Sailing inyourfootsteps.com

Knightstown, Valentia, County Kerry, Ireland

---

Harbour position?

51° 55.580' N, 010° 17.160' W

Where is that position?

Upon Knightstown pierhead.

What is the initial fix?

The following waypoint will set up a final approach:

Valentia Initial Fix
51° 56.286' N, 010° 19.427' W
600 Metres northwest of the entrance in the white sector of the transit.

What LWS draught is available?

4 metres (13.12 feet).

What are the tides and weather here?

HW Cobh –0118sp, -0038np
MHWS 3.5m MHWN 2.8m MLWN 1.2m MLWS 0.4m
Mean spring range about 3.1 m, mean neap range about range 1.6 m.

Tidal direction:
In going: HW Dover -0100, HW Cobh +0450
Out going: HW Dover +0500, HW Cobh -0135
Spring rate in the narrows
Fort Point 1.5, Knightstown 1.5 kn, Port Magee 2.
Tides flow in line with the channel through the north and south entrances to the harbour, meeting about half-way between Portmagee and Reenglass Point. In the Caher River the tides run strongly in the channel and in the anchorage off the quay.

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 considerations are there?

Valentia Harbour resides upon the south side of the entrance to Dingle Bay, in a sheltered bight between the Valentia Island and the mainland. Knightstown is a fishing port and is Valentia Island’s only settlement. It provides visiting yachts with a sheltered anchorage and moorings.

Knightstown is an excellent harbour that affords complete protection from all wind and sea conditions. It has three entrances and we describe the main entrance to the north of the island where you will find access straightforward, at any state of the tide, supported by a sectored light and good markers around a rock in the entrance.

The other two approaches are more intricate and involved. There is an alternate northern approach, rounding Beginish Island through Doulus Bay and Lough Kay plus a southern approach via Portmagee Sound.

Please note during northwest gales Valentia Harbour should be avoided. A heavy sea breaks right across the harbour entrance and you should not attempt either northern entrance unless you have a highly competent crew with very good local knowledge.

How to get in?

From the initial fix make towards the narrow entrance that lies between Fort (Cromwell) Point and Beginish Island tracking in on 141°.

By day locate Fort Point, a white tower 15 metres in height, then identify the beacons. You should see the towers of the leading lights situated on the north side of Valentia Island about 1,500 metres southeast of Fort Point. The front is a white conical tower with red vertical stripes; the rear, positioned 122 metres behind, is a red triangle on a white wall.

By night locate Fort Point Light F1.WR.2s and then the white sector (140°-142°) of Front - Lt.Oc.WRG. 4s11/8M; Rear Oc.4s5M. It is important that you track in on 141° the transits as foul ground extends north from Fort Point and from the west point of Beginish Island.

Once inside the entrance there is a clearly visible 130m long Harbour Rock that dries to 2.6m and should be kept to starboard. It resides on the west side of the fairway, approximately, midway between Fort Point and the front beacon. It is clearly marked by an East Cardinal Beacon (Yellow/Black East Cardinal iron mast) Q(3) W10s, 4m, 5M. By night it is covered by the Red section of the Fort Point sectored light and presents no difficulty. However, again it is best to keep in the transits, as on the port side there are ledges and sunken rocks extending 400 metres off Cruppaun Point.

Once Harbour Rock has been passed the harbour trends to the east and is free of dangers so you are free to alter course for Knightstown.

Do not be tempted to go directly for the harbour location waypoint by rounding the pierhead of Knightstown. A shallow gravel spit, that dries 1.2 to 0.6 metres in places, extends east-northeast from Valentia called ‘The Foot’. Its extremity is marked by an East Cardinal Lit buoy VQ(3) 5s that you should keep to starboard before rounding up on the town pier.

Anchor off Knightstown to the south of the jetty, or as convenient in Portmagee channel, you will find three metres sand/mud with holding good. This is well sheltered in west winds and convenient for landing. There six visitors moorings just south of the Knightstown pier. Land at the slipway on the north side of the breakwater at Knightstown.

