(^28)
Lawrence
Cove Marina
Lawrence Cove
2
2
2
(^52)
5
(^49)
4
4 (1)
(2)
6
8
(^04)
Rerrin
Turk Island
Ferry slip
Slip
Visitors’
moorings
Pole
2 29
2
(^25)
(^15)
(^22)
(^33)
0 3 cables
Lawrence Cove
Bantry
CO. CORK
Mizen
Head
Bantry Bay
Bere I.
SNUG HAVENS
T
he wide and deep inlet of Bantry
Bay reaches 20 miles from the
open sea to Bantry town and
Glengarriff. At its entrance,
the deep-water anchorage
of Berehaven and the fi shing port of
Castletownbere are protected by the high,
seaward-facing cliffs of Bere Island. But on
the gentler north shore of the island is the
sheltered inlet of Lawrence Cove, where
Patrick and Rachel Harrington, the second
generation of the family, run their 44-berth
marina in idyllic surrounding s. Lawrence
Cove is a favourite destination for many
West Cork yachts, and its visitors return
time and again. Despite its remoteness
it also presents an attractive and secure
location for boats to spend the winter.
Bere Island is fi ve miles by two with
rocky shores, and home to just over 200
people. Berehaven was once an important
naval anchorage, but the Royal Navy
relinquished it in 1938, leaving many
traces on the island including forts, signal
towers and gun emplacements dating from
Napoleonic times up to World War I. Some
almost subliminal, background noise that is
inseparable from mainland life.
Place name spelling on the chart is
especially quirky around here – the cove
is labelled (incorrectly) as ‘Lawrence’s
Cove’, although the old fathoms charts
and 1954 Admiralty Pilot have it correct,
without the possessive. The charts call it
‘Bear Island’, and nearby Castletownbere,
on the mainland, is given its extended
name of ‘Castletown Bearhaven’, which
only the map-makers use. W
Norman Kean
visits this popular,
sheltered hideaway
on Bere Island in Bantry Bay
of the red-brick architecture of the village
of Rerrin, on Lawrence Cove, has an oddly
English fl avour that gives the clue to its
original builders, and the old stone piers
date back to the Victorian Navy.
The approach to Lawrence Cove from
Berehaven is straightforward, staying in
mid-channel. A red perch marks a rock close
to the eastern end of the marina pontoons.
The low island in the centre of the cove is
connected to the eastern shore by a reef
which largely dries, sheltering the pier and
slipway from which a little car ferry makes
the two-mile crossing to the mainland.
The ferry traffi c rules out anchoring
in the channel, but good anchorage is
available further out, sheltered from all but
northerlies, and there are visitors’ moorings.
For its size the marina has outstanding
facilities, including diesel by hose, laundry,
14 tonne travelhoist, and recycling
facilities. Rerrin has a pub and Murphy’s
shop, which doubles as the post offi ce and
also serves snacks and teas. The Hotel, with
bar and meals, is a mile or so away, and
the Lookout restaurant is beside the other
ferry slip at the west end of the island. The
people of Bere Island take a tremendous
pride in their environment, and have won
the national Tidy Islands trophy nine years
in a row. Go for a walk here, and you will
be struck also by the quiet. It’s on small
islands, once away from the sounds of
the sea, that we are made most acutely
aware – by its absence – of the constant,
PHOTO: GERALDINE HENNIGAN CHART: MAXINE HEATH
Lawrence Cove,
County Cork
If you choose
not to anchor
off, the marina
offers protection
in all weathers
60 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com MARCH 2016
rick simeone
(Rick Simeone)
#1