Sailing inyourfootsteps.com

Wexford Harbour, County Wexford, Ireland

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Harbour position?

52° 20.360' N, 006° 27.370' W

Where is that position?

This is in the middle of the moorings off the town quay.

What is the initial fix?

The following waypoint will set up a final approach:

Wexford Harbour Bar Buoy initial fix
52° 19.250' N, 006° 19.500' W
This waypoint is the 2007 position of the Bar Buoy. The bar buoy is a red pillar buoy with a radar reflector.

What LWS draught is available?

0.5 metres (1.64 feet).

What are the tides and weather here?

Dover HWS -0330, HWN +0630 at the bar, the quay 1 hour later.
Cobh +0126, mean level 1.3
MHWS 2.0m MHWN 1.5m MLWN 1.0m MLWS 0.5m
Ebb and flow inside the harbour:
Dover +0230 In-going at 2kn
Dover -0400 Out-going at 2kn

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 Leinster 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. Carlingford 04, Dublin 83, Wicklow Head 02, 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’.

What considerations are there?

Wexford Harbour and town resides on the counties east coast ten miles north of the south-eastern corner of Carnsore Point. It is separated from the sea by a shallow, eastward-facing bay that, at its mouth, is about two and a half miles wide with the town residing four miles to the northwest of the bay.

Visiting boats may come alongside fishing boats on the town quay, anchor or pick up moorings and once inside the harbour you will find complete protection. In the past Wexford harbour was exposed to a south easterly wind. Since the new pier has been established on the opposite side of the harbour this is no longer the case and you can find complete protection by moving across the harbour.

Wexford harbour has a very well marked channel making access straightforward. The limiting factor with Wexford however is parts of the entrance channel are shallow making it more suitable for shallow draft vessels as listed above - that is technically a 0.5 LAT. This said that shallowest point of channel is in the sheltered inner reach of the harbour and the harbour can be accessed by vessels up to 1.8 meters and more if you work the tides.

Please note Wexford Harbour requires good conditions, a rising tide, daylight and fair visibility to follow closely spaced channel markers. In conditions with strong onshore winds, where a boatman has no prior local experience, it would be best to select Kilmore Quay.

How to get in?

The key to entering Wexford Harbour is to find the bar buoy. This marks the entrance to a line of clearly visible channel markers that lead you into the harbour. From the bar buoy look west and you should see the channel marker buoys clearly visible as there is little distance between them. After that it is simply a matter of following the channel markers in. The channel is long, approximately 4 nautical miles, and snakes around the bay so you should factor that into your tidal planning. Try time your channel entry for HW, plus or minus 2 hours.

Although more than what you need to navigate in, below is the list of 2007 buoy positions.

Buoy 2 – position: 52° 19.253’N, 006° 20.130’W
Colour = Red Depth = 4.3 (depth above LAT)

Buoy 4 – position: 52° 19.248’N, 006° 20.775’W
Colour = Red Depth = 3.7

Buoy 6 – position: 52° 19.262’N 006° 21.682’W
Colour = Red Depth = 3.7

Buoy 8 – position: 52° 19.417’N, 006° 22.027’W
Colour = Red Depth = 2.2

Buoy 9 – position: 52° 19.692’N, 006° 22.292’W
Colour = Green Depth = 1.6

Buoy 10 – position: 52° 19.654’N, 006° 22.391’W
Colour = Red Depth = 1.6

Buoy 12 – position: 52° 19.930’N, 006° 22.896’W
Colour = Red Depth = 2.8

Buoy 14 – position: 52° 20.095’N, 006° 23.453’W
Colour = Red Depth = 2.5

Buoy 15 – position: 52° 20.203’N, 006° 23.758’W
Colour = Green Depth = 5.8

Buoy 16 – position: 52° 20.100’N, 006° 23.710’W
Colour = Red Depth = 5.8

Buoy 17 – position: 52° 19.899’N, 006° 24.626’W
Colour = Green Depth = 3.1

Buoy 18 – position: 52° 19.853’N, 006° 24.620’W
Colour = Red Depth = 3.1

Buoy 20 – position: 52° 19.937’N, 006° 25.516’W
Colour = Red Depth = 1.2

Buoy 22 – position: 52° 19.845’N, 006° 25.403’W
Colour = Red Depth = 0.3

Buoy 23 – position: 52° 19.854’N, 006° 25.500’W
Colour = Green Depth = 0.0

Buoy 24 – position: 52° 19.826’N, 006° 25.584’W
Colour = Red Depth = 0.3

Buoy 26 – position: 52° 19.880’N, 006° 25.450’W
Colour = Red Depth = 0.9

Buoy 28 – position: 52° 19.980’N, 006° 26.314’W
Colour = Red – Rossiters Depth = 0.6

