2011.09.17 17:01:46

We need everyones help to have another succesful recruitment drive for the 2012 season. We are looking for volunteers to help out with the Try-a-Dive night. The 1st night will be October 11th, at 7:30PM in UL Arena. We will have members at the front door to meet and great anyone with questions. Anyone that wants further info or who wants to try out SCUBA in the 50m pool is welcome to come along.  Please pass the word to friends and co-workers - and anyone else that might have an interest!

 

From Drop Box

2011.03.28 03:15:53

One if by land, Two if by Sea, 3 for Portroe Quarry

I was never gonna be able to call this blog Paul Revere's ride. The reference to the famous American Hero who in-famously warned John Hancock and Samuel Adams (of the big signature and noble pilsner) of British troop movements before the battles of Lexigton and Concord was apt though. If you stay with me I will tie this all together I promise.  You may or may not know the phrase One if by Land, Two if by Sea, taken from that same famous ride. Well back in 1775 they apparently had no phones for texting and they had to send messenger by horseback to put a lantern in the steeple - I cant imagine what the "mobile bill" was for a message like that.  Luckily for us, we can manage with a few calls/texts on a Saturday to figure out where our LSAC members are going to be diving on Sunday.

Well our Sons of Liberty were spread all over the country - from Portroe to Kilkee and beyond the Loop Head. For my part I will blog about my first club dive of the year, and I hope that Brian O'Leary can add something about Portroe and maybe John Breen can manage a few words about the Tea Party that went to Bridges of Ross.

Our plan was simple enough - meet at Kilkee slipway for 11am sharp, dressed and ready to go. But this was complicated by the clocks spriging forward at midnightish (another Ride reference). I can explain my dilemma with reference to my Facebook status Saturday night...

"I have to be somewhere in the morning at 11 sharp. Add in travel time, now i need to set my alarm for 8. Do i set if for 7, knowing that it will be 8, or will my phone know to change the time? I better get up an hour early and check my phone. So If i set my alarm for 6... wait, that would be 5am right? Im only going to the beach - its only 90 mins drive. Ill be like 4 hours early. Ah man im not gonna sleep tonite."

In the end we were an hour early - which isn't too bad - better early than late I always say.  We met up with the good guys/gals from Aughinish SAC to avail of a few free spots on their boat (our trailer is in for repair I hear). A huge Thank You to Kevan, Martin, Aude and Christoph (and the others) for making us feel very welcome.  They were heading out to the Pinnacle for a handy one - and they even had a dry cox! Kevan organized the dive pairs - but he must have made a mistake as he ended up with me - I'm not complaining though - always great to have an expert lead the way. Kevan had depth on his mind so I did my best to mind by air intake (thanks Peter - I think your breathing lecture paid off...) as I was on Full Face Mask. I tried to stay a little above my buddy so I could conserve air, but when we approached 38 I had to stick the arm down so I wouldnt be outdone by anyone in Portroe.

It was all over faster than I liked, but Im sure we did a full circle of the Pinnacle cause I think we past two rebreathers at least once or twice. Never ran into Dave Keane or Bill Sullivan - but Im told they had a decent dive to 22m for Bills first dive with the club, welcome and hope to dive with you again. Second dive was in Newfee for the Aughinish trainees and I offered to do dry cox as payback.  There were even a few snakes and shamrocks jellies on the boat, I hope Martin managed to get one.

Oh yeah - I bet all you dirty mided people thought there would be a big payoff at the end linking this all back to the famous Ride. Im a yank but im not stupid. Basck home in Washington DC when you drop off your spouse to the Metro there are signs to mark the designated spot for your car - Kiss N Ride. My visiting Irish cousins used to get a huge laugh our of that - and now I know why.

2010.07.15 14:41:47

You probably think this blog is about one of our trainees feeling very sick on the dive last night. It's not. It's nothing to do with the viz either. Its a blog about Johnny Cash. Cheesy? Yeah it probably is, but I'm a yank and that's how we roll.

Last night myself and Dave were in search of "The Cathedral" in Kilkee near Middle Rock.  Brian dropped us off at a 13m dropoff near Middle Rock and we followed this reef around to the SouthWest. Our first drop landed us at the mouth of a huge cave. This alone would have made it a great dive. Dave loosing his fin was also a highlight for me. He stubbornly tried to get it back on, but in the end accepted my help. It was funny watching him go in circles for a while.

