Sailing inyourfootsteps.com

7°C

Swell today

Direction ESE, height 0.1 metres, period 6.3 seconds, significant wave height of 0.9 metres.

Haven position?

54° 24.650' N, 005° 37.130' W

Where is that position?

Close northwest of the larger south-western Don O’Neill Island in approximately two and a half metres.

What are the initial fixes?

The following waypoints will set up a final approach:

(i) Holm Bay Initial Fix
54° 24.110' N, 005° 37.400' W
In the middle of the 600 metre gap between Barrel and Long Rocks that leads into Holm Bay. It is located in a 12 metres contour and less than 2 miles away from the entrance to the inner Lough.

(ii) Don O’Neill Initial Fix
54° 24.800' N, 005° 36.666' W
Approximately 400 metres northeast of the smaller and more northeasterly Don O’Neill Island. A course of due west from here will take a vessel between the extended drying patch, that surrounds the northeasterly smaller Don O’Neill Island, and Limestone Pladdy to the north.

Please note: Initial fixes only set up their listed targets. Do not plan to sail directly between initial fixes as a routing sequence.

What is the story here?

Don O’Neill Island is located upon the northeast coast of Ireland within Strangford Lough. It is an anchorage close northwest of the larger of the two islands that facilitates landing.

This is an exposed day anchorage that is good for landing on the island in settled conditions. It would not be ideal for an overnight stay where it may become uncomfortable.

Normal navigation is required when traversing any of Lough’s eighty square nautical miles of shallow basin. The Lough is a completely enclosed waterway but there are a number of drying patches and shoals known as pladdies, some of which uncover whilst others never appear, throughout the Lough. When these are near a principal boating channel or route they are typically marked by poles or beacons. Currents are another complicating factor of the inner Lough. Although not as strong as in the ‘Narrows’ they do not run true in the Lough and tend to take a vessel off course. All of which necessitate some attention to navigation and detailed chart work in daylight.

However this is more than manageable as once a boat is out of the fast-running tidal channel to the south, the more gentle waters around the islands that gave this Lough its old Irish name ‘‘Lough Cuan’’, meaning sheltered haven, is a pleasure to sail.

Why visit here?

Don O’Neill Island, locally known as ‘The Dunner Neil’ or ‘Dunny Neil’ is a lovely little island to come ashore and let the kids off to roam. The stones and the shells around the Island are remarkable plus the island has an interesting history, being at times a prison and a leper colony in the past.

Please note that the smaller Don O’Neill Island to the northeast is an important nesting site for Sandwich, Arctic and Common terns that arrive from the edge of the Antarctic or Africa to nest in April-June. During this period there should be no landing on the smaller island. Likewise, on the larger island, one should not go above the high water mark to minimise any distress to birds during the nesting season.

How to get in?

Use the entries for Strangford Harbour, Audley’s Roads or Portaferry for guidance on how to approach from the Irish Sea and pass through the five nautical mile long fast-running tidal ‘Narrows’. Any of these lists of directions will guide a boat up through the ‘Narrows’ to the inner Lough.

Having entered Strangford Lough there are two approaches to Don O’Neill Island. The first is to approach from the south along the Lough’s western shore using the Holm Bay Initial Fix that is to the north of Barrel Rock. The other, a more direct approach, is to come north around the island from the centre of the Lough using the Don O’Neill Initial Fix. This lays up an easterly approach between Limestone Pladdy and the smaller Don O’Neill Island to round into the anchorage.

The southern or western shore approach is a distance of under two miles to the Holm Bay Initial Fix from the Lough’s entrance. This route then requires less than a mile of pilotage to the anchorage from the centre of Holm Bay. Barrel Rock, uncovers at low water and is marked by a perch plus normally has racing Mark 4 close by. Likewise you can expect Long Rock to uncover at low water. This route is most likely to take a vessel directly over McLaughlin Rock that has a chart Datum of 2.7 metres and is unlikely to be an issue to most cruising vessels – nevertheless please take note of this upon the chart and make special note of an outcropping to the southwest of Long Rocks.

