Roberts Cove is a small inlet between Cork Head

..... and Robert's Head about four miles SW of Roche’s Point Light.  It is only of use to shallow draft boats that can take the ground and then only in settled offshore conditions; there is absolutely no shelter here from strong Southerly winds.  It is one of several inlets and sheltered spots along this coast Between Cork and Kinsale which are of more interest to the independent yachtie with a little bilge-keeler than the 15m + boat with all the bells and whistles.

Oyster Haven is the largest of the inlets on this coast, provides the best cover and is an alternative to the busy harbour/anchorage at Kinsale just around the corner. 

The haven has a Northerly and a Nor’ westerly arm, the former shelves rapidly off Walton Court beach and the Nor’ westerly is navigable only by dinghy to Belgooly three miles upstream.

This anchorage offers good shelter from all but Southerly winds.  The beach at Walton Court is busy in the summer as the Oysterhaven Activities Centre is located there; they offer a wide mixture of water based leisure activities and instruction and it was one of the first wind surfing schools in Ireland. Regrettably they have nothing in the way of comforts for the cruising yachtie though they would be able to fill your water breaker; if you are really pushed you could take the flood up the Belgooly River to Belgooly itself where there are a few shops and a pub.

Be careful in this bay as there are oyster beds which no one will thank you for disturbing.

The approaches to both bays are simple but unless

....... you are familiar with the area it would be wise not to try to make passage between the Little Sovereign and the shore off Oyster Haven as it gets very shallow in the middle of that channel.  You also have to be aware of Harbour Rock midway between Oysterhaven beach and Ferry Point; other than that no problems.

In Roberts Cove, the further up the cove you can anchor the more

...... shelter you will find; it has good holding on a sandy bottom but be very aware that there is a good 3.5m range at springs so you will need to be able to sit on the sand.

Oyster haven is very different in that you will be able to take a fin-keeler in here and anchor quite happily in deepish water; the deepest anchorage is in the mouth of the Belgooly River but there is plenty of water up the Northerly reach until it shoals short of the shallow draft moorings off the beach at Walton Court. 

There are places in this water where there have been experiences of poor holding in weed so you need to take precautions ie make sure your anchor has definitely set and pop a tripping line on it in case it gets tangled up on some heavy stuff. If you’ve got an old fisherman’s (AP anchor) it might be an idea to dig it out of the back locker and use that, but then you have to work out where to rig the tripping line!!

Neither of these havens have any facilities. As has been said, at Oyster Haven you can take a dinghy up to Belgooly where there is a Post Office and filling station but it is a good long row.

Roberts Cove does have an ace up its sleeve in that there is a hotel here with a bar and restaurant and even bedrooms if your crew needs a night ashore!

https://www.facebook.com/TheRobertsCoveInn/    This website will give you the details on the Roberts Cove hotel