Knightstown Ferry Pier has a depth of 1.7 m at the pierhead and you can come alongside during the day for a short period. The car ferry runs from here to the mainland at Reenard Point so be careful not to obstruct the operation. The ferry berths at the pier in the evenings so it has to be kept clear. Please contact the Harbour Master before planning any berthing.

In winds from southeast round to southwest you may anchor on the west side of ‘The Foot’. You will find a depth of 2.5 metres in mud with good holding ground and it is sheltered in these conditions. There are visitors moorings located here also.

Caution: When anchoring in the vicinity of Knightstown please identify and avoid the submarine cable marked on all charts laid between the town and Reenard Point.

What facilities are available?

Knightstown is the only town on the island where you will find a few pubs, restaurants but otherwise not much. You will find supplies limited to bread, some general stores and fuel. There is a boatyard on the island that is capable of lifting a 20 tonne large yacht and repairs.

A ferry runs from here to the mainland opposite at Reenard. Portmagee is a town on the mainland connected by a bridge that opens to allow larger vessels through. Nearby Cahirciveen has all requirements.

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

Other useful contacts in this area.
Knightstown HM phone: +353 66 9476124 / 9476309;
Coast Guard (as above): +353 669 976109
Doctor: +353 66 9472121
Police: +353 66 9472111
Hospital: +353 66 9472100;
Cahersiveen Marina: VHF Ch 80 / M +353 66 947 2777 / 9472993 www.cahersiveenmarina.ie

Why visit here?

Knightstown (An Chois in Irish) is the largest settlement on Valentia Island with a population of 172. Knight’s Town is named after the Knights of Kerry (the FitzGeralds) who were benign and beloved Protestant landlords.

Yachtsmen will find this a very secure spot to stop with good visitors moorings. It is also very pretty and where all the island’s facilities are located – pubs, restaurants, dive schools, lifeboat, ferry, harbour etc and there is a fine view back to Portmagee. From metrological services to marine search the island is interesting.

Valentia Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) is one main coastal stations of Ireland. The first transatlantic cable was laid from Valentia to Trinity Bay in Newfoundland, a process that began in 1855 by SS ‘Niagara’ and ‘Agamemnon’. The latter was nearly lost in a storm in 1857 when the cable snapped at the edge of the continental shelf, 560km out to sea.

If you walk up to the radio station you will find an abandoned slate quarry adjacent.

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have occurred in Knightstown.

What navigational resources are available for this area?

The large scale Admiralty Chart 2254 ‘Valentia Island to River Shannon’ scale of 1:150,000 covers this area. Admiralty Chart 2125 covers ‘Valentia Island’ scale of 1:30,000 and ‘Valentia Harbour’ scale of 1:10,000.

Imray C55 ‘Dingle Bay to Galway Bay’ scale of 1:170,000, Ordinance Survey of Ireland, Discovery Series Map ref No. 83 Kerry. Scale 1:50,000. The Pilot ’Sailing Directions - Irish Cruising Club - South and West Coasts of Ireland’’ covers this in great detail.

How can I get this offshore?

If you are receiving a mobile signal you can access all of our information via a standard mobile phone internet browser. We provide a streamlined version of the site at www.liyfs.com, which is a shortcut to our 'Lite' site called Lite.InYourFootSteps.com, that is simplified and optimised for speed. Here are the phonetics to pass the address on via VHF: WWW.LIYFS.COM, I SPELL... LIMA... INDIA... YANKEE... FOXTROT... SIERRA... DOT.COM. Similarly, if you have limited or expensive internet capabilities, you may switch to the 'Lite' site www.liyfs.com for faster more efficient access.

Alternatively you may print a hard copy to have aboard. Either print this page with 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.

With thanks to:

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

---

Please zoom out to see the 'initial fix' for this location.
Print this harbour

Add a review or comment:

Please log in to leave a review of this harbour.

Please note inyourfootsteps.com makes no guarantee of the validity of this information, we have not visited this harbour 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.