Crossings - Irish Sea
The Irish Sea Crossing is a committing undertaking requiring stamina, confidence and resourcefulness. A solo crossing is seen by many as a rite of passage for the serious sea kayaker. There is a choice of routes; the North Channel is probably the most straightforward, West Wales brings greater distance and more complicated tides. But the Blue Riband is also the longest route, between Dun Laoghaire and Anglesey - dodging ferries and the fast tides of the Anglesey coastline.
Notable was the solo, unsupported crossing in a canadian canoe by Steve Porter in July 2000. Using a 16.5ft Pyranha Traveler with a home-made sailing rig it took Steve 18hrs from Treaddur Bay to Wicklow with a nice force 3 easterly!
Images © Google / Justine Curgenven / Barry Shaw / Mark Stocker
- Dublin/Anglesey
- Lleyn Peninsula
- North Channel
- St George's Channel
- Links
| Cat | Paddler | Elapsed time (Hrs) | Distance | Avg Speed | Date | Route | Boat | Escort | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1M | John Willacy^^^ | 11:19:59 | 55.8 nm | 4.9 kts | 02-Oct-11 | Soldier Point - Howth | Rockpool Taran | No | |
| John Willacy^^ | 13:45:00 | 57.4 nm | 4.1 kts | 24-Aug-07 | Dun Laoghaire - Porth Dafarch | Nelo Inuk | No | ||
| K1W | |||||||||
| K2 | Ray Goodwin* & Terry Storrey | 16:30:00 | 1996 (?) | Holyhead - Dun Laoghaire | No | ||||
| Team | Nick Cunliffe & Justine Curgenven ** | 11:45:00 | 57 nm | 4.8 kts | 13-May-09 | Soldiers' Point - Collimore Harbour | Valley Nordkap LV / SKUK Explorer | No | Here |
| Barry Shaw & Harry Whelan | 14:34:00 | 25-Aug-03 | Porth Dafarch - Dun Laoghaire | SKUK Explorer ? | No | Here | |||
| SKI Single | |||||||||
| SKI Double | |||||||||
| Notes: * Ray has also sailed this crossing with Dave Howie in open canoe, back in 1994 I believe. ** The crossing by Justine and Nick is a truly outstanding time - a few words from Nick: "Throughout the crossing the wind varied between E4-5, occasionally more ENE. It had been blowing from the east for a few days, so we had a good moderate sea mid-crossing – downhill paddling all the way. The sea state settled once we crossed the Kish Bank, especially as the wind was no more than E4 for the last couple of hours. On a personal note, it was also my 42nd birthday and I fancied a big day out to celebrate - I certainly got one! Justine didn’t know until we arrived. We hadn’t gone out to set a “record”, just to get it over with as quick as possible and to enjoy the conditions. The Guinness tasted good in Dun Laoghaire! " |
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| Cat | Paddler | Elapsed time (Hrs) | Distance | Avg Speed | Date | Route | Boat | Escort | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1M | |||||||||
| K1W | |||||||||
| K2 | Justine Curgenven, Barry Shaw ** | 11:56:00 | 01-Jan-09 | Whistling Sands - Wicklow | SKUK Triton | No | |||
| Team | |||||||||
| SKI Single | |||||||||
| SKI Double | |||||||||
| Notes: ** The crossing by Justine and Barry probably takes the record for the first of the New Year too (and the coldest?) | |||||||||
| Cat | Paddler | Elapsed time (Hrs) | Distance | Avg Speed | Date | Route | Boat | Escort | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1M | John Willacy* | 03:25:58 | 18.79 nm | 5.5 kts | 26-Mar-11 | Portpatrick - Donaghadee | Rockpool Taran | No | Here |
| Tadhg De Barra | 04:09:00 | 16-Jul-10 | Donaghadee - Portpatrick | Kirton C-Trek | No | ||||
| Barry Shaw | 05:40:00 | 43 km | 4.1 kts | 02-Apr-05 | Portpatrick - Larne | NDK SKUK Romany | No | Here | |
| K1W | |||||||||
| K2 | |||||||||
| Team | |||||||||
| SKI Single | |||||||||
| SKI Double | |||||||||
| Notes: * When you take into account the paddle to the ferry port, the trip back from Stranraer and all the man handling involved, JW figured it would be easier to paddle back home to Portpatrick after the crossing. So he did. | |||||||||
| Cat | Paddler | Elapsed time (Hrs) | Distance | Avg Speed | Date | Route | Boat | Escort | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1M | John Willacy | 09:57:49 | 48.6 nm | 27-Sep-10 | Rosslare - Whitesands Bay | Rockpool Taran | No | Here | |
| K1W | |||||||||
| K2 | Paul Ashmore & Mark Pollock^^ | 13:45:00 | 14-Jul-06 | St.David's Bay - Carnsore Point | Yes | Blog | |||
| Team | Brian Fanning, Mick O'Meara ** | 09:39:00 | 43 nm | ~4.5 kts | 03-Jun-10 | Carna - Whitesands Bay | Nigel Foster Legend x2 | No | Article |
| Sean Morley, Jim Morrissey, Ian Wilson | 11:06:00 | 01-Aug-98 | Whitesands Bay - Rosslare Harbour | Kirton Kayaks Inuk x3 | No | Website | |||
| Graham Dore, Hugh Lane, Bill Jags, Mark Stocker, Andy Worth | 12:45:00 | 43 nm | ~3.4 kts | 27-Jun-09 | Whitesands Bay - Rosslare Harbour | Valley Nordkapp x2, P&H Quest x2, Kirton C-Trek | No | ||
| Rowland Woollven/Peter Kirkpatrick, Bob Hawkes/Kevin Hawkes, Mike Elesmore/Bernie Evans | 16:05:00 | 15-Jun-96 | Whitesands Bay - Rosslare | 3 x Valley Aleut II's | No | ||||
| SKI Single | |||||||||
| Notes: ** Brian and Mick previously set the record for this crossing in July 2001 with a time of 10:35, this is also Mick's 3rd crossing via this route. Brian and Mick also used the crossing as an opportunity to raise funds for the South Eastern Cancer Foundation - they have raised over €10,000 to date! ^^ Mark's achievement is all the more commendable as he is a blind sportsman/adventurer - also taking part on the day was a second blind sportsman Tom Kennedy, unfortunately I have no further details. |
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John Willacy - Anglesey: http://angleseypaddling.fotopic.net/c1355441.html
Nick Cunliffe, Justine Curgeneven - Anglesey: http://www.cackletv.com/2009/05/19/across-the-irish-sea-in-11hours-30-mins/
Sean Morley, Jim Morrissey, Ian Wilson - West Wales: http://www.expeditionkayak.com/content/?page_id=160
Barry Shaw - North Channel: http://www.ukseakayakguidebook.co.uk/north_channel/art_north_channel.htm
Notes are set in here