Ireland

cid said:
Iam based in Malahide. Other options , Belfast, Carrickfergus,Glenarm,Rathlin,Ballycastle. You could take in the Isle of man/Peel. Do not forget Strangford
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We left Scotland at the beginning of the summer (there was a little bit of it).
Started our trip round Ireland at Rathlin which is well worth a few days visit, some lovely walks.
We then headed south and visited most of the places mentioned above.
We got stuck in Carrickfergus for a few months due to lack of summer and work commitments.
We are now in Dun Laoghaire for the winter (living aboard) which is a great place to stay, lots to do and good transport into Dublin.
The only down side is you need to be an endurance athlete to get to the boat, they have the longest pontoons I've ever seen, they do have a barge converted into really good shower/toilets......
In hind site I think we would have been better wintering in Malahide, smaller marina, also a lot cheaper.
All of the places mentioned have great wifi.
We will be continuing our trip round Ireland in April, and as mention earlier it looks like a good year to be doing it....
Enjoy your trip
 
marko99 said:
Hi, depends a lot on what you're looking for and how long you've got !! The East coast has more to offer by way of marinas with Bangor, Ardglass, Carlingford, Malahide, Howth, Dun Laoghaire and Arklow. In between those places there ain't too many places that could take you comfortably. IMHO, the south coast offers much finer cruising but not too many marinas so you'll be more dependent on anchorages, moorings, etc.

Take a look here for some more info : http://www.inyourfootsteps.com/

Hope this is of some use !
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You could add Clougher Head and Wicklow Harbour, along side berths for short stay, Poolbeg, Dublin City Center and Kilmore Quay marinas. I even spent the night alongside in Rosslaire harbour during a bad blow waiting to round Carnsore Point. Wexford is a tricky enterance and has a sheltered but busy quay. Theres a visitors berth alongdside but piers a well spaced, I tied up to a derilict trawler.
 
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I have been reading this with interest. First mate and I spent two weeks in West Cork on our honeymoon in 1968. We visited many places mentioned here by car. It was a totally different place then-there were only half a dozen cars in the village where we stayed, many horses and ponies-as well as donkeys-still in daily use pulling small carts and traps. It is a stunning part of the world and one we intend to visit by boat. I would also take in the IOM and Skerries as I raced at both places. Anyone have local knowlege of Skerries Harbour and whether it has depth for a 1.3 metre draught yacht?
 
The east coast is fine, it's possible to get 5 knot tides it means cruising is done at a time to suit the tides. Plenty of water and easy navigation with a chartplotter, it can get foggy/hazy, but all the sand banks are well buoyed.

Personally I'd go for the Southwest I've cruised from Dingle to Kinsale and Kinsale to Schull a number of times and it's great, even being holed up on Sneem for a couple of days was no hardship.

If you do go there, take plastic bags when you go shopping and get to know where the headlands are as the weather forecast on VHF rattle through them at speed.

The worst bit about Ireland if your from the South coast is the crossing from Lands end. Newlyn is a good hopping off point as the lock gates at Penzance are close when the tide is right. Unless you go to the Isles of Scilly of course
 
Scillies is a good call if the winds are helpful. 118 miles from there to Cork/Crosshaven entrance with possibility of a nice reach.

If you take that route, make a note of the two rigs south on the approach (Kinsale field). Exclusion zone of half a mile around each and it's prohibited to pass between them. Guard boat often on station.
 
I have a set of C Map NT charts for all round Ireland (except one) if they are of any interest to you. Make me an offer I can't refuse.
 
Skerries is a bay rather than a harbour, with summer moorings. Well protected except from N NE when it can be rough in a gale. Small pier which dries except for outer 60m which has less than 1m according to ICC Sailing Directions. Skerries Sailing Club might fix you up with a mooring overnight.
 
flawed_logic said:
Was in kinsale earlier this year and was surprised at how expensive it is for food and drink. Also no concept of a decent ale!
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The meal cost penny (or cent) is at last dropping here, and many restaurants in the town have started offering cheaper fixed-priced 2 and 3 course meals. Some good bottled ales from microbreweries are starting to appear also. Alas, Kinsale lager, which I liked, is no more.

