Howth Yacht Club Marina

If you come up from the South entry is simple;

....... you will presumably be running up with the flood so depth is not a real problem. Leave the Nose of Howth three or four hundred yards to port, head NW for the Howth SHM and when the end of the pier bears just south of West turn towards it; you will have both the old pierhead lighthouse (quite substantial) and the mast light on the pier extension in sight to its right; give the mast light which is lit at night at least fifty yards offing to avoid the boulders around it and when the harbour entrance is well open turn towards that.

From the North you have the choice of coming round to seaward of Ireland's Eye or popping down through Howth Sound to the West of it. If coming round the outside don't turn towards the harbour too early; stay outside the Rowan Rocks ECM and the Howth SHM unless you are very familiar with these waters. The course to the inside of Ireland's Eye is not a problem as long as you remember the Baldoyle Spit and keep within 2 cables of the Martello Tower on the North end of the Eye until it is well astern and then pass to the West of the South Rowan SHM (the flood is north here so the buoy should be left to port). If you are deep draft and you are coming down on the ebb you need to be careful of the depths, especially if your final run in is from the east and there is a heavy swell developed where you could find yourself bouncing off the bottom in the troughs as you get in close.

You might consider dropping the pick in Carrigeen Bay (West side of the Eye) to wait for deeper water

It's here that the fun could start; ahead of you, to the right of the West pierhead, you will see the red marked end of the central pier dividing the commercial harbour from the leisure harbour; that is not red for your benefit, it's for the fishing vessels; your marks are the green poles ahead to the left of that, you leave them to starboard (and the red poles, even further to the left, to port). At the same time be aware that at any time (and normally at the narrowest bit when Murphy is operating) a fishing vessel could appear leaving harbour on your starboard bow; and guess who the burden vessel is?!!

If you are lucky you may have noticed his masts moving over the harbour wall and adjusted accordingly; if not, be prepared to alter to starboard to cross his stern and be aware of the small reef extending out from the west pier before resuming your course into the marina. The channel into the marina is well marked and the fingers are labelled alphabetically (A/B being the first you come to). Once through the channel stay to the marina side of the red poles surrounding it as outside them the harbour dries at low water.