Buoy 30 – position: 52° 20.080’N, 006° 26.900’W
Colour = Red Depth = 5.8

Wexford harbour is unusual in that the sands shift. This largely depends upon the storm activity in the winter altering the channel patterns. The harbour markers however are maintained so that the buoys follow the shifts. However channel depths may vary also along with positions.

It should be noted for those who have not recently visited the harbour that the position of the channel has moved south in the past few years and is deeper. Also that the investment in channel markings plus the protection afforded by the new pier makes the harbour significantly more accessible and secure then it has been in the past.

What facilities are available?

Wexford does not have a marina or visitors moorings. However you are always welcome to come alongside the quay or mussel dredgers (that generally do not fish in summer months) without berthing fees.

Wexford is a primary regional town featuring shopping, restaurants, cinemas, trains and bus connections to Dublin and elsewhere in the country.

Wexford Harbour Boat Club welcomes visiting yacht crews providing a bar, showers and toilet facilities. Wexford harbour boat club is however above the bridge, about a kilometres walk by road, and most people find it quicker to use the dingy to pass under the bridge and tie up at the club pontoon. Power boat cruisers are welcome to come up to the Boat Club and arrange for a refuelling lorry at the club pontoon. Contact a local member to have this arranged.

What emergency contacts are there?

Dublin Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) VHF Ch 83 covers the area from Carlingford Lough to Youghal. Carlingford (04), Wicklow Head (02), Rosslare (23) and Mine Head (83) 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. Dublin (MRSC) may be contacted directly on +353 1 662 0922/3

Other useful contacts in this area:
The Boat Club is available on +353 53 91 22039
Rosslare Harbour on channel 12 or phone +353 53 9133249
Police: +353 5322333; Doctor +353 5331154; Hospital +353 53 42233

Why visit here?

Wexford town is an energetic, cosmopolitan mix of old and new cultures. It is clearly identifiable on approach by its famous backdrop of the sleepy spires of the Twin Churches and the award winning Quay-Front.

Beyond the quay you will find a town of narrow winding streets that stems from its Viking origins dating back to the 2nd century and even early Celtic period. A short walk to the West Gate Tower combined with the historic Selskar Abbey will provide an immediate understanding of the towns’ historical development. After that a walk along the many interesting and narrow laneways that branch off the main street will show that the town, although sporting many shops, pubs, and restaurants, completely retains its historical lines.

Wexford Town has a diverse wealth of visitor leisure opportunities to offer the visiting yachtsman. Although a little late for the sailing season every October the world famous Opera Festival is held in the Theatre Royal and this also includes a dynamic Fringe Festival. Art lovers should visit the Wexford Arts Centre that provides a year-round program of artistic activity for the town. On the outskirts of the town, no more than 5KM from the Quay, there is a National Heritage Park that traces the journey from man’s first settlements in Ireland up to the arrival of the Norman’s in the 12th century.

On top of this the town sports a host of lively pubs, hotels, and bars providing quality live entertainment most evenings. The Tourist office is conveniently located on the quay and they can provide the latest details of what is on and where at any time.

Wexford is often seen as an excellent reprovisioning point for a vessel. But a stop in Wexford offers a lot more to the visiting yachts man.

Any security concerns?

Wexford does not have any particular security issues. You can leave a boat unattended but lock it up and don’t leave anything around the decks.

What navigational resources are available for this area?

Admiralty Chart 1772 covers navigation of Wexford harbour. Also Admiralty 1787 ‘Carnsore Point to Wicklow Head’ covers this area. Imray chart C61 plus Discovery Ordinance Survey map 76 also cover this area. The excellent ‘’Sailing Directions - Irish Cruising Club - East & North Coasts of Ireland’ provides pilotage.

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:

Jack Higginbotham, Wexford Harbour Boat Club.

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