Boat hire to Dalkey island

paper cut

Hi, I'm looking to hire a boat to Dalkey Island.
1st, can anyone hire a boat from Bulloch Harbour and 2nd is it possible to have a picnic on Dalkey Island?

Hope someone can help.

cjohnson

Yes anyone can hire from Bulloch harbour, but unfortunately, they do not allow you to take the boats to Dalkey Island. You can get a boat ferry from Coliemore Harbour (€10 return). On decent weather days, the boatman goes all day. Yes you can have a picnic on the island, or portable bbq, or camp. Hust be respectful of the environment.

Enjoy!
C

RosieJoe

Does anyone know if there are any goats left on the Island?

Rasmus

I was on Dalkey Island last week (took the escorted motorboat), and there was a family on the island that had rented their own boat from Bulloch Harbor, and docked it on Dalkey Island. I don't know what the story is, but I saw them drive off myself! Worth giving the harbor a ring.

paper cut

Thats great, thank you all for your help. I will make a few calls and see what I can do.

Cheers

Rasmus

weirdly enough, I took a picture of the number...

Rasmus

RosieJoe wrote: »

Does anyone know if there are any goats left on the Island?

Oh yeah I saw the goats too, lurking at the back as usual.

paper cut

So where did the Goats hire their boat from?

Cookie_Monster

paper cut wrote: »

So where did the Goats hire their boat from?

The Vikings

baloonatic

Hi all,

the ferry boat service in bulloch isn't licenced / insured / safe imho. No lifejackets, cutting in front of other water users, and general lack of common sense are all typical of the guy running the operation. That said there's no other way of getting over to see the goats unless you know how to kayak, swim VERY VERY VERY well (strong, hard to see currents) or pilot a boat in a safe way.

Lovely place though, just remember to clean up your rubbish when y'all leave.

listermint

2 Man Kayak FTW

Cookie_Monster

baloonatic wrote: »

Hi all,

the ferry boat service in bulloch isn't licenced / insured / safe imho. No lifejackets, cutting in front of other water users, and general lack of common sense are all typical of the guy running the operation.

probably not paying tax either...

Rasmus

baloonatic wrote: »

Hi all,

the ferry boat service in bulloch isn't licenced / insured / safe imho. No lifejackets, cutting in front of other water users, and general lack of common sense are all typical of the guy running the operation. That said there's no other way of getting over to see the goats unless you know how to kayak, swim VERY VERY VERY well (strong, hard to see currents) or pilot a boat in a safe way.

Lovely place though, just remember to clean up your rubbish when y'all leave.

There are lifejackets in the boat. The driver/operator of the boat does not go very fast. If one is to kayak, then they should have their own insurance at any case. However, it is overpriced.

Fratton Fred

Bulloch harbour or Coliemore harbour?

whitesands

The ferry goes from coliemore.

In bulloch your not allowed to goto the island for 1 simple reason, too many idiots not watching the tide and getting the boats stranded. In saying that, if you can get the boat back in 1 piece without getting stranded I'm sure he wouldn't care.
It's when he has idiots getting stranded, getting the ferry back & he has to go & get the boat back hours later when the tide rises he gets pissed.

My advice would be the ferry for a picnic, your man knows what he's doing & if you drown, your insurance or lack of it won't make much difference. I'm also pretty sure he has a lifejacket if you ask for one.

me-skywalker

I took a boat out from Bulloch last year and was headed over to Dalkey Island when the guy came out to tell us we weren't allowed. THe main reason is because of the seaweed and plants under the water which can cause havoc with the engines and get the boats stuck and damaged. Also some people wouldn't necessarily know or even be able to tie up a boat and would leave it get stranded.

Great service though €20 per hour and you can fish as much as you want its a good relaxing afternoon.

Jowlsy

I rang that number given in the photograph and the guy on the other end told me that the ferry has stopped running now at this time of year. It's only just gone early September, and the weather is still good.

Does anyone know of another place/number to get a ferry over to the island in September?

whitesands

I don't think so. They were still renting boats out today from bulloch though.

Judgement Day

I haven't been on Dalkey Island since the late 1970s and I hope it hasn't been disturbed too much by visitors in the meantime. Please leave the island as you would like to find it and report any destruction/graffiti or anything else worthy of note.

me-skywalker

Tragic news the guy that ran the Ferry service has tragically passed away. RIP.

whitesands

me-skywalker wrote: »

Tragic news the guy that ran the Ferry service has tragically passed away. RIP.

Sorry to hear that, is it the bloke that was running it for years? Fennel I think his name was. Condolences to his family.

cherry!

Do you know if you are allowed to camp on dalky island for a night??

The_Wrecker

I know of lads that still do this.

Just leave excessive slack on your bow stern lines to allow for tidal drops/rises otherwise your boat could be grounded or drifting beyond your reach.

