New Ross & the River Barrow

New Ross & the River Barrow0-6.92724086105097852.3264994691588Contacts: Three Sisters Marina Manager tel no +353 (0)86 3889652 New Ross Port Company VHF14 tel no +353 (0)51 421303 Barrow Railway Bridge tel no +353 (0)86816 7826 New Ross is the lowest crossing point on the River Barrow and is also a thriving market town. The River Barrow cuts off the County of Wexford completely, you can cross here, at Passage East (by ferry) or at Graiguenamanagh and that's it. If you can get under the bridge at New Ross (about 3m) then there is navigable water (normally by low draft barges, narrow boats and power cruisers) for about another 11 miles. As it is, as a yachtie, you will probably find that this is as far as you go. In recent years they have developed a marina here (the Three Sisters Marina) which is the best place to tie up. For those who were here in earlier years and experienced security issues at pub closing time; that is no longer a problem as the marina is very secure. The Port Company has two wharfs on the West bank and two on the East bank of the river and takes about three cargo ships per week; the Ro-Ro ferry berth marked on the UKHO chart has been removed. The Marina Manager (Aiden Bates) is a good source of information for not just New Ross but for the whole of the Suir estuary. AC 2049 Old Head of Kinsale to Tuskar Rock, AC 2046-0 River Barrow to New Ross & New Ross, SC5621, Imray C57Speed limit of 8 knots above the Barrow Railway Bridge, otherwise Rule of the Road and remember that the cargo vessels will be restricted by draft. The buoyed channel is narrow from the Barrow Bridge north so the hazard is commercial traffic!! HW is HW Cobh +0045; MHWS 4.5m MHWN 3.8m MLW 2.6m; See Approach for more informationTidal Planning: Navigation to New Ross must take account of the tides ...... which increase as you travel up river from abeam Creadan Head (to the North of Dunmore East) where they run at 1 to 1.5kts as far as the narrows where they increase at Ballyhack and can run at up to 3 or 4 kts on the ebb after heavy rain.If you are marginal on mast clearance you will also have to take account of the air draft at the Barrow Bridge at the mouth of the Barrow. The Air Draft at the bridge is given as 7.1m (ie above MHWS); if you check the tides for Kilmokea Point adjacent to the bridge you can see that there is a range of nearly 3 meters at neaps so, if you get your timing right; you can sneak under there at LW and take the flood up to New Ross but you would need to be coming down from Waterford (as opposed to up from Ballyhack) to achieve this! Approach: The passage up the Suir Estuary to Cheek Point is dealt with in our notes for Waterford and the Suir Estuary. The best time to set off up the Barrow River is at LW but if you are going to need the bridge swung it no longer becomes a factor in your calculations and you only need to allow a couple of hours flood for the trip. Obviously the third and fourth hour of the flood will be the fastest passage and still allow some flood should you end up on the mud! That may seem to be a pessimistic approach but if you examine the chart, although it is well buoyed, there are places where you need to dogleg between marks to find the deepest water and there is not a lot of room for error, especially if you meet something coming the other way. New Ross shares VHF 14 with Waterford and you would be wise to let them know that you are on your way up, if only to find out whether they have something coming down!! If you need to have the Barrow Railway Bridge swung you should give them a ring a good couple of hours before your ETA; they are not on radio so even if you have been given a time you may have a hiatus until they notice you are there! After that it is "just" a matter of following the buoyage but be aware that it takes you too and fro from one bank to another and is, in places, alarmingly close to the bank. A good example of this is at Pink Point where the SHM to the North of it looks as though they've made a mistake and laid a green buoy instead of a red one, it is so close to the headland itself! There are also a series of Yellow markers which are not channel markers but indicate the shallows outside the channel. All good fun!! The Marina is on the starboard hand as you approach New Ross and is not on radio so you will either have to tie up and go ashore or contact him on the phone on the way up. The Three Sisters Marina was a relatively recent addition to the facilities at New Ross, but must be about five years old now, and belongs to the local council. Their scale of charges splits at 9.5 meters (which is 10 Euros per night) and 10.5 metres (which is 20 Euros per night) - if you measure your boat in old money (feet) it would be a good idea to know exactly how many metres it is because 31 feet is on the cheaper side of the equation! This marina is not swarming with visitors so you will find that the Marina Manager will probably have time to give you his undivided attention so it's worth making your number with him before setting off for here. The marina does have a website which has improved over the years and now has some good images in its gallery; click here for their siteThree Sisters MarinaThe marina pontoons have all the usual services and there are showers and toilets ashore. Petrol and diesel is by