As we followed the reef away from the cave to the SouthWest, Dave motioned to me. He made a sign for the arch and my heart leapt, that was exactly what we were after! It is a gorgeous natural formation and as beautiful as the picture on the left suggests. The picture is taken by Martin Kiely from Aughinish. He gave me permission to link to his album, you should take a look he is one good photographer! Check it out HERE.

When you swim through the arch you come across an enclosed area that resemples an auditorium. Kind of like something you might see in Athens, with bench's (reef walls) at the sides for spectators and an open air stage (sea floor) in the center. At the back of this room you have several holes that go back into the rock that are home to lobsters, Tom Pots, Wrasse, Spotted Gobi, crabs and other fish. The room seemed to house a lot of life, and all of it larger than normal size. WE did a tour of the room and came across a lobster bigger than any I had ever seen before. One claw from this lobby was much larger then my own hand, not that I got that close mind you, he looked like he could snip my air supply in one pinch.

We looked at each other after doing the first tour to see would we move on. After spending several dives this summer trying to find this spot, there was no swimming away from it. While we were there I counted a half dozen very large white sea fans and watched the starfish gorging on the mussles on the sea floor. I recon there was no life on the floor itself as that big lobster had cleared the place.

Now getting back to the Johnny Cash reference. It must have been country hour on the way home cause that was the tune on RTE1. Mid Week diving has to be my favorite time to dive. First of all its having to ditch work a little early to make the slip on time. Then its the dusk falling on the horizon as you finish up diving back to back, making everything more special to look at.  The trip home is usually different as you are trying to make it back before everyone at home is in bed...and maybe a light meal when you arrive starving.  I must have had a bit too much Nitrox in my mix cause I was singing Johnny Cash's song as I past through Lissycasey. If you ever get a chance to join us Mid Week - you won't regret it!

2010.04.28 09:42:07

Shore Dive Bridges and Doctors

I don't know about you but sometimes I actually prefer a shore dive.  You watch the weather and the tides and when both line up perfectly with your schedule, it's time to grab the gear and head for Kilkee. With no pressure of launching and recovering a boat, a shore dive can be a great way to ease back into the diving. 

Kilkee has a good few good spots.  Newfee is almost always available wether the tide is low or high. Its shallow and sheltered so any novice can take it on without anxeity. Doctors Rock and Myles Creek are more challenging and you be advised to get an experienced buddy to show you the way.  I was lucky to have Paul Doherty and Richard Roche around to show me the ropes recently.  We met in the carpark at Diamond Rocks Cafe about an hour before low tide. We planned to drop in about 15 mintues before the tide turned so we would be on the slack. Thanks to the two lads leading the way, we had no trouble navigating out to Doctors rock and safely back again.

 

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2010.04.20 21:45:19

From Drop Box

This past weekend John Underhill from Burren Sub Aqua organized a very succesful Rescue course.  I was lucky enough to get a spot on this course after a cancellation and I must say it was really great!  The weather was perfect and there was a fantastic turnout. The course was supported by many different clubs from the region - a big thank you to all involved.

 

As a newly qualified Club Diver I was always used to the basics, mind your gear, do your Buddy Check, follow your DO's advice.  Now I know a bit more of why you do a buddy check in the first place.  The course empasizes awareness, of yourself and your fellow divers, of your dive environment and the weather. Lectures were run by volunteers from the region and the rescue dives were supported by instructors from several different clubs, 1 instructor for each trainee. In order for an event like this to come off - there must have been a lot of hard work from all invovled - with 4 boats running and 4 shot lines in Kilkee Bay setup.  I'm looking forward to practicing the skills I learned down in Portroe Quarry in the near future.

2010.03.25 16:50:13

At this stage who hasn't heard that Portroe quarry is opening easter weekend?  We have been on pins and needles since the rumor first surfaced on boards that it might be opening.  It was on and off again for a while, but thankfully that's all over and it will be officially opened at the Easter weekend.

 

Having Ireland's first inland dive site so close should be a huge bonus for all the dive clubs in the area - so hopefully we can make the best of it. Anyone with any interest in a dive on Easter weekend can give me or Brian a shout and we will start planning something.

