Galway Bay Fast Ferry linking the Burren to Galway City

dasium

Just cut and pasted the info from their site, but feel its a great idea....especially with all eyes looking sea ward for the ocean race, any thoughts?


Ballyvaughan Bay Hop will run a fast ferry service between Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare and Galway City during the week of the 25th June, culminating with a service to coincide with the opening ceremony of the Volvo Ocean Race on Saturday 30th June.

Departing from the New Pier, Ballyvaughan, the service will run 3 times daily and will facilitate commuters from the North Clare area needing to travel to Galway. With ample parking available at the pier, commuters can park and ride across the bay directly into the heart of Galway city, leaving the stress of traffic jams and parking behind them. A 10-journey commuter ticket is cheaper than a tank of petrol, making the ferry a more cost-effective eco-friendly commuting option.

This service will also provide travellers from Galway with a novel way to visit and explore the Burren, with accommodation and meal value packages with Ballyvaughan eateries and guesthouses available to enhance their trip.

The service will be operated by Rib West on behalf of Ballyvaughan Bay Hop in a fully licenced enclosed passenger rib as part of a pilot project to establish a community fast passenger service serving the North Clare region.

http://www.ballyvaughanbayhop.com/

Share their page to be in with a chance of winning free tickets on facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/BallyvaughanBayHop

Sponge Bob

This is a rather good idea in the summer. The road to Ballyvaughan is diabolic and the parking in Galway costs a fortune. If one needed to daytrip to Galway and back from Ballyvaughan this is the easily the best way to do it.

thesandeman

Good idea. Reasonable price too. Couldn't find how long it takes on the site though?

snubbleste

House prices in Ballyvaughan shoot up as it moves closer to eyre square :cool:

RichT

thesandeman wrote: »

Couldn't find how long it takes on the site though?

Departing the New Pier in Ballyvaughan at 7.45am, 12.30pm & 5.30pm

Departing Dock Street, Galway Harbour at 8.45am, 1.30pm & 6.00pm

Assuming that there is only the one ferry, the journey time is less than an hour as the return journey starts exactly one hour after the outward journey.
Edit: Actually could be less than half an hour looking at the final sailings.

daithimacgroin

only one week?
whats the boat gonna do the rest of the year?
may to sept would in all likelihood be profitable with tourists and locals wanting to visit the burren

daithimacgroin

hard to figure out from the website if its only the one week

ratracer

Note the small print though: if sailing is affected by weather road transfer will be provided, no refunds given. Given our weather, a cancellation is quite possible and then this becomes more expensive than a scheduled bus eireann bus.

Seaneh

Would be really handy for people (tourists etc) who might fancy a trip over to north clare but don't fancy renting a car or doing one of those god awful tours.

dasium

daithimacgroin wrote: »

hard to figure out from the website if its only the one week

This is a trial run for the one week.... the Rib is on hire from ribwest so not normally idle. http://www.ribwest.com/

There was a feasibility study completed in relation to weather and think it surprisingly had little or no effect on a regular service... but they did have a slightly larger boat in mind for the permanent service.

ceannbui

i think this is an excellent idea and hopefully will be available throughout the summer. i know i'd avail of it

interl00per

ratracer wrote: »

Note the small print though: if sailing is affected by weather road transfer will be provided, no refunds given. Given our weather, a cancellation is quite possible and then this becomes more expensive than a scheduled bus eireann bus.

I checked this out. Couldn't see any mention of refunds. I queried this and they will provide them in the event of a no-sail if you don't want too use the alternative.

Discodog

dasium wrote: »

There was a feasibility study completed in relation to weather and think it surprisingly had little or no effect on a regular service... but they did have a slightly larger boat in mind for the permanent service.

I don't think that they would lose many journeys especially with a bigger boat - one of the sold off Aran ferries would of been ideal. They could set up a park & ride so that people in Clare could drive to Balllyvaughan & get the ferry into Galway. With reduced season ticket prices for commuters it could work.

biko

It doesn't mention the boat size but they do look kinda small, maybe 10 passengers? I guess if the customer base is there they'll look at bigger boats.

ceannbui

emailed them and they said it was only for the week

squonk

I'm disappointed it's only starting next Monday. I booked a ticket just now for the 30th. but the girl who I spoke to told me that all the passengers going on the morning sailing were coming back in the evening one. I wanted to go mid day and return on the evening. Was looking forward to the trip so it's a pity.

Iwannahurl

Would be nice if it was a permanent or even just a regular summer-long service. It's a beautiful part of the world but the road is brutal, however scenic. I pity those poor cycle tourists.

I used to sail that stretch of water, and the boat trip from Galway to Ballyvaughan, Kinvara or New Quay was always enjoyable, even (and perhaps especially) in choppy waters. Always a treat to have a creamy bowl of chowder and a fishy pint of Guinness in Linnane's before heading home. If this takes off it'll be a pleasure to nip over for lunch now and again.

