Bangor is located on the northeast coast of Ireland close inside and on the southern shore of Belfast Lough. It offers a large-scale, full-service marina staffed twenty-four hours a day, which is located in the centre of a principal town.

The marina provides complete protection behind substantial breakwaters. Deep and with no off-lying dangers, it affords safe access night or day, at any stage of the tide and in all reasonable conditions with strong northerly winds presenting its single point of challenge.

Regular fast ferries travel in and out of Belfast Lough. A good watch must be maintained if crossing the entrance to the lough and a vessel should be prepared to be struck unexpectedly by the wash at all times.

Keyfacts for Bangor Harbour & Marina

Position and approaches

Haven position

54° 40.007' N, 005° 40.372' W

In the approach to the entrance close southwest of the North Breakwater pierhead where a large red pillar beacon stands Iso R 12s 9m 14 M

What is the initial fix?

400 metres north of the North Breakwater pierhead at the entrance where a large red pillar beacons stands Iso R 12s 9m 14 M. A bearing of due south leads into the harbour entrance from here.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Bangor Harbour and town is situated on the southeast side of Belfast Lough and at the head of Bangor Bay. Bangor is a large resort town that is the third most populous settlement in Northern Ireland. It is fronted by a 560-berth marina, which is the largest marina in Ireland and the headquarters of several sailing clubs. The marina has been awarded five gold anchors under the Yacht Harbour Association scheme and it is a well-known, frequently used and highly regarded sailing centre.




Visiting yachts are welcome to Bangor Marina which has a minimum depth of 3.3 metres LAT in the outer harbour approaches. This reduces to 3.0 metres LAT in the approach to the northernmost pontoons which have the same depth. The inner pontoons have a minimum depth of 2.0 metres LAT.




All visiting vessels are required to contact the Marina office and advise them of their intentions before entering the harbour. Contact the marina via Ch. 16, 11 & 80 [Bangor Marina] (a continuous watch is maintained on Ch. 11), +44 (0)28 9145 3297, +44 (0)7764 313383 , bangor@boatfolk.co.uk and their website . The harbourmaster and marina share the same office and the Harbour Master can be contacted by Ch. 11 [Bangor Harbourmaster ] and by the same landline.




The marina receives many visitors and it is best to have a berth secured before commencing the final approach. Moreover, once inside the harbour, the helmsman will be too occupied finding a berth to manage a VHF dialogue so it is efficacious to have made all arrangements in advance. No anchoring is permitted around Bangor Harbour but Ballyholme Bay, 1 mile east, offers an excellent anchorage in offshore winds.

How to get in?

Use northeast Ireland’s Coastal Overview for Malin Head to Strangford Lough for seaward approaches. The Donaghadee Sound provides tidal optimisations for vessels approaching from near south and Bangor to Dublin from further south.




Vessels arriving from the south may either come up outside the Copelands group or through Donaghadee Sound which is situated between the mainland and the Islands. Donaghadee Sound is the normal route for leisure craft making along this coast when tidal streams, which can attain 4.5 knots in places, are favourable.




Otherwise, it is best to stay outside the island group and avoid Copeland Sound, the cut between Copeland Island and Lighthouse plus Mew Islands. This is on account of the two challenging and unmarked rocky shoals called Platters and Ninaen Bushes.

Continue northwestward to pass at least 250 metres clear of the area to the north of Orlock Point and well east of Belfast Lough’s Briggs North Cardinal Buoy located 2½ miles from the Foreland Buoy. The Briggs cardinal marks a dangerous South Briggs reef extending from the shore that dries to 0.6 metres.

Briggs North Cardinal – Q position: 54° 41.182’N, 005° 35.732’W

Once past the group, the run into the initial fix is straightforward across Belfast Lough’s open navigable waters that are free of dangers. However, keep a watch out for Club Racing Buoys whilst crossing Groomsport Bay. Keep off Ballymacormick Point and Luke's Point; the eastern and western headlands of Ballyholme Bay immediately east of Bangor Bay itself. Reefs extend from both headlands and it is advisable to keep 500 metres off Ballymacormick Point, which is particularly foul, and 250 metres off Luke's Point whilst closing on Bangor Harbour’s initial fix. A sharp lookout should also be kept for Racing Marks whilst crossing Ballyholme Bay.




Vessels approaching from the north will find few hazards from Larne to the south. Deep water will be found close to the shore with no dangers encountered 300 metres from the rocks. The coast to Black Head, the northern extremity of Belfast Lough marked by a lighthouse, presents a steep perpendicular black basaltic cliff.

Blackhead Lighthouse - Fl 3s 45m 27M position: 54° 46.016’N, 005° 41.338’W

South of Black Head the entrance to the Lough opens 6¾ miles wide between the headland and Orlock Point on the south. Its navigable area is free of dangers with an average depth of 11 metres.




Bangor is 6 miles south of Black Head and there is little in the way save for the Cloghan Jetty which is past abeam 2 miles southward. This jetty extends out from the north shore for more than a ½ mile and is lit at the end FlG 3s 2M. A good mark is to pass to the seaward of the green Cloghan Jetty buoy QG situated a ½ mile beyond the end of the pierhead. he final length akes a vessel across the unimpeded waters of Belfast Lough.




