet of the attractions of the various bits of Ireland, but thinking vaguely of doing the bits close to the Fastnet, sort of SSE, S and SSW coasts. I too would welcome any advice/recommendations.
 
G

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Having spent many a happy hour around the Wexford area I can thoroughly recc'd it ..... the Wexford Boat Club is very friendly .....

I have always considered a cruise across the sea to S.Eire, but like many its the length of time to do it ..... Biggest time factor is the 'beat' along the south coast against the SW'lys, cutting across the water to S. Ireland is not so long as the direction is more NW'ly to help. Many years my club in Langstone have organised club cruise to West Country - allowing 2 weeks - many didn't get that far and had to turn back - its a slog against the prevailing SW'ly !!!! Fast return though !!!!!!

Good Luck and if you do it .... I bet many on the Forum would like to know your story !
 

cynthia

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Ireland is fabulous. The best bits are from Cork and westward. The west coast is supposed to be stunning, but we didn't get further than Schull. Not to be missed - Glandore and Castletownsend. The people are great and as for the fish restaurants ...........

Lots of excellent anchorages and visitors mooring buoys (£5 per night), but take advantage of water and fuel when you see them. Don't let food stock run too low - we stopped at one Marina, confident that there would be a shop, but had a five mile walk ahead of us for a bottle of milk. (Well, we would have had, if two separate lots of folks from the Marina hadn't followed up for the express purpose of giving us a lift once they realised where we'd gone!)

Beware of the salmon nets if you go June, July.

Happy sailing.
 
G

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Oh my god, it\'s a Scuttlebutt Irish regatta!

Rival Spirit is Ireland bound next year.

Initial thoughts are weekend in May to Plymouth, another weekend to Cork, 2 weeks cruising west to Dingle peninsula and back to Cork, then two weekends bringing the boat back. For those that don't know there is the excellent Irish Cruising Club's guide to Ireland as a standard reference work for the area.

SouthWest Ireland is an area I know well from the shore having spent too much time there on serial fishing trips. I can certainly attest to the restaurants and the friendliness of the locals, there is a bit of gentrification going on in the Dingle peninsula but the scenery is magnificent and both the anchorages and wildlife are sublime.

If anyone else is interested I'll continue the dialogue. Please email me directly, I don't often haunt these pages. I haven't time to organise the whole thing but if there is sufficient interest this might be an opportunity to have some collective fun and you know where there's a will.....

Westward ho!



Chris Enstone, Rival Spirit
 
G

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...forgot to mention that we are based at Keyhaven

So that's where we will start from!

Chris Enstone, Rival Spirit
 

charles_reed

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Don't know your passage speed - I plan on 5 knots on the wind and 6.5 off.

Long weekend get the boat down to Newlyn - it's better than Penzance - you don't have to come and go on HW. I'll give you some names of the local RNLI crew who'll keep an eye on the boat.
Some potential stop-offs on the way - Hopes Cove anchorage for SW wind, Dartmouth, Salcombe, Newton Ferrers (not in the dark), Charlestown (St Austell), Helford estuary.
The only gates are Portland, Start and the Lizard, you need to fetch each between 2-4 hours after local HW. Total distance 305M.

Catch the train from Penzance back to London.

Newlyn to Kilmore Quay (go outside the Saltees) 153M - your only gate is Longships - talk to the locals before leaving Newlyn.

After that, spend a night in Dunmore E, go up the river to Waterford - I believe they've developed the Coal Quay, good craic'h in Reginald's Bar.
Drop in and see the RCYC in Crosshaven and catch the bus into Cork for the English market and the Tour (of the brewery).
Kinsale is just great - especially for foodies, Kinsale YC marina is the best place to go, if you can get in. Watch out for the BOSS offshore YM trainees, their boathandling can be pretty wild and their instructors don't know how to spring off.
Castletownshend is a fabulous anchorage and the pub strategically placed half-way up the hill. When dinghying in watch out for the wreckage of the bikes that didn't manage to survive the hill.
Baltimore is great, providing you don't land in the village, the pubs on Sherkin are far better and you don't get done for I£10.
You've then got all the islands round there to explore - but it needs settled weather.
Crookhaven is good but get right into the inlet, by Granny Rock, to avoid the swell.
Schull is good for re-provisioning, banks and getting butane and very pretty when it's not raining. Hire bikes and ride out to Mizen Head - quite a day's outing.
I doubt you'll get farther than Bantry bay, but Castletownbearhaven is a very striking anchorage.

Do bear in mind that you'll be meeting the Atlantic swell, keep an eye on the weatherfaxes and especially on the 500mb charts which will give you plenty of advance warning of swell - the NOAA site gives reasonable forecasts of swell - it's a factor you don't have to bother about in the Channel.

E-mail me direct if you want any more info or detailed knowledge.
 

MUS

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Being new to cruising, is it normal to leave your precious boat un-accompanied in an unknown port? I would certainly resent paying two lots of mooring fees!
 

cynthia

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Re: Good stuff

Talking of which - if you go to Kilmore Quay don't miss a visit to 'The Silver Fox'. Wish we could join you, but May is impossible. Enjoy.
 

