North Eastern Atlantic

West of Connemara the Atlantic stretches beyond a coast of rocky headlands, islands and deeply indented bays. The Aran Islands guard the entrance to Galway Bay to the southeast, while the shores farther north open toward the waters off Mayo. Ships leaving the shelter of these bays enter an exposed ocean where wind and swell can rise quickly. The same waters carried fishing boats along the coast and merchant vessels between Galway and ports across the Atlantic approaches to western Europe.