The Yacht Insider: Cruising Options on Ireland's River Shannon
This river cruise will take you to villages that have more pubs than people.
April 14, 2010
Tired of the same old cruising scenery? Sea Sense, the powerboating school that offers women-only as well as couple’s courses, just announced that it will be holding class this fall on Ireland’s River Shannon. Six students will be welcomed aboard a 48-footer from Sept. 11-18, with the cruising itinerary to begin in the town of Shannon on Ireland’s west coast.
With top speed in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 miles per hour, there is plenty of time to appreciate the River Shannon scenery.
“These boats are different from what traditional boaters know,” said company founder Capt. Patti Moore. “They’re like houseboats, very simple to handle. They steer differently because they have governors on them to maintain speed limits. Yes, there is boat handling, and yes, there is some navigation required, but more than that it’s a great way to see a new area. You’re moving really slowly, and it feels like cruising through the middle of a postcard.”
River cruises take you from one village to the next, where the pubs are a family gathering spot.
I’ve done canal cruising in Burgundy, France, which to me felt like being on a Disney World ride. It’s slow, the boat follows a one-way path, and the scenery looks, well, enchanted.
I thought that Ireland’s River Shannon might be the same, but that’s not the case according to Debbie Petermann of Le Boat, which specializes in single-family and couples bareboat cruises not only on the River Shannon, but all across Europe.
The best months for cruising are April through October.
“The River Shannon in Ireland is very different from the canals in France,” she told me. “The itinerary is on a river, not a canal with a towpath alongside the boat. It’s more about cruising from one little village to the next, places that have more pubs than people. It’s all families in the pubs, kids and grandma, the whole gang. So it’s great for family cruising. It’s just charming.”
Ireland itineraries that Le Boat promotes for weeklong cruising north or south of Shannon include 16 to 32 hours of cruising, which works out to a maximum of four and a half hours per day. Golf courses abound, as do parks and lakes that welcome dinghies full of eager anglers.
Petermann says river current is of minimal concern, as is wind, which I thought might be a challenge given the flat-bottom nature of the boats. The best months for cruising are April through October, and most boats take two to 12 people. Top speed is in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 miles per hour, a crawl even compared with most trawler yachts.
“It’s not about the speed,” Petermann says. “It’s about the place being so green and beautiful. The last time I was there, we drove from up top even when it was raining because we didn’t want to miss a thing.”
