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The Ilen River enters the sea at Ireland’s southwest corner, to the north of Baltimore Harbour. The river offers several anchorages on its north-eastward path to Skibbereen, the chief town of the area, situated seven miles above its entrance. Inane Creek is located about two miles upriver from the entrance providing a river anchorage in a secluded location.

The Ilen River enters the sea at Ireland’s southwest corner, to the north of Baltimore Harbour. The river offers several anchorages on its north-eastward path to Skibbereen, the chief town of the area, situated seven miles above its entrance. Inane Creek is located about two miles upriver from the entrance providing a river anchorage in a secluded location.

Set well within the river, Inane Creek provides good protection from all wind directions except very strong northwest or southwest conditions where there are better options further upriver. Careful navigation is however required for all of the havens within the River Ilen. The river can be entered directly from Long Island Bay or from the north end of Baltimore Harbour, and in either case, there is little in the way of supporting marks and it can involve significant pilotage. Narrow, shallow at times and with ample rocks to circumvent be prepared for some keen eyeball navigation supported by excellent visibility.
Please note

No landing should take place on the pontoon adjacent to the anchorage. This is the private property of the house and quay owner.




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Keyfacts for Inane Creek
Facilities
None listed


Nature
No fees for anchoring or berthing in this locationRemote or quiet secluded locationAnchoring locationBeach or shoreline landing from a tenderJetty or a structure to assist landing

Considerations
None listed

Protected sectors

Current wind over the protected quadrants
Minimum depth
3 metres (9.84 feet).

Approaches
2 stars: Careful navigation; good visibility and conditions with dangers that require careful navigation.
Shelter
4 stars: Good; assured night's sleep except from specific quarters.



Last modified
September 22nd 2021

Summary

A good location with careful navigation required for access.

Facilities
None listed


Nature
No fees for anchoring or berthing in this locationRemote or quiet secluded locationAnchoring locationBeach or shoreline landing from a tenderJetty or a structure to assist landing

Considerations
None listed



Position and approaches
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Haven position

51° 30.593' N, 009° 22.589' W

Immediately northeast of the head of the private pontoon.

What are the initial fixes?

The following waypoints will set up a final approach:

(i) Baltimore Harbour initial fix

51° 28.120' N, 009° 23.423' W

This is a quarter of a mile due south of the entrance, midway between Beacon & Barrack Point in the white sector of the lighthouse.

(ii) Baltimore north entrance initial fix

51° 28.080' N, 009° 27.450' W

This is set on the clearing line of bearing 230°T of Clare Island's Doonanore Castle ruins open east of Illauneana, as best seen on Admiralty 2129, and about midway between the Toorane Rocks and Carrigmore.
Please note

Initial fixes only set up their listed targets. Do not plan to sail directly between initial fixes as a routing sequence.




What are the key points of the approach?

Offshore details are available in southwestern Ireland’s Coastal Overview for Cork Harbour to Mizen Head Route location. River Ilen directions to the anchorage are covered in the Oldcourt Click to view haven description situated upriver from Quarantine Island. A useful waypoint to target is at the head of 'The Sound'.


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 Inane Creek for your convenience.
Ten nearest havens by straight line charted distance and bearing:
  1. Reena Dhuna - 0.9 nautical miles NNE
  2. Quarantine Island - 1.3 nautical miles SW
  3. Baltimore - 1.6 nautical miles S
  4. Turk Head - 1.7 nautical miles SW
  5. East Pier - 1.7 nautical miles WSW
  6. Rincolisky Harbour - 1.8 nautical miles WSW
  7. Trá Bán - 2 nautical miles WSW
  8. Castle Ruins - 2.1 nautical miles SSW
  9. Horseshoe Harbour - 2.4 nautical miles SSW
  10. Kinish Harbour - 2.5 nautical miles SW
These havens are ordered by straight line charted distance and bearing, and can be reordered by compass direction or coastal sequence:
  1. Reena Dhuna - 0.9 miles NNE
  2. Quarantine Island - 1.3 miles SW
  3. Baltimore - 1.6 miles S
  4. Turk Head - 1.7 miles SW
  5. East Pier - 1.7 miles WSW
  6. Rincolisky Harbour - 1.8 miles WSW
  7. Trá Bán - 2 miles WSW
  8. Castle Ruins - 2.1 miles SSW
  9. Horseshoe Harbour - 2.4 miles SSW
  10. Kinish Harbour - 2.5 miles SW
To find locations with the specific attributes you need try:

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Chart
Please use our integrated Navionics chart to appraise the haven and its approaches. Navionics charts feature in premier plotters from B&G, Raymarine, Magellan and are also available on tablets. Open the chart in a larger viewing area by clicking the expand to 'new tab' or the 'full screen' option.

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What's the story here?
Inane Quay as seen from the upriver
Image: Michael Harpur


The Ilen River is entered from seaward under Turk Head or from the north part of Baltimore Harbour through the sound. It trends northeastward for about 7½ miles above its entrance to the town of
Skibbereen offering several sheltered anchorages. It carries good depths as far as Oldcourt about 4 miles upriver. This anchorage is off of Ringarogy Island's Inane Quay, 2 miles upriver from the entrance and ¾ of a mile upriver from Inane Point.