cans at a nearby filling station. They have an arrangement with the local laundrette to collect and deliver your dhobi. The shore power is on prepaid cards and the local hardware store supplies Gas/Gaz refills. All provisions are available in the town along with a small chandlery and outboard shop. There is a Boatyard on the West bank before you get to the marina. http://www.newrossboatyard.com/index.htmlThere is the usual assortment of pubs, restaurants and fast food outlets in this expanding town which is becoming more tourist aware than hitherto. They have a fully restored "famine" ship alongside the quay which is open to visitors and exhibits the conditions which emigrants were prepared to put up with to escape the misery of famine ridden Ireland in the mid eighteen hundreds. It is, of course, interesting from the point of view of a sailor who will enjoy the experience of setting foot on the deck of a three masted square rigger. This part of the world is also where the Kennedy family has its roots and there is a museum and arboretum in the hinterland which can be visited by road. 0New Ross & the River BarrowChart of the Approach to the River Barrow. 2011Chart of New Ross 2012VisiChart of the River Barrow at New RossChart of the River Barrow to new Ross 2011VisiChart of mid passage up River BarrowPink Point from the North. Channel very close to the shoreNew Ross Three Sisters MarinaRailway bridge from the NorthTanker outbound at Pink Point. Channel very close to the shoreVisiChart of Barrow Railway Bridge and Lower River barrow.Waterford Boatyardhttp://www.waterfordboatyard.com/Waterford BoatyardBilberryX91 C950waterfordCo WaterfordIE052.2657958-7.1287835Waterford BoatyardBilberryX91 C950waterfordCo WaterfordIEWaterford Boatyard+353 (0)51 857755+353 (0)51 857755Deevys Motor & Marine Accessorieshttp://www.deevys.com/Chandlers and Marine Accessories Deevys Motor & Marine Accessories48 Parnell StreetX91 R653WaterfordIE052.2585731-7.108444Deevys Motor & Marine Accessories48 Parnell StreetX91 R653WaterfordIEDeevys Motor & Marine Accessories+353 (0) 51 874477+353 (0) 51 874477Wexford Harbourhttp://wexfordharbour.com/Harbour AuthorityWexford HarbourMarine Officer, Ballast QuayCrescent QuayY35 E6TRWexfordCo WexfordIE052.336916-6.4633381Wexford HarbourMarine Officer, Ballast QuayCrescent QuayY35 E6TRWexfordCo WexfordIEWexford [email protected]+ 353 (0)53 [email protected]+ 353 (0)53 9122300New Ross Marinahttp://newrossmarina.com/MarinaNew Ross MarinaThe TholselY34 XV80New RossCo WexfordIE052.3916473-6.9499897New Ross MarinaThe TholselY34 XV80New RossCo WexfordIENew Ross [email protected]+353 (0) 86 [email protected]+353 (0) 86 3889652New Ross Boatyardhttp://www.newrossboatyard.com/Boatyard which services both commercial and leisure boatsNew Ross BoatyardWaterford RoadY34 V967New RossCo WexfordIE052.3886795-6.9591741New Ross BoatyardWaterford RoadY34 V967New RossCo WexfordIENew Ross [email protected]+353 (0)51 [email protected]+353 (0)51 447655Don Thomson2015-04-23T11:47:00+01:00Update 2015These notes were reviewed by Don in April 2015. They are holding their prices and are very cheap at 10 Euros per night for a 10 metre boat-1Don Thomson2017-04-25T12:31:00+01:00UPDATE APRIL 2017I reviewed these notes in April 2017. Still the same though very unlikely to meet a cargo vessel on the way.-1Don Thomson 32021-09-08T09:04:00+01:00UPDATE SUMMER 2021I reviewed these notes in September 2021. No changes but I've found a Youtube drone video which will give you a good idea of what you are heading for.-1Fiona Balloch2023-06-07T10:49:00+01:00Arrival time at New RossGot HW at New Ross wrong, so arrived one hr earlier than planned. Harbour master said we would never get into our allocated berth due to tide, so John very skillfully stemmed the tide and rafted up against a smack where we waited for HW. Alan, a liveaboard on another boat helped with lines. 15 euros a night in marina. Ideally only arrive 1.5 hr or less before HW. Quite bit of snatching on the lines due to tide so care with lines / springs etc needs to be taken.-1Fiona Balloch2023-06-08T07:12:00+01:00Leaving your boatNew Ross could be good place to leave your boat if you need to pop back home etc. There are buses into Dublin Airport and the marina fees are cheap (day rate is 15 euros a day for 32 footer). The harbour master is helpful and there is at least one liveaboard in marina , so people around to check on your boat.-1Don Thomson2013-12-10T12:01:00+00:00Update December 2013These notes were reviewed and added to by Don Thomson on the 10th December 2013. We are told that the commercial traffic has reduced since we first wrote up this harbour (and certainly since the author ventured up there in the mid nineties) so you are unlikely to meet any opposite direction traffic - but check with the marina.-1Don Thomson 32022-10-21T10:34:00+01:00UPDATE OCTOBER 2022No changes-1Don Thomson 32019-07-26T11:27:00+01:00Update Summer 2019These notes were reviewed in July 2019. There are no changes - not even the prices.-1Fiona Balloch2023-06-07T10:47:00+01:00Railway bridgeMotored thru gap in open railway bridge, 1.5hr after LW. Tide was vicious and swept us slightly sideways. Dinghy nearly caught on bridge supports. The bridge is now permanently open. There is talk however of reinstating the railway line in the future.-1Error fetching data: Not Found