2026 A bit more planning for Ireland.

e & oe! Not having anything better to do and with tide information now available for the SeaPro navigation software (it is not available till late December which must be a real pain for those sailing in warmer climes) and the Imray Tide App now working correctly, I thought I would spend a little more time planning for the first few days of my planned trip to the west coast of Ireland. Writing it down also helps me understand the options.  The initial planning was back in September, the thread starting here.

The spring tide of the 21st, a likely start date from the Dale anchorage, is a couple of days after the new moon that rises at 06:20 so the nights are going to be very dark, by the neap tide of the 27th, it will be waxing gibbous (just more than half) setting at 04:22 at Waterford, much better - IF it is a clear night. So, there must be a good chance of arriving in daylight or at a location I am happy to arrive at in the dark.

Sunset along the eastern coast of Ireland on the 21st will be around 18:45Z improving to 20:20Z on the 11th April. Summer times starts on the 29th of March which would help at the expense of a darker morning, not normally an issue for a departure. Add 30 minutes to these times for civil twilight.

Sunrise on the 28th at Waterford is 06:12Z and on April 11th, 05:40Z, subtract c 30 minutes for civil twilight.

Anchorages I have used in red, marinas in blue. Anchorages
I have reviewed as usable (at least in daylight) in green. The
marina I have used at Kinsale is hidden by other marks including
the marina at the yacht club. Other marinas in purple.

Of the anchorages I know along the coast south of Carnsore point there are several that I would be happy to enter and anchor in the dark, from east to west:

• St Margaret's Bay (North of Carnsore Point).
• Dunmore East (Waterford). 
• After that Youghal has a well lit entrance but the anchorage is between shifting banks and the "safer" area has moorings that might not be visible at night, but it would be OK for an early morning arrival if heading further west or if I needed a bolt hole or somewhere to rest after a slow passage.
• Kinsale to anchor below the bridge, or in extreme conditions to moor in one of the two marinas, I would need to average better than 5.3 knots to reach there before daylight, possible but unlikely unless a very good wind and probably a bumpy ride.
• After that the next is Baltimore a long way away.

Of the places I haven't been to the following should work in the dark:

• The east side of Waterford Harbour.
• Probably the Dungarven Helvick Head and Ballycotten Bay anchorages if the wind is southerly  but both are exposed to the east and north.
• Cork / Crosshaven.

The anchorage at Dunmore East looking out into Waterford harbour.

The main Kinsale anchorage from Castlepark marina, shore lights
should show the few mooring buoys so not a problem in the dark.

The first thing to do is check my default destination which is Waterford Harbour. On March 21st with an 04:00Z start from Dale routing north of The Smalls at 4.5 knots, SeaPro shows an arrival time of 19:30Z but, especially on a Spring tide with 4 knots of tide or more helping north past Skolholm, this is pessimistic due to the lack of tidal diamonds from Milford until past The Smalls, see my notes on passage making from Milford. (Timings for routes south of The Smalls are likely to be more realistic). Kilmore would be a little quicker so certainly an option if I am running to time.

St Margret's Bay or Rosslare would be options if a changing wind made Waterford difficult but the passage from there to Waterford is 6 to 9 hours, effectively a whole day, so is to be avoided if possible.

Cork routing south of the Smalls would be an overnight sail arriving at 07:30Z (an hour earlier if leaving on the 27th when it is a neap tide) and if the weather is particularly good or in a stiff northerly wind that could make Waterford uncomfortable (Kilmore would be OK if there is no lingering sea), I might well opt for that or Kinsale a little further on but I have been there before and would like to see Cork harbour.

Going direct to Baltimore would, at 4.5 knots, take 7 hours longer than Cork, a possibility if the weather was good, particulalry if it was about to change, but a long haul to start with and again I would be missing out on Cork.

If it is likely to be warm for the time of year with a favourable wind, Cork looks good, the decision would ideally be made the night before departure so as to start later at around 07:30Z from Dale @ HW Milford for more favourable tides and more sleep, or between 05:30Z and 07:15Z from the Marina during free flow. 

On the 22nd or 23rd the tides are not helpful from Waterford to Cork and it would be 13 or 14 hours or, more likely, a couple of days to avoid two long days with early starts in succession. Things start to improve from the 24th, half way towards neaps and with the tides later so a delayed start from Milford or a visit to Waterford would help there, but if it is not particulalry cold overnight I think I would prefer the longer trip direct to Cork, have a day or twos there then move on.

From Cork it would be a 12 hour run to Baltimore or a couple of days probably via Glandore, with the tides not being such a factor. 

Start Times

Especially at Springs when passing north of The Smalls it is critical to have a fair tide from SW of Skokholm to NE of Grassholm. It turns North 02:30 Hrs before HW Milford and S at HWM +04:00. Going North towards Wiklow or Dublin you need to be as early in the tide as possible to get past The Bishops, going North West to Waterford it is less critical although keeping clear of the TSS can be an issue on the ebb. It is about 9 NM from Dale so at least a  couple of hours against the flood, less with the Ebb. So, ignoring tides off the Irish coast departure from Dale needs to be from 04:30 Hrs before HWM to HWM 01:00 after, preferably earlier rather than later.

From Milford Marina it is an extra 4NM against the tide after locking through so at least an hour and a half plus time to lock through. Lock times outbound are a constraint with exits only possible on the flood at 05:30, 04:30 and 03:30 before HW and during free flow for about 2 hours before HW. With an early morning start it will be better to lock out the previous day and anchor for the night at Dale, Sandy Haven Bay or West Angle Bay depending on the wind and sea state.

Conclusions:

If the wind is:

• Westerly I wait for a better wind, preferably at home. 
• c 325 → N → c 220 degrees direct to Cork and Kinsale are possibilities.
• South-westerly, promising  to change withing a day or two I could head for Waterford or Kilmore and then as below.
• With winds from the North through east to south, one of:
• A fairly long day to Waterford Harbour or Kilmore then anything from 2 to 5 days to Baltimore which is what I allowed for in my first draft plan. Likely stops:
• Dungarvin, Whiting Bay or Yougal.
• Cork (E Passage lagoon or Spike Island or Crosshaven or Drakes Pool).
• Coutmacsherry or of many options between there and Glandore.
• Baltimore.
• An overnight trip to Cork, a day or twos rest then one or two more days, then as above.
• A very long overnight trip direct with a couple of nights at anchor to recover.

Sod's law says the wind will be WNW or some other marginal direction but time will tell. 

Rounding the Fastnet during the JBC in 2019.
No whales then either 😞

In the event of storm force winds good shelter could be found at Waterford, Cork, Kinsale, Baltimore or possibly Youghal, with quite a few others for "merely" strong or gale force offshore winds.

Unfortunately is will be too early in the season to make a whale watching trip to Cape Clear, the Fastnet Rock or Mizzen Head worth while so after Baltimore I am thinking of using the interesting north channel out of the harbour to head for Bearhaven, where I have a better chance of some serious resupply and diesel than Baltimore,  probably via Skull / Long Island or Crookhaven. 

The northern route out of Baltimore.

If the weather is bad but with offshore winds there are a good number of other places to visit on route.

Baltimore - Bearhaven at 5 knots, Crookhaven is
only c 3 hours

Tides are not a major problem for these relatively short legs but are particularly favourable from the 29th or 30th March for several days at least as far as Valentia with morning departures giving fair tides and plenty of time to complete legs in daylight.

After Bantry Bay there are few tidal diamonds and frequently none on a leg until Malin head and I don't intend to work those legs out manually from the pilot and tide tables until I get there.

Click here for the last of the planning.