Sailing inyourfootsteps.com

14°C

Swell today

Direction WSW, height 0.0 metres, period 9.9 seconds, significant wave height of 0.3 metres.

Haven position?

51° 31.530' N, 009° 9.340' W

Where is that position?

The north end of the channel where it enters the bay.

What is the initial fix?

This waypoint is approximately half a nautical mile off the entrance to the harbour.

What is the story here?

Blind Harbour is a small bay that opens approximately half a nautical mile ENE of the mouth of Castle Haven Harbour and two and half nautical miles east of Glandore. It is partially covered to the South East by a ragged cluster of rocks called Low and High Island a distance of a mile off, and open to the south.

The harbour provides a good anchorage with two metres of draft available in the middle of the neck at the back of the channel at low water. The bay is open to the south in the channel and although it has a long channel it would be uncomfortable in a southerly. However the shallower draft vessels can progress deeper into the bay and around the corners where they may be protected from pretty much anything. It also offers rock solid holding to an anchoring vessel in clay and sand. The bay’s entrance itself is completely clear and there is plenty of water so access is straight forward.

Why visit here?

Blind Harbour is an excellent harbour and very pretty. It does not have a beach as it has a mixture of sand and clay making it dark but apart from that it is a truly lovely spot.

How to get in?

Approaching the bay from the East, Galley Head or Glandore Harbour side, will take you though ‘Big Sound’ that is a nautical mile wide and resides between Low & High Islands and the mainland. Please pass wide of Rabbit Island as Belly Rock, a covered rock, lies 300 metres to the south of it’s furthest exposed Southern Rock. A Southern approach has no obstructions whatsoever.

As you go beyond the neck where the bay starts to opens out it shelves gradually to 1.5 metres and then less. Because it has a sandy bottom so you are free to feel your way around further back to get a depth that is comfortable round the shoulders. On neaps most cruising boats would have a lot of scope to find a nice spot in the bay.

You could comfortably leave a shallow draft vessel unattended here for a few days around the corner without any concern. This would not be the case with deeper draft vessels however who would be limited to the channel that would be exposed to South.

What are the tides here?

Today's local tide estimates are based on High Water Cobh -0025
Today's Cobh tides — High waters: 07:36, 19:53, Low waters: 01:41, 13:56
Today's Dover tides — High waters: 01:04, 13:22, Low waters: 08:17, 20:33 (From Tide Times)
Cobh -0020sp, -0030np, Dover +0605
MHWS 3.7m MHWN 3.0m MLWN 1.4m MLWS 0.7m
Outside the harbour the tide runs,
Dover + 0200 East, Dover -0400 West.

The latest monthly Dover Tides and Cobh 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 Munster 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. Cork 26, Bantry 23, Valentia 24. 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’.

What facilities are available?

There is nothing in Blind Harbour save for a small boat pier to land the dinghy against. You will see this as you enter as it is directly up from the entrance but don’t approach it as there is not enough water for a yacht.

What emergency contacts are there?

Valentia Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) VHF Ch 24 & MF 1752 kHz covers this costal area. Cork (26), Mizen (04), Bantry Bay (23), Shannon (28) and Galway (04) provide relay stations. Coastguard Radio is always called on a working channel. Emergencies are worked on 16, 67 and working channel.

Alternatively, or if ashore, phone 999 or 121 (free) and ask for ‘Marine Rescue’. Gardai (police), Fire and Rescue are also available on this number. Valentia (MRSC) may be called on +353 669 476 109

Any security concerns?

It would be unlikely that you would experience any issues on anchor in Blind Harbour.

What navigational resources are available for this area?

Admiralty Charts 2049 ‘Toe Head to Old Head Of Kinsale’ Scale of 1:50,000 covers this sailing area. The Pilot ’Sailing Directions - Irish Cruising Club - South and West Coasts of Ireland’’ covers this in great detail.

With thanks to:

Burke Corbett, Gusserane, New Ross, Co. Wexford.

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