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° 36.894' N, 010° 7.526' W

Where is that position?

An anchorage in the south west corner of the bay.

What is the initial fix?

This waypoint is 400 metres northeast of Garnish Island and 1600 metres from the anchoring position.

What is the story here?

Garnish Bay resides on the southern approach to the Kenmare River, one mile directly east from Dursey Sound around Garnish point. The anchorage is partially protected by three rocky islands that lie close to the point - the northern most being Garnish Island and south-eastern most being Long Island.

Garnish Bay offers a tolerable anchorage in settled conditions with winds featuring a westerly component. The anchorage requires careful navigation round an unlit beacon plus marine industry nets and pots so it should only be approached in daylight.

This is not a location that could guarantee a good night’s sleep, should conditions change, but it does provide an excellent lunch stop or a place to await a favourable tide through Dursey Sound.

Please note a problem with the anchorage is the numerous lobster, shrimp, crab and fish pots plus nets that are starting to overwhelm the location. A vessel is at real risk of entanglement in these so you need to be particularly cautious of this. Should you experience conditions from the northwest through north to east that Garnish Bay is exposed to, consider the Sneem for better protection.

Why visit here?

As mentioned above this is an excellent staging point for Dursey Sound in a quiet secluded location surrounded by stone wall fields of grazing sheep and cattle. If you feel like striking out for a walk, Dursey’ cable is only two and a half kilometres walk from Garnish Bay.

I have stopped in here often in settled weather to wait and catch the first of the tide going south through Dursey Sound plus take a lunch break. However I have never spent a night here as I doubt I could rely on it for a sound night’s sleep were conditions to change.

How to get in?

The bay itself is relatively clear of rocks so you can come straight in from deep water to the choice of a few locations to anchor.

The most protected anchorage lies between the western shore and Carrigduff concrete beacon in 5-7 metres. As this has the least swell and is convenient for dinghies to land at the slip in the boat harbour - the pier is not suitable for a vessel to come alongside - you will typically see many small boats moored in this location already. Try to find a patch of sand that is clear of kelp to anchor in and with the areas excellent water clarity this should be easy in bright conditions. Outside of the kelp holding is good.

However this anchorage can get a bit tight so an alternative anchorage is 200 metres south of the Carrigduff Beacon in 5-7 metres and good holding where there is more swinging room.

Alternatively I found a small sandy beach in the southwest corner that provided three metres in sand and good holding. This is the waypoint provided.

The big problem for navigation throughout this area is the numerous lobster, shrimp, crab and fish pots plus nets. The channel north of Carrigduff and south of Long Island (with a depth of 5 – 7 metres) appears to be kept clear but apart from that expect to find nets and pots throughout this area.

What are the tides here?

Today's local tide estimates are based on High Water Cobh -0042
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)
Approximately HW Cobh –0113sp, -0033np
MHWS 3.5m MHWN 2.9m MLWN 1.2m MLWS 0.4m

Dursey Sound tides
South-going +0415 High Water Dover (Cobh -0450)
North-going -0415 High Water Dover (Cobh +0135)
Max spring rate in the narrows 4 kn, somewhat less at the north and south entrances.

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?

None save for a slip and boat harbour to land.

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?

Never an incident known to have occurred in Garnish Bay.

What navigational resources are available for this area?

The large scale Admiralty Charts 2424 ‘Kenmare River to Cork Harbour’ Scale of 1:150,000 covers this area.
2495 ‘’Kenmare River’’ scale of 1:60,000 provides more detail. 2495 also includes sections: Dursey Sound scale of 1:12,500, Ardgroom and Kilmakilloge Harbours scale of 1:30,000, Ballycrovane Harbour scale of 1:30,000, Sneem Harbour scale of 1:30,000 and scale of 1:Upper Kenmare River 30,000.
Imray C56 ‘Cork Harbour to Dingle Bay’ scale of 1:170,000. 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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