Sailing inyourfootsteps.com

Carrigaholt Bay, County Clare, Ireland

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Harbour position?

52° 36.060' N, 009° 41.920' W

Where is that position?

New Quay pier head

What is the initial fix?

The following waypoint will set up a final approach:

Shannon Entrance Initial Fix
52° 32.528' N, 009° 46.944' W
Shannon Entrance - Ballybunnion North Cardinal Marker Lt Buoy, VQ Fl. Racon 6m

What LWS draught is available?

3 metres (9.84 feet).

What are the tides and weather here?

HW Galway -0015
MHWS 4.9m MHWN 3.7m MLWN 1.9m MLWS 0.7m

Shannon Entrance
The flood (in going) stream starts at +0100 Dover at 2.5kn
The ebb (out going) stream starts at -0515 Dover at 4kn

Once inside stream rates vary at different points of the estuary. Carrigaholt Bay is off the run of the Shannon and has little, if any, tidal stream. If you take it that the flood starts approximately 5 hours before, and the ebb 1 hour after HW Galway.

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?

Carrigaholt Bay is a wide bay on the Loop Head Peninsula inside the entrance to the River Shannon. Situated upon the north side of the river, about a mile north of Kilcredaun Point, it provides the first safe harbour for boats travelling up river. A vessel can anchor off a quay, with very good holding, or avail of secure moorings.

The bay offers good shelter in all winds south-southwest through west to north-northwest. It is exposed to wind and sea from south round to northeast. However by moving into the old quay, coming alongside the New Quay or tucking south of Car¬rigaholt Castle protection from most quarters can be obtained. Carrigaholt Bay provides safe access as it is less than two miles off the well marked main Shannon shipping route with no offlying dangers.

Please note in strong winds south through west to northwest there are bad races during the ebb tide at the Shannon entrance.

How to get in?

The initial fix will take you to the Ballybunion North Cardinal that marks the mouth of the Shannon.

Ballybunion North Cardinal Lt Buoy -VQ Fl. Racon 6m - position: 52° 32.528’N, 009° 46.944’W

This area of the marker is approximately 11 miles wide lying between Loop Head and Kerry Head and you should give both heads a wide berth.

Loop Head Lighthouse - Fl (4) 20s, 23M - position: 52° 33.672’N, 009° 55.938’W

As noted above, strong winds south through west to northwest can cause bad races during the ebb tide at the Shannon entrance. The ebb tide sweeps out in a south-westerly direction. If you have to enter enduring the Shannon ebb tide or foul conditions the best point of entry is on the north shore to the east of Loop Head. This area is free of off-lying dangers, affords some swell protection and avoids the strongest run of the tide.

From Ballybunion North Cardinal your approach will next take you to Kilstiffin Red Can Buoy and then to the inner Shannon River entrance.

Kilstiffin Red Can Lt Buoy - Fl R 3s - position: 52° 33.801’N, 009° 43.843’W

The inner entrance to the River lies between Kilcredaun Head, with a lighthouse, to the north and Ki1conly Point on the south where the entrance narrows to approximately 1.75 miles wide.

Kilcredaun Head Lighthouse - White tower Fl 6s 41m 15M - position: 52° 34.809’N, 009° 42.613’W

Access is very straight forward as there are no offshore obstacles off the north shore and it is well marked. Here is a useful list to help you identify the inner entrance markers that can be picked up irrespective of the direction of approach:

Kilcredaun W Lt Buoy - Fl (2+1) R 10s - position: 52° 34.440’N, 009° 41.196’W

Tail of Beal W Card Lt Buoy - Q (9) 15s - position: 52 34.393’N, 009 40.746’W

Carrigaholt Red Can Lt Buoy - Fl (2) R 6s - position: 52° 34.921’N, 009° 40.504’W

You may if you wish follow the north shoreline a few hundred metres off. Do note the position of Ladder Rock directly under Kilcredaun Head Lighthouse and the wreck which shows 1.2 metres at LW under the battery at Kilcredaun Point. Apart from that you can follow the coast on your port all the way in from the entrance.


You may anchor north round to east of the New Quay, near the conspicuous castle ruins on Carrigaholt Point, in three metres where you will find excellent holding in sand over clay and mud.

