By boat from Rathlin, or Ballycastle, Harbour. The site is ~50 metres NEE of Farganlack / ‘Lack’ Point (and approx. 50m SEE of Farganlack Point Pinnacles)
Rathlin Harbour has pontoons for around 40 boats, however berthing fees apply. Water and electricity are available on the pontoon but there is no reliable source of fuel. Public toilets are available in Church Bay between the Harbour and the pub, near the playground.
Ballycastle Marina provides sheltered pontoon berthing for vessels up to 20 metres. The harbour master should be contacted; Office No. 028 207 68525 Mobile Number 07803 505084. There are onshore facilities with showers, toilets, laundry with 24 hour pincode access and Wi-Fi.
Nearest tank filling is Aquaholics in Ballycastle or Portstewart (ring ahead)
- Strong tidal currents, eddies and overfalls occur all around Rathlin Island
The arches are found at off the sloping bedrock wall at approx. 25 to 35 metres.
The site supports a diversity of sponge species including Elephant’s hide sponge Pachymatisima johnstonia, Axinella infundibuliformis and the rarer Dercitus bucklandi.
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- 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.
- Ballycastle Marina: 028 2076 8525.
- When navigating within the harbour/marina, use VHF Channel 80.
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