NOVEMBER 2015 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 49PILOTAGE
The independence treaty of 1921
included a clause giving the Royal Navy
continuing use of four bases: Cork
Harbour, Berehaven, Lough Swilly and
Belfast Lough. The first three of these
were in the new Free State. Maintenance
became an increasing headache and in
1938 Britain gave them up. The three
forts in Cork Harbour – Camden, Carlisle
and Westmoreland – and the naval
dock and buildings at Haulbowline were
handed over to Irish forces.
All three forts were renamed after
Irish leaders; in the case of Fort Mitchel,
one of the prison’s most distinguished
inmates. The names of Carlisle and
Camden remained in common use,
and Fort Davis/Carlisle is still used
on occasion as a training base. Fort
Mitchel was reopened as a prison in
1984, but proved difficult and costly to
manage and was closed again in 2004.
In 2013 the island, and the fort, were
finally opened to visitors. Camden Fort
Meagher, open over summer weekends,
is a labyrinth of tunnels and underground
chambers dug into the hillside, an
awe-inspiring place.The Treaty Ports
and the Cork forts
The gates of the
19th century
Fort Mitchel on
Spike Islandharbour communities 120 years ago. With
its piled structure it’s not the easiest place
to moor, but Murph’s pub and restaurant
nearby makes the effort worthwhile.
The lagoon at the back of Great Island is
shallow, peaceful and rural with plenty of
space to anchor, but no useful landings.
Aghada, on the south shore opposite East
Passage, has useful pontoons at its pier, and
the village has shops, pubs and restaurants.
Cove Sailing Club (which spells the
town’s name phonetically) is building a
new and much-needed marina to the west
of the town centre at Cobh, and there’s
a pontoon for customers of the Quays
restaurant, which is next door to the
Titanic museum. At Monkstown, on the
west side of the river where it narrows to
the west of Great Island, is the friendly
Cork Harbour Marina, where nothing is
too much trouble. Keep a sharp lookout
for the car ferry, which provides a frequent
service across the channel just north of
here. There’s a new landing and short-
stay pontoon at Passage West, and the
channel then enters the wide and shallow
Lough Mahon, where it is maintained by
dredging. Stay between the buoys!
Before heading upriver from
Monkstown, call Port Control by VHF on
Ch12 or by phone on 021 427 3125. This
is entirely routine and is requested so
that the port control office can make sure
small craft are aware of impending ship
movements. The port’s main container
terminal is at Tivoli, where the river
narrows again only a mile from the city
centre; grain and other cargoes are still
unloaded at the quays above Tivoli. The
river here is used by several rowing clubs,
so keep a lookout for racing sculls and
keep your speed and your wash down. In
the city centre is the Cork City Marina,
a 100m-long pontoon at the head of
navigation and only a short walk from bus
and railway stations, shops (including
a large chandler) and restaurants. WSpike Island pier and pontoon. Leave the
front face free for the ferryEast Grove Quay, in the peaceful and wooded
East Passage, with East Grove House
opposite on Great IslandDrake’s Pool,
Ireland’s finest
‘hurricane hole’