Location

Monday 24 September 2012

Dundrum Harbour - Harbour Information - from Visit My Harbour for Free Nautical Charts and Pilotage, UK Wide Coverage

Courtesy Flag

Flag, Red Ensign

Waypoint  

54˚13.35N 005˚ 48.4W This is within D401 but it is impossible to get into Dundrum without infringing this Danger Area.

Charts

AC 044-0 Nose of Howth to Ballyquintin point. Imray C62 Irish Sea

Rules & Regulations

D401 is used for small arms up to Mortar and Anti Tank weapons and the seaward side of it is essentially a safety area for “over throws”. When the range is active they fly Red Flags by day and red lights by night. The presence of these flags does not prohibit passage through the danger area. The authorities can expect that you will not linger in the area and they operate on the “Clear Range” principle. Range control is not contactable either by phone or VHF but, if you need to cross the range and the red flags are being flown, call Belfast Coastguard on #16 and they can contact the RSO.

Hazards

Drying and awash rocks, see "Approach and Entry"

Tidal Data Times & Range

HW is HW Belfast +0005 MHWS 4.8m MHWN 3.8m MLWN 1.8m MLWS 0.8m The streams into and out of the lagoon and in the anchorage are quite strong but unspecified.

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General Description

Dundrum harbour lies in a lagoon approached through a narrow channel with a sand bar at the seaward end.  The harbour was a fairly busy port and at one stage they tried to operate a ferry service from here to England but the tidal access limited that developement. Nevertheless it remained active as a port until the 1980’s but the competition from the other harbours on the East Coast finally brought that period of its history to an end.

At various stages during the last two centuries there have been ambitious plans by its successive owners to enhance its attraction to the tourist trade; at one stage they had even hoped to build baths and turn it into a spa town for the rehabilitation of invalids et alia but these were never followed through to their conclusion. The result is that the main attraction here is its castle and the total lack of more raucous resort “amenities”!! ... read more

Approach

Between the entrance to Dundrum channel and St John’s Point, all the way round the bay there is a scattering of rocks, drying, awash and hidden up to a mile off the shore;  you need an offing of at least a mile and it is not possible to route in a straight line from the Point to the channel. From the southern side the only rock to look out for is the Roaring Rock off Dunmore but is only two and a half cables off the shore so in the normal way of things should not cause a problem.  The main hazard here is the depth of the unbuoyed channel into the anchorage; it is recommended that the approach should only be undertaken by shallow draft boats in settled conditions. That’s not to say it is not possible for fin keel boats; it has been done in recent years, at HWS and very, very carefully. ... read more

Berthing, Mooring & Anchoring

If you need to take on water, fuel of other stores it is possible to tie alongside the quay for a couple of hours either side of HW.  The harbour is unmanned, so no harbour dues.

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