When I saw this first I wondered about the size of the "ferry" and the "ample parking". A 10-seater RIB would be about right scale perhaps.

rmoyles

Great idea hope it takes off.

JohnCleary

The RIB is a Redbay Stormforce with 2 x Yamaha diesel engines. She is coded for 12 passengers (but may only have 10 seats) + crew.

At €10 each way it's a bargain, and if nothing else a cheap way to get out in a fast RIB as the trip is 12/13 miles each way, that's less than 1euro per mile on-board.

There was suggestions earlier that the likes of the Aran fast ferry would have been a good idea. Unfortunately there'd never be that much demand for it, and running a larger boat would mean higher ticket prices. You also have the problem that Ballyvaughan bay is very shallow (there is an un-official channel but it's still very shallow at low tide, i'm talking as little as 2ft at times)

Considering the boat will use about 35 litres of diesel each way, and the max money they can take in per run is about 100/120euro, I think it's definitely not a rip off anyhow

squonk

Well I'm hoping we see more of this service. I'm from North Clare so it'd be a great thing for me. I'd also be able to head across for a day trip and perhaps meet up with some of the friends for an afternoon too. I could do it by bus in a similar time but the attraction here is the boat trip. Also, the service is better than the bus. Fair play to them. They'll get some of my money if they decide to regularise the service.

dasium

This seems a good offer for a day trip... BurrenBikes and Ballyvaughan Bay Hop have teamed up to offer a special ferry+bike combo return ticket for just €25!

Seaneh

I wonder would there be room on the ferry for my own bike?

John Cleary, you seem to be the man who'd know.

dasium

Seaneh wrote: »

I wonder would there be room on the ferry for my own bike?

John Cleary, you seem to be the man who'd know.

I'm sure if you email them they'll give you a reply, they seem to have been very prompt to answer queries....

JohnCleary

Seaneh wrote: »

I wonder would there be room on the ferry for my own bike?

John Cleary, you seem to be the man who'd know.

Physically, there would be space out the stern on top of the engine bay for a few bikes, BUT, it would be the discretion of the crew which would determine it.

As said above, you'd have to e-mail them and ask

dasium

JohnCleary wrote: »

Physically, there would be space out the stern on top of the engine bay for a few bikes, BUT, it would be the discretion of the crew which would determine it.

As said above, you'd have to e-mail them and ask

Did the orginal poster of the question email and find out?

dasium

dasium wrote: »

Did the orginal poster of the question email and find out?

There is limited room, but one has to say in advance while booking if they wish to bring a bike (seemingly some have requested and got permission) so they would obviously take precedence...

http://www.discoverballyvaughan.com/

Ticket sales are seemingly going well, so book in advance if interested is the advice....

Rob A. Bank

Sounds like a great idea, but Ballyvaughan pier is tidal.

I wonder what the draft of the rib is ?

JohnCleary

Rob A. Bank wrote: »

Sounds like a great idea, but Ballyvaughan pier is tidal.

I wonder what the draft of the rib is ?

Neither of the piers dry out completely, you'll get a RIB in there in any tide, with the legs up they only draw 2.5'

galwaybabe

The tide gets very low at Ballyvaughan. I'd have my doubts that anything could get in there when it hits as low as 1.21 metres (sat 30th june)

JohnCleary

galwaybabe wrote: »

The tide gets very low at Ballyvaughan. I'd have my doubts that anything could get in there when it hits as low as 1.21 metres (sat 30th june)

I've been in there on a spring low in a 37ft planing sports cruiser. It's possible, and i've pics somewhere to prove it :pac:

It gets tricky in the bay as it gets even shallower as it's a huge sand bank. There is a sneaky channel on the east of the bay... you line up some point (i'll have to check my notes) with a certain house west of Monks pub and give her holly!! (if you slow down your planing hull will require more water hence you'll ground)

NOFlaherty

JohnCleary wrote: »

Neither of the piers dry out completely, you'll get a RIB in there in any tide, with the legs up they only draw 2.5'

Incorrect

biko

NOFlaherty wrote: »

Incorrect

Elaborate

Rob A. Bank

JohnCleary wrote: »

Neither of the piers dry out completely, you'll get a RIB in there in any tide, with the legs up they only draw 2.5'

To quote yourself in an earlier post :

You also have the problem that Ballyvaughan bay is very shallow (there is an un-official channel but it's still very shallow at low tide, i'm talking as little as 2ft at times)

That .5' could be very expensive if you hit it at speed, and it turned out to be a rock... not sand !

JohnCleary

Rob A. Bank wrote: »

To quote yourself in an earlier post :



That .5' could be very expensive if you hit it at speed, and it turned out to be a rock... not sand !