There are only three things from Blighty that I miss living here - a pint of draught bitter, watercress (I now have a source, but it's a long drive) and fireworks (illegal). :)
 
Cruised the NW corner this summer (Tory down to Inishkea). Some amazing scenery, some fantastic people. It felt very off the beaten track. In a little over a fortnight we saw, I think, three other yachts and never found anyone to pay berthing fees to. The weather was pretty poor, though, and the safe harbours can be very far apart. We tended to fall into a pattern of a few days holed up and then a 70nm dash to the next place.
I think the rest of Ireland sounds a bit civilised, if you like that sort of thing :D
 
my advice is to go via france & fill boat up with cheap wine, our lovely government has just slapped an additional €1.00 per bottle :mad:
 
ratbag said:
my advice is to go via france & fill boat up with cheap wine, our lovely government has just slapped an additional €1.00 per bottle :mad:
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Excellent advice, thanks! I reckon we can easily store five cases aboard, should last three months!

Rob
 
Robih:
I alluded to it in my first post but the first time I headed for Ireland's SW I spent 10 days stuck in Waterford due to strong winds on the nose before giving it up as a bad job and heading for France. Six weeks later (and more-than-adequately) provisioned I finally made it to West Cork. Of course such flexibility's easier if you have heaps of time.

Fair winds.
 
macd said:
Robih:
I alluded to it in my first post but the first time I headed for Ireland's SW I spent 10 days stuck in Waterford due to strong winds on the nose before giving it up as a bad job and heading for France. Six weeks later (and more-than-adequately) provisioned I finally made it to West Cork. Of course such flexibility's easier if you have heaps of time.

Fair winds.
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Snap! I remember the rats running along the pontoon in Waterford. I believe it has been cleaned up now. Didn't go to France though, fortunately the weather died down and we continued west, although we still had waits in Kinsale and Crosshaven.

13boatraftcopy-1.jpg

This is a raft of 13 boats in Dunmore East. We were on a similar one, about 10 boats out. Taken just before we headed for Waterford. It had been blowing F 6-7 for several days at this stage, everyone trying to go west.
 
Hmmmmm .... Looks like a case of having to be flexible (as ever) with the weather and change plans as is necessary. But to be honest I've had similar waits in Falmouth and Helford when trying to get to Scilly and I suspect that Ireland is no worse? Presumably the east coast being much more sheltered is less weather critical so one could make progress with westerly weather just by keeping close inshore (and minding the sandbanks!).
 
Ps - the last time we had a long summer cruise was 2003 when we had the glorious summer and the heat wave - all the way down to La Rochelle and back. You never know, we might be lucky a second time!
 
Best winter option in the Dublin areaa is Howth Yacht Club. Excellent well-sheltered and secure marina with full facilities at reasonable prices.

Very friendly club with plenty of activity over the winter. Marina is right in the centre of the village.

Several excellent restaurants in the village. Also pubs, fish shops, etc. Supermarkets nearby.

Great transport links to Dublin - bus and Dart (suburban rail system). Dublin airport nearby. Lovely walks on the hill of Howth.
 
I love Ireland. We took six weeks to go all the way round starting from Gigha. The east coast was the least nice and has been said the farther south and west you go the better it gets as the 'facilities' die out and yachts become scarce. We had a bunch of charts, two pilot books and sometimes, Loran signals.
The big, rolling swells off the west coast were great fun. The scenery stunning, the people great.

We've been going back ever since.
 
We're thinking of going back down the west coast of Ireland in early May, which might mean missing the Chentleman's Cruise. All very weather dependent of course; we'll see. I agree with uxb; we went around Ireland clockwise a few years ago - the east and south coasts have some nice places but a bit dull compared with the west imho. For us, West Cork was pretty good, but Kerry to Donegal was the most interesting.

Anyone else around in May?
 
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