 

As the weather warms up I foresee a regular mid-week dive being planned there as well - let us know your thoughts if you have an interest in this kind of thing too!  Have a look at their website here: http://www.diveportroe.com/

2010.03.04 21:32:02

This week at University Limerick arena things got very dramatic during a routine scuba training routine.  Ciaran was taking our youngest trainee Richie through the paces of an emergency situation.  Richie was tasked with figuring out how to solve a serious underwater problem. How to swim to the bottom of the pool, find his reg and mask, put on the mask, clear it, then don his full scuba gear, BCD and bottle.  He was never coached, he wasn't even helped by his buddy. He was simply given a problem and asked to solve it.  I happened to be floating by with a camera and captured it all - here is the video, enjoy!

2010.03.02 09:42:34

Worlds End Snorkel

Last Sunday Limerick Sub Aqua club surprised me. I thought it would be a low key affair with just one trainee braving the 5 degree waters of the Shannon river running past Castleconnell. Johnny and I agreed to assist anyone that wanted to get in the water to complete their open water snorkel or test gear.  By the time Noon rolled around there were a dozen or so joining us.

The method of preparing for a snorkel so early in the season is different for everyone. Johnny has every piece of gear known to Ebay at his disposal from dry suits to electric rash vests. Paul Dave and I went for the traditional dry suit (although mine turned out to be not so dry).  I am more impressed by those that stuck to their guns and came out in Semi Drys.  Theresa had a novel idea. She arrived down to the shore with 2 litres of of what appeared to be the finest Avonmore milk...but in fact it was hot water destined for the back of her neck.  Im not sure how that strategy paid off but I must say I never heard her complain.

Twenty minutes was all that was needed for most of us. A few kicks against the current, a duck dive or two and we were out of there. Johnny and Paul went for a reccie with scuba while the rest of us recovered in Charco;s for hot soup and coffee. Looking forward to Dromore lake next week!

2010.02.25 12:36:51

Our DO Brian has completed the dive plan for this season. 

 

Message from Brian:

Anyone who wants to be added to Dive Roster : Please let me know.

Anyone who cannot commit to Rostered weekend’s need to let me know to make changes ASAP.

This Dive plan will be locked at the End of this week.

Anyone rostered DOD (Diver officer of the Day)after that timeframe will need to organize cover themselves.

All DOD's should download the Emergency Plan and use the Dive Logs from the Downlads section to plan their dive day. (Login required to view files)

 

Dive Locations are flexible and may change due to Weather or general Support for alternate location.

 

Dingle, Castlegregory, CaherDaniel, Oysterhaven, Lough Hyne are all alternate locations that may be selected.

Lough Hyne is a definite option that will be utilized in a period of sustained poor diving conditions.

I have deliberately kept Dive plan local due to weather, Cost of travel and dive travel number support.

 

Feedback is welcome.

2010.02.17 14:12:42

100th GODS outing El Hierro

Taken straight from an email from DR. Tom:

 

The pictures were taken during the 100th GODS outing in El Hierro. Ronnie sent you a blog some time ago so you know the story. The dive centre is in a village called La Restinga. It is small and almost over whelemed by lave which towers over part of it and walls it in on 3 sides. On the south side a small harbour shelters it from the sea. Diving was every thing I hoped it would be, lots of life and good vis. To take the photos I used a Fuji Film F40 fd. The diver in open water is I think Maeve Callinan, Colm OShea is the diver beside the rock. I took a shot of a brown Moray eel with white bindel cleaning shrimps, I did not see anything else until I got home and put it on my laptop. I then noted up to 12 Scorpion fish, "Madeira Rockfish". How many Rockfish can you count?

2010.02.02 18:26:12

Thanks to Ronnie our club archivist, there are some new pics uploaded to the History Albums, here are a few, check it out.

From 1965-1966

From 1974-1975a

From 1983-1984

2009.11.14 20:47:00

Just finished reading this fascinating book written by Mick Moriarty. In his book, Mick takes the reader on a journey through Irish scuba diving history as he saw it happening first hand.  There are chapters covering Spearfishing, Snorkeling, Commercial Diving and the formation of CFT.

This book should be required reading for all club members or anyone interested in the history of scuba diving in Ireland.  The stories that Mick chronicles in his book are very interesting and his description of events is vivid.

