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Today's local tide estimates
High water: 00:43,
Low water: 06:58
High water: 13:17,
Low water: 19:15
Local weather
ENE Force 5, Patchy light rain, 7°C
Swell today
Direction S, height 0.1 metres, period 9.1 seconds, significant wave height of 1.0 metres.
Summary* Restrictions apply
A tolerable location with attentive navigation required for access.
LWS draught
2.5 metres (8.2 feet).
Shelter See it »
Completely protected.
Nature (summary)
Anchorage, moorings, jetty, night lights, sailing club, village, drying, strong tides.
Facilities (summary)
Tap, gas, fuel by jerry can, slipway, basic shopping, supermarket, hot food, public houses, cashpoint, post office, hard-standing, bus.
Haven position? See it »
54° 29.460' N, 005° 32.340' W
Where is that position? See it »
The head of Kircubbin Pier.
What is the initial fix? See it »
The following Sand Rock Pladdy Initial Fix waypoint will set up a final approach:
54° 28.065' N, 005° 33.270' W
This is set on the Lough’s main fairway, set on Track G for those using Admiralty Chart 2156 ‘Strangford Lough’, and is 200 metres to the east of Sand Rock Pladdy. It sets up an approach along the Lough’s eastern shoreline, a distance of 1.5 miles on a course of 005°(T) until Kircubbin Bay opens.
Why visit here?
Kircubbin is thought to have derived its name from the Irish Saint Goban. The name being the conjunction of the Scots Kirk and Irish saints name Gobáin meaning "church of Gobáin".
Although appearing relatively new, largely owning to the main street being entirely renewed in 2008, there has been a long history of settlement here. The village (then known as Cubinhillis) and the tiny church of Innishargie are mentioned in early medieval records. Although small Innishargie is the arch church of mid-Ards Peninsula and is the most interesting unrestored building in the area. It’s connections go back to the Order of St Benedict in AD 1200 and the early church of Ireland.
The town of Kircubbin developed to be an important commercial service centre for the area. The quay hosted 40 ton vessels delivering coal and exporting potatoes and corn from the local area. Alongside this commercial trade an equally illicit trade in alcohol, tobacco and other contraband established itself. The smugglers plied their trade from Doctors Bay, immediately to the south of Kircubbin Bay, unloading their booty in the dead of night. Smugglers legends of Strangford Lough has been immortalised in the story of Daft Eddie. The last of the commercial ships came in to the harbour in the 1950s. Nowadays there is no commercial traffic, only fishing and leisure craft.
Kircubbin Sailing Club (KSC) is located at the north end of the bay. Situated in a stone built Clubhouse and oar-house that was once a bathing hut of a prominent land owning family. Visiting yachts are always made welcome at the club.
How to get in?
Portaferry, Audley’s Roads and Strangford Harbour provide Irish Sea approach guidance. Select any of these entries for details on the Strangford Narrows. This is a five mile lead-in, with fast-running tidal streams, that must be negotiated to access the inner Lough.
After passing through the Narrows proceed up the deep water fairway upon the Lough’s eastern side. This is Track E and F, for those using Admiralty Chart 2156 ‘Strangford Lough’, until south of the Slave Rock pladdies. The path then switches to Track G and turns to the northeast. This continues to Kircubbin Bay between Gransha Point, extending into the lough from the eastern shore, and to the south of the Slave and Sand Rock Pladdies.
The Sand Rock Initial Fix is located 200 metres east of Sand Rock Pladdy. The route turns north passing Sand Rock Pladdy to port, on a bearing of 005°(T) for 1.5 miles (or of the line of bearing 185°(T), astern, of the Gransha Point trigonometrical station). This passes half a mile east of Dullisk Rock, Whitebank Pladdy that are both marked by poles.
Kircubbin Bay is entered between White Banks on the north and Monaghan Bank on the south. It is recommended that visitors stay on this transit and not come inshore or cut into Kircubbin Bay until the bay opens out fully and the village quay is directly abeam, due east, before turning in to select an anchoring position. This wide approach avoids foul ground that extends 400 metres from the south side of the bay off Monaghan Bank.
