Shannon Cruise October

Retail Mngr

Hi All.
Seeking hints tips and advice for a Shannon cruise mid October.
Carrick out and in for a week.
Any and all thoughts welcome.

Thanks.

HeidiHeidi

It could be awfully cold and wet, would be my first thought!

Do the charter boats even run that late in the year? (I honestly have no idea, but I can't imagine the demand would be huge, see above)

krissovo

I have been a couple times out of season and had just as good a time as I have had in season. Once while docked in Scarriff we had to break the ice With a oar to get out and onto the main river. Out of season there is not really any worries if there are spaces at any of the marinas or docks. Most places were walk in to get a bite to eat but some were shut out of season so check ahead.

Double check the boat has heating, these burn diesel so it will increase your fuel costs. We took a deal that included the cost of the fuel.

Make sure the boat has a inside driving position, its not fun driving outside in the lashing rain.

Decent rain clothing helps in case the weather turns, regatta have some decent deals on now.

You need to keep tabs on the weather, the loughs can get rough from force 4 winds and above. Download wind guru and learn how to use and unstandardised it before you go.

AndyBoBandy

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

It could be awfully cold and wet, would be my first thought!

I did it for the 1st week in August and it was awfully cold and awfully wet!!!! :pac:

HeidiHeidi

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I did it for the 1st week in August and it was awfully cold and awfully wet!!!! :pac:

That unfortunately is a hazard of boating in Ireland, as I know only too well myself

Chances of miserable weather a lot higher in October though!

I keep racing up to Christmas most years - not sure I'd fancy a week's holiday in the later months though.

rje66

Also if it has been raining a lot prior to trip the flow on the river could be fast making things tricky if you are not used to boats.

Retail Mngr

Thanks Kris.
Some good advice there.

fergal.b

Handy Facebook page here if you have any questions along the way like what's open and where to go. https://www.facebook.com/groups/717182844986491/





.

Donie75

I spent the October Bank Holiday Weekend last year on Derg and then headed back to Athlone on the Monday. It was a lovely crisp sunny weekend. No rain or wind but cold at night. I would try to get a boat with shorepower and decent heating. An oil filled radiator can help too. Carrick-on-Shannon would be a good area as there are no big lakes. Leitrim Marina Hotel is a good option for a night or two if the weather turns bad.

antietam1

When I had a mooring on Lough Derg I used to sleep on my boat the odd time in winter.
I only had an 800 watt oil filled heater, I think a 3 kilowatt might have been better.

Retail Mngr

Thanks everyone.
Some good stuff here. Makes me feel that we’re not completely off the line. We’d be hardy enough camping etc so fairly used to the cold and damp being all part of the adventure.
About the heating on board. We’re hiring a cruiser that has central heating - how does that work? Does it take long to feel it through the cruiser?
Also we’re hiring from Carrrikc with half a plan to head for Lough Key (🀪) and the forest park day one and then back down past Carrick and see how far we get for the rest of the week. Is that a reasonable itinerary?

AndyBoBandy

Retail Mngr wrote: »

About the heating on board. We’re hiring a cruiser that has central heating - how does that work? Does it take long to feel it through the cruiser?

It'll be a diesel heater, like this one;



It takes about a minute for them to get going, and they can put great heat into the cabins on a cruiser, you'll then have a thermostat on it's control panel to adjust how warm you want it.



They use diesel (obviously), as well as electricity (from the boats 12v battery system), but they are generally fine to leave on all night (we did anyway 2 weeks ago) Just find a temperature that's comfortable to sleep in.

Ferris

Retail Mngr wrote: »

Thanks everyone.
Some good stuff here. Makes me feel that we’re not completely off the line. We’d be hardy enough camping etc so fairly used to the cold and damp being all part of the adventure.
About the heating on board. We’re hiring a cruiser that has central heating - how does that work? Does it take long to feel it through the cruiser?
Also we’re hiring from Carrrikc with half a plan to head for Lough Ree and the forest park day one and then back down past Carrick and see how far we get for the rest of the week. Is that a reasonable itinerary?

Used to go dinghy sailing on Derg on the Oct bank holiday. We hired from Emerald Star and just ran the Blown air heating constantly, uses very little diesel.

It’s Lough Key that has the forest park not Lough ree btw 😀. Check if the activity centre is open, coillte were being a bit slow in opening up and it was closed when we were there in July.

wazabru

I have done this a number of times.
In slack water the options and range are extensive....so I won't dwell on those. I will restrict my comments on what you will likely find, which is that the flow is up, callows starting to flood and boat handling gets tricky due to the flow.

