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Ringhaddy Quay

Strangford Lough

Average score: 0

Weather Forecast Tide times Sea Temperature
Site name: Ringhaddy Quay
Location: Descriptive location referring to nearest landfall i.e. town, village, harbour or island
Strangford Lough
Type: Describes whether this dive site can be dived from the shore, from a boat, or both
Shore
Wreck: Dive sites which include a shipwreck (or part of a shipwreck) are labelled with a ‘Yes’
No
Min. dive depth (m): The approximate minimum depth of the dive given in metres
Max. dive depth (m): The approximate maximum depth of the dive given in metres
13

Max. seabed depth (m): The maximum depth of the seabed at the site taken from the intersect between the dive site point and the depth contour on an Admiralty Standard Nautical Chart

Diving experience (min level): The recommended minimum level of diving experience for a specific site, described as Novice (<50 dives in temperate/cold waters and minimum certification of PADI Open/Advanced Open Water, BSAC Ocean Diver or CMAS 1 star), Intermediate (50-100 dives in temperate/cold waters and minimum certification of PADI Rescue Dive, BSAC Sports Dive or CMAS 2 star) or Advanced (>250 dives in temperate/cold waters and minimum certification of PADI Divemaster, BSAC Dive Leader or CMAS 3 star
Intermediate

Optimal wind direction: The general wind direction which causes minimal exposure at the site, corresponding to 8 points of the compass: North (N), North East (NE), East (E, South East (SE), South (S), South West (SW), West, North West (NW)
SW/W

Exposure: The approximate level of exposure to wind and wave action at the site on any given day, described as Sheltered (inshore sites surrounded by a form of shelter on all sides), Moderate (sites which are partially sheltered) or Exposed (sites with little to no shelter)
Sheltered

Tidal strength: Anecdotal description of tidal strength at the site
Strong

Marine Protected Area: A Yes or No highlighting whether or not the site occurs within a Marine Protected Area
Yes

Visibility: Anecdotal description of the typical underwater visibility at the site
1-4m
Best time to dive: Anecdotal recommendation for the best time to dive the site for optimal underwater conditions. This typically relates to the stage of the tide
Best time is 5th hour of flood or ebb. It’s generally OK to dive here anytime apart from the first 2 hours of ebb or 2nd hour of flood.
Getting There: Directions for getting to the site

Tight car parking space off road about quay (best to car share!). Be sure to avoid private property marked by sign. Point of entry is a walk in beneath the quay. At about 2-3 meters to your right  from the end of the pier is a grey pipe. Follow the pipe for approx 10 -11 mtrs and you’ll see a bright yellow line/thick cable. Follow this cable, you’ll pass a big tyre where a few crabs have set up home. You will soon come to the end of the yellow line and its tied to a black line. You are now at 13 meters.

Facilities: Details of nearest facilities to dive site i.e. public car parking and toilets, slipways etc

Parking is very limited along the access road, therefore be careful to leave plenty of space for residents and other road users. The Ringhaddy Cruising Club is for club members only. Do not use the private jetty nearby!

Hazards: Anecdotal information on possible hazards at the site for divers and snorkellers

  • Pleasure boat traffic.
  • Litter: regular reports of tyres, bottles, and plastics
Description: A general description of the physical features of the dive site

The point of entry has boulders and pebble and the quay is very silty and dark even on good days. If your patient you’ll see an abundance of life and a good variety of mixed seaweeds.

Biodiversity: A description of the species composition at the site. Species of interest are highlighted. Follow the links for more information about the species on the NBN Atlas Northern Ireland website

Look out for bobtail squid, sea squirts, blennies, brown crabs, velvet crabs, brittlestars, spider crabs and hermit crabs.  You might spot the occasional lobster!

View all species records from this site

A link to the dive site location on the NBN Atlas Northern Ireland website, showing all species records from within a 1km boundary of the site centroid. Any new species records from the site submitted to Seasearch, iRecord, CEDaR Online Recording or iNaturalist will appear here
Local Charters: A link to the website for the nearest Dive Centre to the site. A map of all dive centres is provided under ‘Go Diving’

D.V. Diving

Environmental and Historical Designations: A list of any environmental or historical designations attributed to the site, or overlapping it. Follow the link for more information

Strangford Lough MCZ
Strangford Lough SAC
Strangford Lough SPA
Strangford Lough RAMSAR

More Information: Links to additional information found online for the dive site

Strangford Lough Regulation of Anchoring, Mooring and Diving Byelaws 2012
Northern Ireland Marine MapViewer

Safety: Safety tips

  • In an emergency call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.
  • Follow VHF radio Channel 16 (156.8 MHz), the international distress frequency. Send a distress alert followed by ‘MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY’ and ‘This is [boat name]’.
  • Find nearest defibrillator (AED) here.
  • Portaferry Harbour Master: 028 9188 2377
  • When navigating within the harbour/marina, use VHF Channel 80
Latitude, Longitude: The approximate XY coordinates for the dive site in Decimel Degrees (DD). These can be converted to DMS or DDM by following the link below
54.451278, -5.632107
Open in Google Maps Convert coordinates to DDM/DMS
Ringhaddy Quay Ringhaddy Quay Ringhaddy Quay Ringhaddy Quay Ringhaddy Quay Ringhaddy Quay Ringhaddy Quay Ringhaddy Quay

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