GoldCircle

Does anyone know if there is a service to the island available nowadays?

uch

If you pay a trip to Colliemore or Bulloch harbour someone there will point you in the right direction

Chinasea

Hired a boat once from Bulloch harbor and the whole taking the boat over to Dalkey island seemed very cagey, not sure what the heck is going on there, some kind of hostility going on there.

Rasmus

Chinasea wrote: »

Hired a boat once from Bulloch harbor and the whole taking the boat over to Dalkey island seemed very cagey, not sure what the heck is going on there, some kind of hostility going on there.

Been taking the boat to Dalkey island since I was a kid and have never experienced any hostility.

Chinasea

Rasmus wrote: »

Been taking the boat to Dalkey island since I was a kid and have never experienced any hostility.

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing.

We didn't take a boat, we hired a boat from the hut and there was some sort of 'gray area' when we inquired about going on the island. As it happened, we weren't sure if we were going to go on the island at the time but ended up going. The guys from the hut almost shot us when they heard we went on the island, and came out in a boat to meet us half way back and started going full on mental to say the least, very aggressive. We told them when we get back to the harbour we'd get the police to sort out the 'misunderstanding.' They calmed down then and we left it at that but...

ted1

Chinasea wrote: »

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing.

We didn't take a boat, we hired a boat from the hut and there was some sort of 'gray area' when we inquired about going on the island. As it happened, we weren't sure if we were going to go on the island at the time but ended up going. The guys from the hut almost shot us when they heard we went on the island, and came out in a boat to meet us half way back and started going full on mental to say the least, very aggressive. We told them when we get back to the harbour we'd get the police to sort out the 'misunderstanding.' They calmed down then and we left it at that but...

What was the water like, if its anyway rough they don't like people going out that direction they prefer if you kept to Scotsman bay

whitesands

Chinasea wrote: »

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing.

We didn't take a boat, we hired a boat from the hut and there was some sort of 'gray area' when we inquired about going on the island. As it happened, we weren't sure if we were going to go on the island at the time but ended up going. The guys from the hut almost shot us when they heard we went on the island, and came out in a boat to meet us half way back and started going full on mental to say the least, very aggressive. We told them when we get back to the harbour we'd get the police to sort out the 'misunderstanding.' They calmed down then and we left it at that but...

ye they won't be too impressed if your going to the island. The problem is some people don't understand tides.
If you go to the island when the tides going out & have a picnic, chances are the boat will be stranded & your stuck. The lads from bulloch have to rescue you & wait on the tide to retrieve the boat, that's why they're cagey.

Chinasea

whitesands wrote: »

ye they won't be too impressed if your going to the island. The problem is some people don't understand tides.
If you go to the island when the tides going out & have a picnic, chances are the boat will be stranded & your stuck. The lads from bulloch have to rescue you & wait on the tide to retrieve the boat, that's why they're cagey.

It was a calm summer day. I can understand that these rules are for your own good - no problem there, but from what I can remember it seemed more like a turf war between Colimore Harbour boat hire and Bulloch, but honestly, it was all so cagey and so aggressive, we didn't hang about and when we mentioned getting the police the whole vibe did a 360.

alexlyons

was on the island yesterday for a bit of lunch and some time lapse photography.
Go out there fairly frequently for numerous different reasons, have my own boats I can use so can't comment on the rental situation.

However one reason they may be nervous of people going is due to the weather and sea conditions around the island. The tidal currents are mad down there, with numerous people requiring assistance throughout the year.
Also not even the fact about the tide stranding you on the island, its actually tricky enough to get into so if you don't know what your at you can do serious damage to the boat. Those renting out the boats can't take your word that you know the area or can handle the boat effectively.

Lovely peaceful place, but it can be extremely dangerous even on the calmest of days

whitesands

Chinasea wrote: »

It was a calm summer day. I can understand that these rules are for your own good - no problem there, but from what I can remember it seemed more like a turf war between Colimore Harbour boat hire and Bulloch, but honestly, it was all so cagey and so aggressive, we didn't hang about and when we mentioned getting the police the whole vibe did a 360.

There's no turf war, you can't rent boats from Coliemore.
A calm summer day doesn't really mean anything out around the island, it's deep with very strong currents.

I'd say if you told them straight up you were going to the island they wouldn't have given you a boat. The one & only time I've dealt with them I stupidly turned up without a fishing rod & was quoted €40 an hour cos he said I'd be pissing away his fuel, I told him to **** off & bought myself a kayak :P

Fratton Fred

The tides around the island are crazy. I've seen boats going over and facing 45 degrees to where they want to go.

The guys at the two harbours can come across a bit rude, but I think that is part of a genuine contempt that professional sea goers have for us landlubbers!

alexlyons

i was going into coliemore harbour last wednesday and the rib was genuinely going sideways entering the harbour. it was great fun for me and the people in the boat (who I didn't know) were shocked at how i was getting it to go sideways and still had complete control over it. I've been boating for over 13 years and still am not sure how I did it! One of the lads from coliemore said it was the most difficult he'd seen it in a good while, and it was sunny, small sea state with 7-10 knots of breeze, so it was an extremely pleasant day