It is possible to come alongside at New Quay and 3 metres LWS can be found at the pierhead. This offers good protection in southerly winds. However this is a very busy fishing quay and it is mostly occupied by lobster boats so a berth cannot be relied upon. In northwest, through north to northeast winds, boats will slam against the wall and those taking to the ground will pound so you would not want to be alongside.

If the wind turns to the west or northwest you may drop down south of New Quay to the north side of Kilcredaun Bay, South of Car¬rigaholt Castle for better protection in sand. There you will find good hold¬ing in three metres.

The Old Quay at the village is only available to shallow to moderate draft vessels at high water and is protected from all conditions. It is also used by fishing boats. Before approaching it inspect it first hand and take some local advice.

There are eight visitor moorings available in Carrigaholt Bay.
Carrigaholt Bay moorings – position: 52° 36.20’N, 009° 41.70’W
The moorings are rated to 15 tons and are large, coloured bright yellow and labelled VISITOR.

Please note Carrigaholt Bay is fairly level and gradually shoaling towards the shore where it dries. When anchoring in shallower waters, well into the bay, you need to observe the tidal heights plus note that the chart soundings date back to 1842. The last time I visited there was a fish farm about a mile to the east of the harbour. Consequently, if approaching at night, come up from directly south of the harbour.

What facilities are available?

Water is available on the New Quay and from there it is ten minutes walk to Carrigaholt village. You will find basic supplies in Carrigaholt, groceries, fuel, meat, post office and the food in the Public House is reportedly good.

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

Why visit here?

Carrigaholt Bay is an ideal yachting platform for many reasons. Access is convenient and straightforward and it is the perfect location to wait out a tide, have a night stop in reliably flat waters, go up river to Limerick or make an early start west to the Blaskets. Furthermore a yacht entering the Shannon seeking shelter from stiff westerlies need go no further.

Most of all Carrigaholt is the perfect River Shannon stepping stone. The River Shannon (Abha na Sionainne or an tSionna / an tSionainn in Irish) is the longest navigable river in the UK or Ireland and its name is derived from the rivers Goddess "Sionna". It flows through 113 km (70 mi) generally southward from the ‘Shannon Pot’ in County Cavan before turning west and emptying into the Atlantic below Carrigaholt. Limerick City stands at the point where the river water meets the sea water of the estuary and beyond the city the river is unaffected by sea tides. Up-stream from Limerick the Shannon effectively becomes an inland waterway; where progress is restricted by locks and bridges - see upriver clickable map view.
Information, maps etc. on Shannon navigation is available from the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland.

Carrigaholt itself is an old fishing port watched over by a 15th century castle. The castle was built circa 1480 by the McMahons of West Corca Baiscin and was home to the last Gaelic Chieftains. It has a fiery and colourful history that includes rebellions, battles and pirating of merchant ships headed for Limerick. All that remains today is a shell of its former nobility.

During the Napoleonic period there were eight defensive stone forts built along the mouth of the Shannon between Carrigaholt and Labasheeda. The Kilcredaun Point fort still stands in excellent condition.

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have occurred in Carrigaholt Bay.

What navigational resources are available for this area?

For Shannon navigation the large scale Admiralty Chart 1819 ‘Approaches to the River Shannon’ scale of 1:50,000 covers the approaches. Then 1547 ‘River Shannon - Kilcredaun Point to Ardmore Point’ scale of 1:20,000 including Kilrush Creek 1:10,000 is the key chart. For the rest of the Shannon : 1540 ‘River Shannon - Shannon Airport to Limerick’ scale of 1:12,500, 1548 ‘River Shannon - Ardmore Point to Rinealon Point’ scale of 1:20,000, 1549 ‘River Shannon - Rinealon Point to Shannon Airport including Foynes Harbour’ scale of 1:20,000 - Foynes Harbour 1:7,500.

Imray C55 ‘Dingle Bay to Galway Bay’ scale of 1:170,000, Ordinance Survey of Ireland, Discovery Series Map ref No. 63 / 64. Scale 1:50,000. The Pilot ’Sailing Directions - Irish Cruising Club - South and West Coasts of Ireland’’ covers this in great detail. Information, maps etc. on Shannon navigation is available from the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland.

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.

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