Anchor off the northern end of the bay in a depth to your preference (clear of moorings). Reasonable holding will be found in clean sand and mud and there is little or no tidal stream. Land at the quay, off the town, or the sailing club slipway that is accessible for most all states of the tide.
Club moorings may be available from the local club. Boats that can take to the hard can approach the drying quay. Boats with a draught of up to 3 metres can come alongside the quay at HW.
Note: Care required on approach to drying pladdies. Be aware of substantial mud flats during low tide where Kircubbin Bay shoals and dries some way off. Lights to support night access have been set in place in 2010. Kircubbin Sailing Club provides several very helpful sets of waypoints to assist with alternate approaches.
What are the tides here?
Today's local tide estimates are based on High Water Belfast +0202
Today's Belfast tides — High water: 11:15, 23:31, Low water: 04:56, 17:13
Today's Dover tides — High water: 11:14, 23:30, Low water: 06:06, 18:22 (From Tide Times)
MHWS 3.6m MHWN 3.1m MLWN 0.9m MLWS 0.4m
Local high water is approximately Dover +0220 or Belfast + 0215. Inside the Lough tides decrease significantly: 6 kn between Strangford & Portaferry, 4 kn at Ballyhenry Island, 1.5 kn at Don O’Neill Island, up to 4 kn of tide through the channel Rainey and Sketrick Islands.
What facilities are available?
Moorings requests should be made to the club and where the slipway may be found that is accessible at most stages of the tide. There is a water tap available on the town quay. Fuel, by jerry can, is reasonably close to the quay on the outskirts of the town but the pumps may be subject to limited hours of opening. The village, with a population of 1250 people, offers a basic provision shopping. A regular Ards Peninsula bus service, operating through to Portaferry, passes through the town. Kircubbin Sailing Club has many social activities for members, friends and families; expect regular BBQ's in summer months.
What emergency contacts are there?
Belfast Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC). Operational Area: Northern Ireland/ Irish Republic Border, Lough Foyle to Northern/Irish Republic Border Carlingford Lough. Belfast Coastguard (MRSC) VHF Ch 16, liaises closely with IRCG. Emergencies are worked on 16, 67 and working channel.
Alternatively, or if ashore, phone 999 and 112 and ask for ‘Marine Rescue’. Police, Fire and Rescue are also available on this number. Belfast (MRSC) may be contacted directly on +44 2891 463 933. An inshore lifeboat is maintained at Portaferry.
Other useful contacts in this area:
Kircubbin Sailing Club
67 Shore Road, Kircubbin
Tel: +44 28 427 38422
Any security concerns?
Never an issuer known to have happened to a vessel anchored off Kircubbin.
What navigational resources are available for this area?
The key detail charts are British Admiralty 2156 ‘Strangford Lough’, scale of 37,500:1 and 2159 Strangford Narrows (incl. plans of Strangford at 1:5000) scale of 1:12,500. Imray chart C62 – ‘Irish Sea’ plus Northern Ireland Ordinance Survey No. 21 at a scale of 1:50,000 also cover the area.
Other useful Admiralty charts for this area and its approaches are: 1411 ‘Irish Sea Western Part’ scale of 1:200,000, 2198 ‘North Channel - Southern Part’ scale of1:75,000, 1753 ‘Belfast Lough’ scale of 1:37,500, 2093 ‘Southern Approach to North Channel’ scale of 1:100,000 , 2800 ‘Carlingford Lough’ (incl. plans of Warren Point and Kilkeel Harbour) scale of 1:20,000, 44 ‘Howth to Ardglass’ scale of 1:100,000, 1431 ‘Drogheda and Dundalk’ scale of 1:20,000, 633 ‘Plans on the East Coast of Ireland’ scale of 1:15,000.
With thanks to:
Brian Crawford, local Strangford Lough boatman of many decades.
Please note inyourfootsteps.com makes no guarantee of the validity of this information, we have not visited this haven and do not have first-hand experience to qualify the data. Although the contributors are vetted by peer review as practised authorities, they are in no way, whatsoever, responsible for the accuracy of their contributions. It is essential that you thoroughly check the accuracy and suitability for your vessel of any waypoints offered in any context plus the precision of your GPS. Any data provided on this page is entirely used at your own risk and you must read our legal page if you view data on this site.