Portnocker is a small bay situated on the north coast of Ireland, close east of Inishowen Head and outside the entrance to Lough Foyle. The bay offers an anchorage off the beach in rugged scenic surroundings.
Portnocker is an exposed anchorage which is best in settled conditions or light offshore winds, and a comfortable overnight stop is fairly unlikely. The location requires attentive navigation with daylight access. Tidal streams may be occasionally strong outside the bay but Portnocker is out of the run of the tide and is accessible at all states of the tide.
Keyfacts for Portnocker
Last modified
June 23rd 2025 Summary
An exposed location with attentive navigation required for access.Facilities
Nature
Considerations
Position and approaches
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Haven position
55° 13.870' N, 006° 55.490' WIt is approximately midway between Dungaree Point and Inishowen Head, just inside the 5 metres contour off Portnocker beach.
What are the initial fixes?
The following waypoints will set up a final approach:(i) Lough Foyle North Channel Initial Fix
55° 14.155' N, 006° 53.700' WOne mile east of Inishowen Head and 400 metres northwest of Red Tuns Light (port hand) Buoy F1. R.3s. It is set on the 222° line of bearing of the Martello tower on Magilligan Point that leads into the North Channel.
(ii) Lough Foyle South Channel Initial Fix
55° 11.760' N, 006° 57.084' WMidway between the shore and the southern edge of the Tuns Bank in the narrowest part of the South Channel in approximately 10 metres of water.
What are the key points of the approach?
Offshore details are available in the northeast Ireland’s Coastal Overview for Malin Head to Strangford Lough 
.
.- Lough Foyle’s approaches, the run up the lough to the River Foyle and beyond are detailed in the Foyle Port Marina (Derry City)
entry. - The anchorage will be found halfway between the lighthouse, on Dunagree Point, and Inishowen Head to the north of Cooladiven.
Not what you need?
Click the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to progress through neighbouring havens in a coastal 'clockwise' or 'anti-clockwise' sequence. Below are the ten nearest havens to Portnocker for your convenience.
Ten nearest havens by straight line charted distance and bearing:
- White Bay - 0.2 nautical miles S
- Portkill - 0.6 nautical miles NNW
- Cornashamma Bay - 1.4 nautical miles SW
- Silver Strand - 1.9 nautical miles SW
- Greencastle - 2.7 nautical miles SW
- Magilligan Point - 2.9 nautical miles SSW
- Kinnagoe Bay - 3.3 nautical miles WNW
- Moville - 4.8 nautical miles SW
- Carrickarory Pier - 5.4 nautical miles SW
- Tremone Bay - 5.6 nautical miles WNW
These havens are ordered by straight line charted distance and bearing, and can be reordered by compass direction or coastal sequence:
- White Bay - 0.2 miles S
- Portkill - 0.6 miles NNW
- Cornashamma Bay - 1.4 miles SW
- Silver Strand - 1.9 miles SW
- Greencastle - 2.7 miles SW
- Magilligan Point - 2.9 miles SSW
- Kinnagoe Bay - 3.3 miles WNW
- Moville - 4.8 miles SW
- Carrickarory Pier - 5.4 miles SW
- Tremone Bay - 5.6 miles WNW
Lough Foyle’s approaches, as detailed in the 
About Portnocker
Port-a-Doris, meaning ‘Port of the Door’ is a deep slot at the foot of the Inishowen headland. The cove is accessible only at low tide through a natural door-like-passage in the cliff off Port-a-Doris strand, and hence the cove’s name. Once through the natural door arch, a fairytale-like secluded cove presents itself littered with Shroove pebbles. The lovely cove is a strange and enchanting place to all who visit. Climbers find Port-a-Doris’s northwest face or crag as the locations most attractive feature, and it is a very popular challenge.
From a sailing perspective, Portnocker is the most northerly anchorage around the east side of Inishowen Head outside Lough Foyle. As such it provides good passage anchorages for boats en route east or west looking for a lunch stop, or for an interesting shore visit to bridge a tide.
Other options in this area
Click the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to progress through neighbouring havens in a coastal 'clockwise' or 'anti-clockwise' sequence. Alternatively here are the ten nearest havens available in picture view:
Coastal clockwise:
White Bay - 0.1 miles SCornashamma Bay - 0.9 miles SW
Silver Strand - 1.2 miles SW
Greencastle - 1.7 miles SW
Moville - 3 miles SW
Coastal anti-clockwise:
Portkill - 0.4 miles NNWKinnagoe Bay - 2 miles WNW
Tremone Bay - 3.4 miles WNW
Culdaff Bay - 5.5 miles WNW
Portmore - 9.9 miles NW
Navigational pictures
These additional images feature in the 'How to get in' section of our detailed view for Portnocker.
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| Picture view | On |
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