It wasn't untill I found diving for the first time that I realised I had awoken a long slumbering passion for everything underwater. In Micks first chapter he captures this moment that every first-time diver experiences:

Suddenly the world that I had known for 26 years, a world that ended at the surface of the water, was gone. I was in a new and strange place, bathed in a brown-gold light from the late afternoon sun. The slanting rays threw mysterious shadows along the bottom of the lake behind the bigger stones and the pillars that supported the ramp. I inspected the support pillars and then looked out towards the darkenss of the deeper water beyond.

I picked up a signed copy of this book back in May for our Movie Night at the Lakeside Hotel in Ballina.  I believe you can still get a copy of this book through CFT, more info is available at their website.

 

 

2009.11.13 15:06:10

Halloween has come and gone and The Christmas ads already on the radio and TV, the nights are getting longer and the chances to dive are getting fewer. Send your regs and bottles away for service and go looking for that funny shaped tube you hardly ever use...yah your snorkel that's right.

 

A great way to keep the cobwebs off your finning legs is to join us in the Pool on Tuesday nights at 9pm for some snorkel training.

 

Spread the word to freinds and co-workers too - we are recruiting again for new members - SCUBA classes are around the corner. Bring them down to the pool on Tuesday nights and look out for us - we should be easy to spot...the giant pool shoes are a dead giveaway.

 

 

2009.09.27 15:40:07

From Donegal Point

The army was in Kilkee this week for diving, but the sea wasn't cooperating and I hear they had to stay inside the bay.  With this in mind Johnny and Doctor Tom headed up to the coast to see if the weather had improved at all before they moved the boat out.  I was on my way up as well, but unfortunately ran into some turbo trouble.  Anyone have a good mechanic?

Johnny offered to DO for the weekend with Dr Tom and in the end they managed to get out to North Diamonds. Steve and John from Loch Derg joined them as a pair and Brian from LD joined John for the first dive. Dr Tom and Ken completed the group while Dave and Mike K. did coxwain.  The sea was a little rough and got a little worse as the day wore on, so Dave and Mike ended up back in the middle of the bay for their dive.

My afternoon went from my turbo pouring smoke all over the dual carriageway (the second thing I rescued from the smouldering wreck was my dive gear) to me having to take dictation from Johnny on how the dive went. Hopefully theres one or two more dives planned this month. Our DO promised good weather this week, so keep a lookout for the texts.

2009.09.21 15:03:25

September is a busy month on the sporting calendar. If you wanted to get a dive in this past Sunday you needed to be up early to beat the rush.  Kilkee slip was full of football fans, eager to get in a dive then rush back to watch the match. We needed to get the boat launched quickly, luckily we had a few volunteers from Lough Derg SAC to lend a shoulder. Thanks guys.  The Spring tide was rushing out so fast that another club nearly launched there boat on dry land - but luckily some bright spark caught the trailer winch at the last second.

The dive pairs were Ciaran and Richard, Doc Tom, Matt and myself and two members of Curragh SAC. The sea was not all that inviting, but we sought some shelter outside in Biraghty Mór. With three dive boats operating out of that small area, coxwains were kept busy trying to sort out which bubbles to follow and what SMB belonged to which pair. Once we got down a few meters the lumpy sea was quickly forgotten and a nice relaxing dive was had by all. When the last diver was collected we headed straight for home, conditions didn't suit dangling the legs over the sides of rib or even trying to drag out a few mackrels. Besides Ciaran was fairly green in the face after he came up - must have been the runny eggs he had for breakfast.

Back to the slip to unload the football fans quickly. The rest of us chilled out to watch the Kilkee Strand racing. Brian was on the way for the second dive and Matt was up for one too. I agreed to cox for them - once in that sea was enough for me. The second dive was out by Bishops Island, again seeking the shelter from the waves. Must have taken twenty minutes to get the boat to our destination, and another twenty back after the dive. Our shore marshal was even a little bit worried, but all was forgiven when we arrived back safe and well. Brian misplaced his dive computer at some point on the trip, so if anyone spots it give him a shout.

2009.09.15 16:42:39

Indian Summer

The weather gods shined on us last weekend sending a high pressure system that settled over Ireland delivering clear blue skys for days. Our DO reacted almost instantly, throwing together a new plan for the whole weekend for anyone that hadn't packed their dive gear up in the attic yet. Just when we thought the diving might be finished, this extension of summer was welcomed with huge relief as many of us hadn't been out in a month.