Situated in the first broad length of the river, with ample water, it makes for an excellent anchorage.


How to get in?
Inane Quay on the first major reach of the Ilen River
Image: Michael Harpur


Convergance Point Offshore details are available in southwestern Ireland’s Coastal Overview for Cork Harbour to Mizen Head Route location. Seaward approaches and run up the River Ilen are covered in the Oldcourt Click to view haven description.

The Baltimore North Entrance Route location route provides a list of waypoints that assist pilotage through the entrance to River Ilen and likewise the path from the north end of Baltimore Harbour. Turk Head Quay on the north shore serves to positively identify the turning point between Sandy and Quarantine islands.


The first major reach of the River Ilen (left) as seen from Quarantine Island
Image: Michael Harpur


Follow the river taking a midstream path up to Inane Creek until a conspicuous modern house with glazed rooms will be seen at the southeast side of the creek. A pontoon extends from the pier fronting the building.

Anchor off of the quay
Image: Michael Harpur


Haven location Anchor according to draft off the creek in excellent mud holding. It is essential to note that the pontoon is private property and no landing should take place on it unless the owner gives his consent.


The old stone quay on the mainland upriver
Image: Michael Harpur


Any landing should be on the Ringarogy Island shoreline or on the north side or mainland side of the river opposite the island where a small old stone quay will be found about a ⅓ of a mile upriver in the inside of the bend.


Why visit here?
Inane Creek takes its name from ivy. Ivy, in old Irish, was eidhneún, pronounced 'ine-aun', which itself was derived from the older form eden, as given in Welsh eiddew. So in its simple form, the name 'Inane' means 'ivy covered' place.

Ringarogy Island's name, also spelt Ringaroga and Rinngarogue, is derived from the Irish Rinn Ghearróige, meaning point or headland of the defeat. This defeat is believed to refer to a 1537 attack by Waterford mariners in reprisal for an act of piracy by Fineen O'Driscol on a Spanish vessel consigned to Waterford port. Enraged, the citizens of Waterford fitted out and armed three ships, mustered 400 men to arms and arrived at the O'Driscol castle on Sherkin determined to make the clan pay dearly. Having, over the course of 5 days, laid waste to the castle and villages on Sherkin they then landed at Baltimore and set fire to the castle and town. The villages of Ringarogy were then raised to the ground.

Human inhabitation of the area dates much further back to Neolithic times. This is evidenced by the island’s small but interesting intertidal passage tomb dating from around 2,500 years ago. This tomb lies on a small rocky outcrop in the estuary of the Ilen River and is situated at the east side of the island in an area that is locally known as 'The Lag'. The tomb is only visible at low water where it can be clearly seen covered in seaweed. Only the tops of the two side 'wedges' remain at high tide where it bears witness to the changes in land and sea levels that have taken place since Neolithic times.

Ringarogy Island was home to a historic castle Dún na nGall, meaning 'fort of the foreigners', that commanded the entrance to the River Ilen. The castle name refers to the first structure on the site built by the Norman in the 12th-Century. It was later occupied and developed by the powerful 15th-century Gaelic O'Driscoll clan, see Baltimore Harbour Click to view haven, held the area with eight other West Cork castles including those at Baltimore, Cape Clear, Sherkin and Heir Island. Nothing is left of this castle as most of its stones were ferried to Skibbereen in the 1800s to build the Protestant cathedral.

The large private residence with the stunning glazed sunrooms and quay, from which the pontoon now extends, was once a grain store that dates back to the early 1800s. Grain was exported to England from here during the cataclysm that was The Famine, see Oldcourt Click to view haven. In the 19th-century it was largely abandoned and fell into decline, but was brought back to life at the turn of this century when its purchasers, a couple of UK medical specialists and widely-published authors, transformed it and the quays into the spectacular building it is now.

Although the island is connected to the mainland by a causeway, with an almost roller-coaster humpback bridge, it is very much off the beaten path and offers a quiet repose to its visitors. Lovers of flora and fauna will find the very pleasant one and a half-hour loop walk along the Ringarogy' roads very worthwhile. The circuit takes a walker alongside the island's mud-flats where a host of birds can be seen making the best of the mudflat’s low tide feasts. Amongst these are the unusual shell-duck, (with their green heads, white breasts and red legs and beaks) curlews, oyster-catchers and green and redshanks. The hedgerow along the road has fuschia, honeysuckle, rhododendron, hawthorn and many kinds of island flora in abundance.

From a boating point of view, this is another excellent anchorage in the protected River Ilen.


What facilities are available?
There are no facilities here. Oldcourt boatyard a short distance upriver offers a complete service of boat building and workshop facilities.


Any security concerns?
Never an issue known to have occurred to a boat anchored off Inane Creek.



With thanks to:
Diarmuid Minihane, Baltimore Harbour Master.




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