Rossaveal Cashla Bay County Galway Republic of Ireland

We slipped our lines at about 1530, shortly after the harbour gates opened (early) and just before the ship we had followed into the harbour was due to leave. It had spent its time in harbour being loaded (by crane) with individual plastic covered bales of silage or straw and its loading, which had been very slow and manpower intensive, was an object lesson in the efficiencies brought about by containerised or palletised shipping.

Galway behind us

Outside the harbour we found a decent 15kt southeasterly breeze and made good speed, near beam reaching, back out along Galway Bay to Cashla Bay, on the north side level with Inishmore. The entrance to this bay is actually quite wide and danger-free, but nevertheless it has a powerful directional light to lead you in. Inside there is an expanding harbour (Rossaveal) with a couple of marina pools and a well-recognised anchorage on the opposite (W) side of the bay off Sruthan Quay.

The commercial harbour and marina viewed from our ‘muddy pool’ anchorage

However, that anchorage is open to the SE, from which the wind was blowing and was forecast to increase. Instead, we decided to anchor N of the harbour and marina in a muddy pool which the chart showed as about 2m deep and which was actually 3+m deep.  We slept well.

Blue Velvet in the morning, almost ready to go

Rossaveal, Cashla Bay, County Galway, Republic of Ireland