 

Wikipedia defines Indian Summer as "a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn". It goes on to say: The term "Indian summer" is used metaphorically to refer to a late blooming of something, often unexpectedly, or after it has lost relevance. This is comparable to the use of the term renaissance in the sense of "revival", but it carries the added connotation that the revival is temporary. (Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_summer>)

 

I for one hope this revival isn't temporary at all - and I hear another fine weekend is planned. We might not have the clear blue skies again, but a lack of rain and mild winds should mean the viz can only get better and we might just squeeze in a few more dives before we get back to the pool for next years training.

 

This past weekend a lot was going on. Cois Fharraige was all set to descend on Kilkee again and the mood was electric around the town. There was a huge blue tent erected on the way in, presumably where the festival goers with tickets were went to flock. But in these recessionary times it seems more people decided to buy a bag of cans and hang around the main street. It wasn't just tents that littered Kilkee for the weekend. Personally, sitting out on the dive boat at Goerge's Head was about as close as I needed to get to hear the music just fine thanks.

Read more...

2009.08.12 16:41:37

Newfoundout Kilkee

Now that the boat is out of commission (temporarily) it seems that the shore dive is the new thing. Last week, even before the boat started driving round in circles, myself and Roger threw our camping gear in the boot and headed down to Kilkee.  Friday evening a week ago was our first attempt at Newfoundout, or Newfee for short.  I wasn't expecting much to be honest since it was low tide and we would only get around 8 meters. We were so surprised by the amount of fish we encountered we headed back to Newfee 3 times since.

On different visits we were joined by Matt and Ken and also Magic and Frank. Each time, we parked up near Richard Harris' old house, The Billows, kitted up and walked down carefully.  Whenever it was high tide we were always competing with the legions of youth braving the diving boards.  They seemed to hardly notice us, or maybe they were afraid we might try to steal their place in line.  I was impressed with their bravery in front of the girls.  They seem to start at the lowest board, moving up to the higher one and eventually to the ground just above the top board. But the real action was up on the wall next to the road.  As we kitted up we could hear the young ladies coaxing the fellas to go for it.

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2009.07.26 13:46:59

From Free-Dive day off Georges

We never expected to get such an enormous response to our skin-diving event this week - but clearly there are some scuba divers out there unafraid to frolic in the water uninhibited. A group made up of divers from Aughinish, Ennis, Burren and Limerick SAC headed out to Georges Head in Kilkee this weekend without the usual dive gear. You might have thought this was some form of naked protest against the recession (the event was free after all), but actually it was all about free-diving.

The group met at Myles Creek Pub at 10am for a lecture on "Better Breathing for Divers" by Peter Walsh, assistant training officer from Limerick SAC. Peter is very knowledgeable on the subject of apnea and is a passionate free-diver. The lecture Peter designed covered the vital part CO2 plays when breathing efficiently. The highlight of the lecture was the state-of-the-art software he used on 3 lucky volunteers to test their breathing before and after they put his new techniques into practice.

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2009.05.10 20:56:17

Much thanks to Matt for providing DOD cover and leading the dive operation for the first time. Notice the picture below, Matt is all business. He did a great job and hopefully will take it on again. A big thanks to Paul and Toni for providing club diver support and coxwain as well. Special thanks to Johnny and Matt for helping UCC SAC out of bother in the afternoon - and congrats to Matt for getting his coxwain test out of it! We didn't find many golf balls in the end - but Maciej has promised some pics from beneath the waves. 

From Chimney Bay	Â
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2009.05.02 19:56:52

Weather was not looking good for the weekend but a few of us wanted to get wet no matter what. So we headed down on Saturday morning hoping for the best. Our hearts fell when we saw the waves crashing over Middle Rock and the rollers washing out Newfee.  Undaunted we decided to pair up and explore the bay and do an equipment check. Hoping next weekend turns out better weather-wise.

From Shore Dive Kilkee May BH 2009 Â

  From Shore Dive Kilkee May BH 2009

 

2008.12.13 13:37:20

Ive written a how to up in the help desk forum. Click here to read the post

2008.12.06 23:44:02

The idea behind the blog is for everyone in the club to share their diving/snorkeling adventures with other club members.  All members have their own personal blog space and are encouraged to post dive related stories.  Let everyone know what, who, when, where you went...maybe share the viz and weather. Tell us about the location, it's wildlife and how easy it is to get to.  Don't forget to visit the Gallery as well and post up some photo's, we have loads of space for it, might as well use it!