Laurence

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Re - Did the same thing last year.

Like you we had a co-owner. We got him to sail Hamble to SW Ireland and a couple of weeks later we drove his car over. He drove back, we cruised up to Dingle and back and then sailed home (strong Easterlies the whole way).

Worked perfectly.
 

rex_seadog

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Agree with all the comments about the delights of SW Ireland. However, rather than use our own boat (Dartmouth based) we twice decided to charter, once from Dingle when we cruised down as far the Fastnet and another time from Kinsale when we sailed west as far as Schull. On both occasions we 'sailed' overnight on the Swansea-Cork ferry. Very reasonable rates with 4 in a car, especially in May. Although nice to use your own boat at least we got to cruise Ireland. With your time limitations and the vagaries of the weather it's quite possible you won't even get there - or back! Either way, good luck.
 

charles_reed

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Leaving boats

What's so much more dangerous to your boat in Newlyn than say Poole. Certainly safer than the Hamble - not so crowded

I've quite frequently left my boat in safe berths, with or without locals to keep an eye on her - Newlyn has one major advantage, an excellent RNLI crew with clear view of the harbour who actually know a lot about boats and the local waters.

My boat has had extended holidays in :
Penzance
Crosshaven
Newlyn
Aberystwyth
Moulin Blanc: Brest
La Foret Fouesnant
Lorient
la Rochelle
Marans
Nazaré
Cascais
Chipiona
Gelves

To name just the places in the last 4 years.
 
G

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Southern Ireland is great!! Kilmore Quay is an excellent marina to start from. The harbourmaster, Mr. Barret, is very helpful. Kilmore Quay is only twenty minutes by taxi to Rosslare Ferryport. Don't miss Kehoe's pub. Excellent seafood, massive portions and the pub is like a maritime museum with bits of boats everywhere. The owner is a salvage diver and they even have a guide book explaining the contents. You don't have to go around the Saltee's to enter. Check out the cruising directions by the ICC. Further down the coast, Cork Harbour is excellent. Don't miss Crosshaven and East Ferry with the Marlogue Inn. Kinsale is also brilliant. The spinnaker bar is a sailors heaven. Billy Long in the KYC marina is very helpful. If you like a spot of racing check out the Biennial Soveriegns Cup. They have a cruising class but it won't be on again until 2003. For info on charters and a cruising guide check out www.sailireland.com and happy sailing.
 

charles_reed

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St Patrick\'s Bridge

Whilst it is quite feasible to go in behind the Saltees, there have been two occasions when I've gone through and the marker buoys weren't there _ with less than 2m on either side of the channel the tension can be considerable.

Besides the leading marks are easier to pick up from due S.
 

cynthia

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Re: St Patrick\'s Bridge

This is feasible, have done it in flat calm conditions with a reasonable amount of water underneath with no problems. Once the seas are up, don't even bother. To quote an Irish man who knew what he was talking about (apparently) 'Only a madman would think about it!'
 
G

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Re: St Patrick\'s Bridge

Well as it happens I am an Irishman. You are correct, the St. Patricks bridge area is only advisable in good weather and good seas. The Irish Cruising Club sailing directions are an excellent guide to all Irish waters and I find them excellent for this type of approach. They can also give some excellent directions for inshore passages instead of staying outside everything and they are a great way to save time in good conditions. An example of this is the route given for going inside the Tusker Rock when traveling along to Irish coast. I used it while on a delivery from Dublin to Cork.
There is talk of building a new breakwater with a marina inside in Kilmore Quay. I spoke to the harbourmaster, Eddie Barret during the summer and he said that it is getting too cramped so they are looking into changing the existing harbour back to commercial and building a new marina purely for pleasure boats. It was packed every time I visited this summer.
Regards,
Donie
 

charles_reed

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Kilmore Quay

Give my regards to Eddie - it was he and the rest of the lifeboat crew who got me (and the boat) our second baptism.

I got into Kilmore early one Sunday morning (01.00) and couldn't understand why it was so crowded, trawlers tied up outside, the only place I could burrow into was the pontoon alongside the lifeboat.
Came the morning and it started with the RNLI coffee (we'll supply the coffee, you supply the wobblies), so that by the time the priest arrived to bless the boats, the only way I could stand upright on my foredeck was because Eddie and another were propping me on either side.
Mind you the couple, from Glasgow, on the boat next to me were in even more dire straits.
 
G

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Dear Philip,


I note from your e mail that you are considering options for moving your boat to Ireland for next summer. I may be able to help.

I sold my boat earlier this year having hardly used it during the previous 3 years because of a non sailing wife and daughter.

I hold a yachtmaster certificate to which I am about to add a commercial endorsement, having passed the necessary medical a few days ago.

I and a few friends in the same position as me are reduced to chartering, having recently chartered in Western Scotland from a Yachtmaster Instructor. I could, along with my crew, move your boat to Ireland or somewhere closer than your home port, such a Milford Haven, from where you could start your holiday.

From my point of view I would get a passage in, which I enjoy, and from your's you would get your boat nearer to where you want it at no cost.

If you are interested I am sure I could get a reference from the Yachtmaster I recently chartered from.




Regards



Mark
 
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