Donaghadee Harbour & Copelands Marina

Contacts: Donaghadee HM VHF #16 #68 tel 02891 882377, mobile 07718579105
Copelands Marina VHF #16,#11, #80 tel 02891 882184 mob 07811230215

Donaghadee lies on the NI mainland inside Donaghadee Sound. There is both a harbour and a marina here which are separately administered, the marina being privately owned. Both facilities are pretty full; the harbour has an alongside berth for visitors just inside the south wall whilst the rest of the local boats moor stern to that wall on running moorings. The marina normally keeps six berths available for visitors but it is popular, so advanced arrangements would be advisable. The harbour and marina both provide good shelter except that the harbour suffers badly in Easterly winds which set up a very strong fetch inside the harbour (see video)

The marina has a tide gate which can be fully raised in strong Easterlies which protects those inside. The entrance to the marina would be impassable in such conditions but if you've been caught out and are running for shelter before an Easterly around here there is an anchorage across the Sound in Chapel Bay under Copeland Island which is protected from the east.

Access to the marina is over a sill which gives approximately 1.1m at half tide but best to consult with the Marina Manager before entering to ascertain safe times for access.

The town of Donaghadee has a long maritime history and, as the closest point to mainland Britain, was the Irish end of the Irish Mail Packet from Portpatrick in Scotland. The present harbour walls were completed in the 1820s by engineers with strong connections to the great lighthouse builders of Scotland which explains the sturdy and prominent lighthouse on the end of the South Pier. However, long before this harbour was built, Donaghadee was the main point of entry for trade and travellers from Scotland (and England); the town itself expanded to service this trade with the hotels, hostels, bars and eating places normally found at such a port.

The harbour was built as a natural extension to that trade but, unfortunately, that build was at the beginning of the replacement of sail by steam; soon it no longer mattered that the route should be the shortest, it became necessary that it be the most reliable.

The Scottish end retreated into Stranraer and the Irish end moved to Larne - both much more sheltered than their precursors and accessible by steam driven boats. By mid Victorian times Donaghadee was taking on the role of a holiday resort, accessible by train from Belfast and well equipped with large houses and hotels for the visitors. Now it has come full cycle; there are no longer any trains (thank you Dr Beeching) and holiday makers fly out of Belfast for sunnier climes so Donaghadee has reverted to a small coastal town, still well equipped for the discerning traveller and ideal for the wandering yachtie.