Are you familiar with planing hull boats? I'm going to guess not....
A planing hull boat draws a LOT less when at speed as the hull rides on the water's surface. When going slow, the boat is at displacement speeds (as the boat is displacing all its weight hence lower in the water), which is where my 2.5' measurement came from.

When we enter Ballyvaughan on low tides, we give the boat hockey.... ie. we drive over the sand bank at full throttle so as to displace less water

At the pier you're obviously going to be crawling in, hence you can have the leg's trimmed right up

Iwannahurl

I recall getting stuck on that sandbank a good few years ago. Was serving as ballast on a gleoiteog -- couldn't call it crewing -- and we had to bump up and down painfully on the sandbank until the tide lifted us off. Best avoided, if you have a skipper who knows where it is and how not to get stuck...

JohnCleary

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I recall getting stuck on that sandbank a good few years ago. Was serving as ballast on a gleoiteog -- couldn't call it crewing -- and we had to bump up and down painfully on the sandbank until the tide lifted us off. Best avoided, if you have a skipper who knows where it is and how not to get stuck...

Aah memories On the bright side, at least the water there is clean, and on a sunny day the bay is an amazing place to go for a swim if you're stuck waiting on a tide.

Iwannahurl

JohnCleary wrote: »

Aah memories On the bright side, at least the water there is clean, and on a sunny day the bay is an amazing place to go for a swim if you're stuck waiting on a tide.

We got caught on a lee shore in that area as well, without a mainsail! It's even possible it happened on the same day we got stuck on the sandbank, but I can't really remember. We were always getting into scrapes I think...

So true about it being an amazing place. There are so many stunning corners of Galway Bay to be explored and enjoyed.

I've always felt our waterways are relatively under-utilised. I recall that when I lived in the UK back in the 90s their lakes, rivers, canals and seas were all well used. Perhaps it has to do with population levels, as well as relative prosperity.

Which is why it's good to see this ferry initiative, IMO. It seems such an obvious thing to do.

I like the idea of a seaplane service as well, whether as an air link or just for sightseeing. Maybe I'm just romantic about such things, seaplanes being things of beauty IMO, and perhaps there are reasons why such a development would not be advisable.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056238143

http://www.galwaynews.ie/10539-seaplane-plan-galway-meets-fierce-opposition

Storm 10

Anyone hear how the service went today, were there many on the 1st boat????

interl00per

Storm 10 wrote: »

Anyone hear how the service went today, were there many on the 1st boat????

I was there for the second run from Ballyvaughan, at 12:30. The boat was full . Lots of excited passengers. There's loads of dolphins out in the bay today, nice company for the first day. Seems to be going well. Tide is quite low. Seemed to take it handy heading out. I hope this takes off!

Storm 10

interl00per wrote: »

I was there for the second run from Ballyvaughan, at 12:30. The boat was full . Lots of excited passengers. There's loads of dolphins out in the bay today, nice company for the first day. Seems to be going well. Tide is quite low. Seemed to take it handy heading out. I hope this takes off!

Fantastic great to hear that, I wish them all the best in the new venture and hope it becomes a long term service, Imagne if you had a hovercraft doing that trip and not depending on tides.

JohnCleary

I mentioned this to a few people today, and they said that for under €10 each way, they'd buy a return ticket purely for the fun of it

dasium

[IMG][/img]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=334280513319346&set=a.247536618660403.60533.104472672966799&type=1&theater&notif_t=like

Great photograph of the first sailing....

Ficheall

What are the chances of getting a seat if one just wanders down in the morning?

dasium

Ficheall wrote: »

What are the chances of getting a seat if one just wanders down in the morning?

I imagine pretty good, to the best of my knowledge the only full day bookings wise is Sat. But I'd say email them to be certain....

Ficheall

I tried ringing, but no luck. Though it is late.
Will shoot off an email now.

dasium

Ficheall wrote: »

I tried ringing, but no luck. Though it is late.
Will shoot off an email now.

I've a feeling the girl who's no. you were ringing was also working as an extra crew person today, making sure everything was ironed out for the maiden voyage... which probably explains why you couldn't get through...

Ficheall

She just rang me back there and reckons that if I take a daundereen (I am, of course, paraphrasing here) down tomorrow morn I should be grand.

Ficheall

Poxy Irish weather. There'd be no point venturing out in yon.

wonder88

Think this is a great idea and I hope it goes well for them. Pity the good weather only lasted a day, and I can see this being the big problem. However there seems to me anyway to be more leisure activity going out in Galway bay in recent years.

Rob A. Bank

Ficheall wrote: »

Poxy Irish weather. There'd be no point venturing out in yon.

Even if it was a fine day you might get wet in a rig skimming across the bay.

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing." -- Sir Rannulph Fiennes

Ficheall

I've no problem getting wet, but the visibility was ****e.