Clonakilty Bay
At a Glance
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Contacts: None, you're on your own!
In terms of distance it's only fifteen miles from Old Head of Kinsale to Galley Head so, in all probability, you will completely miss out this bay and its neighbour Courtmacsherry Bay. On the other hand if you are just pottering and exploring this part of the world you could spend a couple of days in the area. The most sheltered haven is up the estuary of the river Fealge to Clonakilty itself but unless you are blessed with an extremely high spring you are unlikely to be able to get to the town and will more than likely end up in the vicinity of Ring Pier at Arundel Mills which is ok as it's only another 1.5 miles walk from there...
It's worth the walk as Clonakilty is a vibrant town packed with
entertainment and eateries. It is the birthplace of one of
Ireland's favourite sons, Michael Collins, and there is a national
monument to him here. The land here has been fought over for
centuries but has returned to a previous time of gentleness and
hospitality which was its original attraction. There are ancient
churches, castles and grand houses in the area all of which merit
visits if you are so inclined and for the explorer, whether by land
or sea, on foot or by road it is a rich source of discovery and an
ideal centre to roam further afield.
Clonakilty Bay
Approach
Firstly be aware that AC 2092 relies on very old nineteenth century surveys....
.... in this area so rocks and soundings may be out of position
(which means virtually ALL raster, vector and paper charts have the
same caveat).
Coming round Seven Heads from the East there is
little to trouble you close in, apart from Cotton Rock to the east
of Seven Heads and Bird Island off Dunworly Point. If you make
straight for the beach from Dunworly Head you'll avoid Cow Rocks
which can be seen but be aware of Horse Rock just to the North of
that which may be covered.
If you are approaching Dunworly Bay from the West
you need to go past the centre of the bay and leave Cow Rock to
port before turning in unless you can identify Horse Rock, in which
case it's safe to go between it and Cow Rock. If you can't see
Horse Rock be wary of using a chart plotter to avoid it - it may be
closer than you think! Obviously there's no shelter here from
South west weather but in an Easterly it's a comfortable temporary
anchorage.
Although there is a place name Dunworly on the chart it's more of a
post code for the farmsteads in the district as there is no village
here and this absolutely nothing in the way shops or pubs. There's
a single track road from the SE corner of the beach leading NE
towards Butlerstown (near the 102 spot height); that has two small
bars and it's only a mile away!
That's about it for the Coast to the east of Clonakilty apart from
a small cove at Ballinglanna where there is a small slip but little
else.
Clonakilty harbour is a gamble if you have a fin keel and...
... to be honest, not worth the risk unless you go up on a spring tide remembering that where you anchor has to be deep enough to cover the low water spring! The little pier at Ring dries at LWS and would be a pretty rough affair to lean your boat on to take the bottom. There is a lit WCM at the entrance to the channel which replaced the Green unlit starboard mark in 2020
There is still no PHM to match the WCM on Wind Rock on which it stands and the shoals on the West side of the channel are very close. Anyway, if you've got past there safely, keep tight (half a cable) to the east side and proceed up to Ring where you can then look for somewhere to lay your anchor.
There are loads of moorings here so you'll have to be careful and
consider using a tripping line.
Finally, the current is very strong down through here, reaching a
couple of knots at springs, so make sure your anchor is well bedded
in.
On the West side of the bay there are two main anchorages; Dunnycove Bay and Dirk Bay. The Northerly of these, Dunnycove, is without hazards and you can anchor close in, in deep water just to the NW of Dunnycove Point. Dirk Bay (to the South West and just to the East of Galley Head) is a different matter as it has a scattering of rocks to the West of Dunowen Head and you need to enter the bay from due South and come in on its Western side. You can then anchor off the slip on the West shore or work your way round inside to anchor to the NW of Carrigduff.
Euro GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Facilities
Apart from Clonakilty you will find very little in the way of facilities on this coast
Chandlers
What to Do
Here's the reason you came. Clonakilty town has everything from
monuments to a model village and from fish and chips to gourmet
restaurants. Music and Craic abounds and for the possibilities
explore their website below.
Clonakilty does have a taxi company - try 086017504777
History
Local Business
Tide Information for clonakilty-bay
Tidal Information