The secret is to stay away from areas where the flow is high. Saves the nerves and the boat.

The Inland waterways comments and advice page on Facebook will give you lots of water level and flow reports from fellow boaters at the time.

Taking a cruiser from Carrick to lough key would be fine.
The tricky bit is getting into Clarendon lock. The flow from the weir hits you on the port side , as you approach, so you have to have a good bit of pace on to punch through it. If the lock is against you hold back at the first jetty even if the dockside jetty is free.
The estate is worth a visit. However Bodaborg will be closed and Zipit is working at 50% capacity (you will need to book online). The cafe has moved out of doors and serves from vans.

I would avoid Battlebridge....there can be big flow out of Lough Allen.

Leitrim would be accessible but likely only the hotel marina, as the bridge airdraft is very low.

Downstream from Carrick will be fine, but avoid Jamestown. Big flow from astern that could catch you out with the bridge rapidly approaching.

The Jamestown canal is pleasant, and once down the trip to Dromod is nice.
Don't go below Dromod to Roosky. It will age you. Huge flow, very tricky weir.
Holding for the lifting bridge is not easy....and that was last week.

Careful as you approach Drumsna, it is the other end of the Jamestown loop and has an equal flow but this time you will be facing into it, have more control, but it will be strong.

The inner lakes at Grange are really nice. The flow there is minimal but what can catch you out is that if the rains fall and the levels rise and you are on the grange side of the bridge, you may be very tight on airdraft getting out. make sure you know what your boat airdraft is in metres before you leave...So check the forecast and consider the recent rainfall. If the airdraft clearance (checked against the airdraft gauge before the bridge) is say 4 inches and heavy rain has recently/will fall soon.... I would avoid entering Grange. The levels can rise really quickly. The only answer to getting back out under Carnadoe bridge is to remove the boat bridge windows or get your hire company to call out and they have a party trick.

At that time of the year the daylight hours are restricted anyway, so although it may appear that the cruising is limited, the available hours are also limited.

Nothing nicer than being wrapped up in a warm boat, with good company, at that time of the year.

David

Retail Mngr

Thank you David. Nothing beats local knowledge.
Will take out the map (or online even) and get your post clear in my mind. Might come back with a few Q’s.
Thanks again.
Paul

wazabru

as you look at the charts you may find it useful to also have a look at google maps. Just drop the yellow guy down on the blue Line on the Shannon and you get a view from the boat. You will see the bridges, air draft gauges, jetty, weirs etc.

and finally......the online charts can be best seen here...https://issuu.com/carrickcraft/docs/book

Retail Mngr

Thanks David

Used Google maps extensively for work on the roads. The Shannon navigation was a happy revelation.

We seem to have landed on an approach best described as ‘ know a bit about the area but leave some of it to adventure’.

Would you recommend bringing bikes?

It’s six weeks away and the whole family are already excited. The kids can’t wait. Many thanks again for the pointers.

wazabru wrote: »

as you look at the charts you may find it useful to also have a look at google maps. Just drop the yellow guy down on the blue Line on the Shannon and you get a view from the boat. You will see the bridges, air draft gauges, jetty, weirs etc.

and finally......the online charts can be best seen here...https://issuu.com/carrickcraft/docs/book

wazabru

I have bought bikes, and found them not being used.

Lough key is the best area to use them. It is off-road and has lots of forest trails.
My kids actually walked the paths, investigated the caves, climbed the tower, found what must be the largest tree in Ireland and generally explored.

Other jettys I mentioned are attached to villages and any biking is on the public road.....which we didn't warm to.

We found the days were full, travelling and exploring each pull in. The bikes were decorations on the front!

David

krissovo

I would bring 1 bike with a basket or pannier, very handy for carrying heavy shopping or grabbing a takeaway quickly. Some harbours do not have shops or can be some distance away.

Anymore bikes are just a pain.

AndyBoBandy

Theres a good size Supervalu in Bannagher about 3-4 minutes walk from teh small harbour (add another 2-3 minutes if you stay on one of the rental marina's there).

Theres also a small Supervalu in Lanesborough about 8-10 minutes walk from the marina.

for kids, Bannagher has a great playground right next to the harbour, and there's also a decent playground in Lanesborough just beside the Supervalu.

wazabru

Did you get away or get snagged by Covid restrictions? If you did get on the water ....did it live up to expectations?

David