Once centred in Holm Bay proceed in a northeasterly direction keeping Long Rocks well clear to starboard. Maintain a midway course between Island Taggart and Don O’Neill Island passing clear to the north of the island. Do not approach the anchorage directly as there is a shallow patch residing close west of the larger Don O’Neill Island that does not dry. Although this patch is marked as drying on the chart this is not the case, so expect it to be covered, or at best to see kelp on the surface at low water. Once the smaller Don O’Neill Island is due east it is safe to turn east until the larger island is to the south where a final approach to anchor can be made.

The more direct central Lough approach uses the Don O’Neill Initial Fix to the northeast of the smaller Don O’Neill Island. This initial fix lays up an easterly approach to pass midway between Limestone Pladdy and the smaller Don O’Neill island. Proceed through the gap until the larger island is immediately south and then turn to port to approach the anchorage.

The anchorage is ideally approached on a rising tide and as it is exposed come in as close as possible to maximise the protection.

What are the tides here?

Today's local tide estimates are based on High Water Belfast +0202
Today's Belfast tides — High waters: 11:15, 23:31, Low waters: 04:56, 17:13
Today's Dover tides — High waters: 11:14, 23:30, Low waters: 06:06, 18:22 (From Tide Times)
High Water Strangford Quay Dover +0147 springs,+0157 neaps
MHWS 3.6m MHWN 3.1m MLWN 0.9m MLWS 0.4m
Local high water Dover +0145 or 2 hours 15 minutes after high water at Belfast

Inside the Lough tides decrease significantly
6 Kn between Strangford & Portaferry
4 Kn at Ballyhenry Island
1.5 Kn at Don O’Neill Island

What facilities are available?

None, this is a secluded island with no man-made resources.

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:
East Down Yacht Club Tel:+44 28 44 828375
Killyleagh Yacht Club Tel:+44 28 44 828250
Police: +44 4461 5011, Medical Clinic +44 4461 3016

Any security concerns?

Never a problem known to have occurred at Don O’Neill Island.

What navigational resources are available for this area?

The key detail charts are British Admiralty 2156 ‘Strangford Lough’, scale of 37,500:1. and for the ‘Narrows’ 2159 ‘Strangford Narrows’, scale of 12,500:1, including ‘Strangford’, scale of 5,000:1. Imray chart C62 – ‘Irish Sea’. Northern Ireland Ordinance Survey No. 21 at a scale of 1:50,000.

With thanks to:

Brian Crawford, local Strangford Lough boatman of many decades.

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Please zoom out to see the 'initial fixes' for this location.

How can I get this offshore?

If a mobile signal is available you can access all of our information via a mobile phone's internet browser. We provide a 'Lite' site, Lite In Your Foot Steps using the shorter initials www.liyfs.com, that presents our data in a simplified, speed optimised format. Similarly, if an internet connection is limited or expensive, switching to the 'Lite' site enables faster and more efficient access.

Alternatively print this page's text, illustrations and photos, but without the internet menu, layout, backdrops and Google maps, or economise upon printer consumables and print this page with text only, to get a hardcopy of this location.

What other useful information is available?

The latest monthly Dover and Dublin (North Wall) tides courtesy of the National Environmental Research Council. Printable monthly tides for Dublin, Dunmore, Cobh, Galway, Belfast are available from the ISA.

The national weather forecast, Met Éireann and BBC shipping forecasts, plus a very simplified Ulster tourist outlook. From an Atlantic perspective a 24 hour North Atlantic synoptic chart that you may ‘right click’ and save to your hard disk. Met Éireann’s Eastern Atlantic chart and the BBC’s surface area forecast plus visible satellite images for Ireland and Northeast Atlantic from Met Éireann. Wind observations, XC UK & Ireland, Windguru wind & wave reports, and Windfinder where you can determine a forecast time. Coastal radio stations (VHF Channel) Weather forecast at 0103 and thence every 3 hours updated every sixth. Dublin 83, Wicklow Head 87, Rosslare 23 and Mine Head 83. Radio broadcasts on RTE 1 (89.1FM) 0603, 1253, 1655 and 2355.

A free tidal range prediction application for windows, a simple tide monitor plus the rule of twelfths are available in inyourfootsteps.com shared ‘experience’.



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