When crossing Belfast Lough the south shore will appear comparatively low and unremarkable except at the bluff at Grey Point which is a 23-metre high point. Bangor’s harbour walls plus the towns dominating steeples will be highly visible whilst tracking down onto the initial fix.




From the initial fix the Eisenhower Breakwater with the red concrete pillar, Red Light. Iso R 12s 9m 14M, at its head will be clearly visible. As the initial fix draws closer Bangor Bay will be found to be clear of obstructions and approachable from all directions.




The entrance to the Harbour is between two grey concrete breakwaters. The northmost Eisenhower Breakwater extends west-northwest from the eastern side and the Pickie Breakwater behind that extends 120 metres from the western shore. Expect to find two unusual dolphins standing off the head of the Pickie Breakwater that carry its lights on fixed Green poles, 2F. G (vert) 3M on the outside.




Round the head of the North Breakwater passing it to port, then continue between the two breakwaters until the marina entrance opens on the starboard side enclosed behind the Pickie Breakwater and Central Pier, lit by a QW at the pierhead.




Round the dolphins standing off the head of the Pickie Breakwater and turning sharp to starboard (southwestward), leave the green pole Fl. G. 3s to starboard continuing into the well-lit marina.




Proceed along the inside between Pickie Breakwater and the ends of pontoons 'H', 'G' and 'F'. Then turn hard to port to continue between 'F' and the western shoreline.




Once the third Fl.G Light comes starboard abeam turn to port for pontoon 'E' where the visitor's berths are typically located on the south-facing fingers. Alternatively, berth as directed by the berthing master.





The outer harbour is used for commercial traffic but with the Harbour Master's permission yachts may lay alongside the North Breakwater and/or the northeast side of the Central Pier in the outer harbour for a short period of time. The vessel should not be left unattended in the outer harbour and should be prepared to move at short notice if requested.

Why visit here?

Bangor, in Irish 'Beannchar' derives its name from the Gaelic but the precise origin remains uncertain.




The ancient Gaelic text 'Táin Bó Fraích' provides a legendary explanation for 'Trácht Bennchoir' 'Bangor strand'. Two warriors 'Fróech' and 'Conall Cernach' returned from France to the bay to land a herd of cattle belonging to 'Fróech'. 'Conall's' much-loved servant, 'Bicne mac Láegaire', died on the boat and they called the bay, Bangor Bay today, 'Inber mBicne' after his name. When they subsequently landed the cattle ashore they all shed their horns. Thus the area was given the name 'Trácht mBennchoir', 'Trácht', meaning 'strand', 'benn', 'horn', plus 'cor' meaning casting; 'the strand of the horn casting.




Others believe the name is derived from a combination 'Beanna', the Irish for 'cliffs', and ancient Norse for 'horned bay', as the shape of Bangor Bay resembles the horns of a bull. Another line of thought believes the name to be derived from the word 'beann' which can mean 'horn', 'point' or 'peak' thought to indicate the sharp rocks around the shoreline. Alternatively, this could also refer 'benn' a 'prong' with the second element being 'cor' meaning the 'act of putting, placing; setting up'. This could have 'beannchar' describing the area within the enclosure of a defensive barrier of prongs surrounding a monastic site. This could very well refer to the monastery of Bangor founded by St Comgall marked by the present Church of Ireland's 'Abbey Church' at the head of the town.

The only thing that is clear from all the uncertainty is that Bangor has a long and illustrious history that is steeped in legend. Physical evidence of ancient occupation comes in the form of Bronze Age swords unearthed here in 1949. There are the remains of twenty-five 'raths', ancient Irish forts, around Bangor with the largest being at 'Rath-Gael' that covers two acres and is surrounded by a double vallum. But it is the Christian period where Bangor shone as a location for learning and scholarship.

Centuries before Belfast was ever heard of, Bangor was known all over Europe for the great College and the beautiful Abbey Church. St Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland, had a vision filled with angels whilst resting here and the location became named 'The Vale of Angels' thereafter. In AD 555 St Comgall, a soldier who laid down his sword, made that vision real by establishing Bangor Abbey on the site and in so doing provided the foundation for the town. He presided over the forestry for fifty years, and when he died his body was enshrined within its walls.

Sometime after, the great School of Learning was established and in the process of time, it became one of the most eminent of Europe's missionary institutions in the Early Middle Ages. Many persons of distinction and rank sent their young men to be educated in Bangor College and it sent out its Celtic missionaries to the British and European mainland. Most notable amongst these is Columbanus who was born around 540 in Leinster and spent 25 years under Comgall. Around 590, he was allowed to go on pilgrimage, travelling through Britain, Gaul, and Burgundy. There, he established numerous monasteries, including at Annegray and Luxeuil. Expelled in 610, he went to Italy, settling at Bobbio, in the Apennines, where he built yet another monastery and developed what would become one of the more influential early monastic rule. The missionaries of Bangor appear throughout medieval literature as a force for good fully realising St Patrick's vision of the 'Vale of Angels'.



