SHEEPHAVEN divers took full advantage last week’s glorious summer weather, with dives on Wednesday evening, Saturday and Sunday.
The Wednesday evening dive was an opportunity for newer club members to join the divers in a quick run around to Pat Mc Gee’s and snorkel a lovely swim-through at Dundonnell Head, in near perfect conditions.
While the snorkelers were in the water the divers completed a 40-minute dive during which they recovered a string of lobster pots that had been lost for several months.
Saturday’s diving was to Tory where the Kevin Boylan led dive party enjoyed two dives, the first on the wreck of HMS Wasp and the second at a location near Mermaids Rock on the eastern side of the island.
Weather conditions were much better than the previous week and this allowed for the dive on the Wasp, which contains a few remnants of the ship wreck, with the most significant being three of the muzzle loading cannons.
Water clarity was good, with some reduction due to growth of Phytoplankton recently due to water temperatures peaking at 18 degrees Celsius in the top metre of the water column.
The layering-off of the water column due to temperature differences is very noticeable at the moment, as the water temperature below at a metre or so can drop quite significantly, creating a risk of cold-water shock for the unwary when they plunge in for the first time.
Sunday’s weather was a moment for Mother Nature to remind us who is really in charge, with a thick blanket of fog rolling in from the sea and it required a bit of a rethink to the mornings dive plans.
Happily there was sufficient clearance in Portnablagh harbour for the new club members to practice the skill of getting into and out of a dive boat and with the expert assistance from Willie Sheridan and Eddie Mc Fadden, Ryan Ward was able to coach all involved.
After that all the snorkelers were taken by boat to Killyhoey Beach and they snorkelled back to Portnablagh at their own pace, with Ciara Corcoran on the helm of Dive Boat Deirdre throughout the morning.
As always these activities can only happen because established club members are willing to help, so especial thanks goes to all those who quietly fill bottles, collect fuel and help with trainees, their generously is very much appreciated indeed.
While the Sunday morning activities were underway in PortnbBlagh the club had another boat and crew involved in the Parade of Boats from Burtonport and around the islands, assisting in another worthwhile cause.
Finally to complete the weeks round up Eileen Coll tireless work for the club’s 50/50 Lottery has produced another lucky winner, well done Martina Doohan.
