Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately 35km from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and 10km wide at the entrance.Bantry Inshore Search & Rescue Association provides an emergency lifeboat service to the Bantry Harbour community. Equipped with a high speed rescue RIB BISRA is a declared resource of the Irish Coastguard.Geographic featuresThe bay is a deep and large natural bay, with one of the longest inlets in southwest Ireland, bordered on the north by Beara Peninsula, which separates Bantry Bay from Kenmare Bay. The southern boundary is Sheep's Head Peninsula, separating Bantry Bay from Dunmanus Bay. The main islands in the bay are Bere Island and Whiddy Island. Bere Island is located near the entrance to the bay on the north side of the island is Berehaven Harbour and Castletown Bearhaven port. The town of Rerrin is the largest settlement on the island. The village of Ballynakilla is also located there. Whiddy Island is at the head of the bay near the south shore. It is the main petroleum terminus for Ireland, the harbour ideally suited for large oceangoing tankers. ConocoPhillips now maintains a Single Point Mooring at the Whiddy Island oil terminal. Bantry Bay was featured during a famous Gulf Oil commercial showing the supertanker "Universe Kuwait" that aired during Apollo space coverage in 1971