The Abbey and College prospered for many years until, as with all western European coasts, the abbey and town fell victim to the violent Viking incursions. In 822 Bangor was attacked and overcome by the Danes who ruthlessly massacred the Abbot and nine hundred monks. They desecrated the shrine of St Comgall and left a trail of desolation behind them. The area remained under continual Viking attack for the following centuries and fell into decline. In 1125 the Abbey was rebuilt by St Malachy. The new church was a magnificent forty-three metres long building, making it the largest church in Ireland at that time. It was called 'Pulchro Choro', 'the fair white Choir', from the beautiful white stone and lime that was used for the first time in Ulster. It was rebuilt in the 13th century but the tower is 15th-century and a spire was later added in 1693. In 1542 as part of 'The Dissolution of the Monasteries', King Henry VIII disbanded the monastery and appropriated its assets and income. Bangor was about to become transformed by its near neighbour, England.



The Old Custom House with its adjoining tower house, facing Quay Street, and the harbour was constructed in 1637 and marked this new anglicised and commercial direction for Bangor. This new direction was driven by James Hamilton, a Scot, who arrived in Bangor after being granted lands in North Down by King James I in 1605. Behind him came the new order introduced by the Scottish and English planters during the Plantation of Ulster. Within a century the town has designated a port and became an important source of customs revenue for the Crown. In the 1780s Colonel Robert Ward improved the harbour and promoted the cotton industries. The seafront area had several large steam-powered cotton mills employing hundreds of people. The construction of a large stone market house around this time, now used by the Northern Bank, is a testament to the increasing prosperity of the town.




By the middle of the 19th century, the cotton mills were in decline but by then the railway had arrived from Belfast. This brought inexpensive travel from the city making it possible for working-class people to holiday on the sandy beaches of Bangor and nearby Ballyholme Bay. The town became a fashionable Victorian and Edwardian holiday resort where tourists could take in the sea air. Indeed, the seafront was named 'Queen's Parade' after Queen Victoria who drove along the seafront during her visit to Ireland. It also became a highly desirable location to own property and the mills of the seafront were transformed into elegant housing.




Today Bangor is a large residential commuter town for Belfast and a retail centre. With a population of over 75,000, it is the third most populous settlement in Northern Ireland and the largest town in County Down. It is a wonderful seaside resort where the remnants of the town's varied past make for a very interesting visit. Despite the decline of the monastery, its influence can still be observed in the modern town with street names such as Abbots Close, Abbots Walk and many more. It is also marked by its three conspicuous church towers, the Abbey, the First Bangor Presbyterian Church and St Comgalls, and Bangor Parish Church, which greets approaching boaters from seaward long before his navigation aids. All speak of the town's illustrious ecclesiastical past.




Bangor Abbey was closed in 1882 in favour of the new larger Church of Ireland in the south of the town. It was renovated in 1917 and traces of the old foundations are still visible today. Today, The Old Customs House alongside the marina hosts the tourist information centre providing an excellent first step into the town's rich culture and history.




From a boating point of view, Bangor has it all and is a much-used yachting destination. It is close to the Irish Sea cruising routes and plays host to the extensive Bangor Marina, one of the largest and most well-run in Ireland. It offers a well-known safely accessed safe berth for a passing boatman to attend to repairs, provisioning and explore the highly attractive towns of Bangor and Belfast. It is also home to the very welcoming Royal Ulster and Ballyholme Yacht clubs.

What facilities are available?

Bangor Marina is Northern Ireland's biggest and most prestigious marina offering all facilities 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Visitor pontoons have electricity supply and water. The toilets, showers and a laundry room are situated on the ground floor of Bregenz House with Laundry tokens usage, and washing powder and an iron are available at the Marina office. You will also find a payphone in the amenities corridor in Bregenz House, and BT Openzone wireless broadband access is available for purchase throughout the marina area.

Fuel, Gasoil (red diesel) and unleaded petrol are available on the fuel pontoon 24 hours a day, where a pump out station is also located, please contact the marina office for service. Bottled gas can be obtained at the chandlery and there is a boatyard service on site catering for all repairs, complete with a 50 tons lift out capacity and a slipway for launching smaller boats. For provisions and everything else, the marina is situated at the bottom of the main street of Bangor, a prosperous and well appointed town.

Bangor is just 22 km (13.6 miles) east from the heart of Belfast City Centre on the A2. It has excellent transport connections via trains and bus services which connect to Belfast city and from there on to any location in Ireland. Flights to domestic and international destinations operate from Belfast City and Belfast International Airports. There are frequent ferry crossings from Belfast and Larne.

Any security concerns?

Secure access is provided by card or Personal Identification Number (PIN) to operate the Bregenz House door lock. Visitors are provided with a current PIN at the time of registering their visit.

With thanks to:

Charlie Kavanagh - ISA/RYA Yachtmaster Instructor/Examiner.