Cork Sub Aqua Club

Nudibranchs are colourful molluscs, often seen in Irish waters. The attached photos are just a selection of several that I have taken over the last ten days or so. I really didn’t have the kind of lens ( a macro lens) that I would need to photograph the smaller ones, so these are just the bigger examples, nevertheless they are all 3 to 5 centimeters long, so still quite small. Nudibranchs are carnivores therefore you mainly find them on the sorts of furry grey bryzoans that carpet rocks and wrecks. You can also find them on kelp where they seem to feed on the furry white or lacy white growths that coat the fronds, rather than the kelp fronds themselves. Their eggs are often found in a spiral on the types of food that they prefer.

When to find them: Some of the larger ones like sea lemons can be seen in winter or early spring, and can be so large that they might be mistaken for a sponge unless you look closer. They become increasingly common in late spring, but for most of the really colourful ones in Irish waters the best time to see them is in summer and autumn.

The wind was too strong for us to go very far and with fairly fierce spring tides also narrowing down our options we kept pretty much to the north sides of Dursey Island and the bit between Dursey sound and Garnish island. The sea there was quite calm , no big waves, just some small choppy ones. Below five meters there was very good vizibility, and above it there were the small comb jellies and jellyfish and salps that you often get this time of year. You can sometimes find some big fauna there like dolphins, pilot whales, sunfish, and basking sharks, but not on this occasion. Probably still to earl in the year. Lots of fish and some crustaceans, like the spiney lobster, nudibranchs starting to get established, and colorful anenomies.
So it was a weekend for admiring the smaller critters, of if you preferred, and some of us did, for exploring the caverns and a tunnel through the north east corner of Dursey Island. These were relatively safe with openings overhead.

It was quite cold and the wind and very low tide made the morning task of loading the boat and negotiating a route out of the shallow and narrow harbour a bit tricky ( I put a tricky gap between the photos for the text to squeeze through as an illustration).

I didn’t make it down Saturday myself but it seems that the diving was similar to Sunday’s. There is a choice of three pubs in Allihes but only one shop. All the pubs have music and some of the more sensible and sober people stayed out until 2AM or so

Oysterhaven is a sea-inlet immediately east of Kinsale Harbour and is the usual spot from where Cork Sub Aqua Club goes diving. The Cuanmhara is moored here from April till the end of September. Having one of our 2 RIBs on the mooring facilitates not only our club diving on Wednesday evenings and on Sundays, but also on other days when club members want to go for a splash. Oysterhaven provides access to more than 20 different dive sites, a fine mixture of scenic and wreck dives. All of which are within reach in less than 45 minutes steaming. Although the average dive depth is 20 meter or less, there is plenty of opportunity to reach depths of 25 to 35 meter or even deeper. The wreck dives aside, I consider the Sovereign Islands, Reannies Point, Black Head, Bream Rock and the Lings as my favourites.

The big and the small Sovereign, home to a small seal family, are only a short boat spin away from the slip in Oysterhaven. The grotto in the small Sovereign would be the main attraction. We usually go in the water on the south side, and dive in easterly direction. There is always plenty of sea life along the wall and in the gullies en route to the grotto. The cracks inside the grotto are hideouts for lobsters and edible crabs. The opening at the end of the cave brings you to the other side of the island, where you can finish the dive in less than 6 meter of water.

The diving depth around the big Sovereign is between 12 and 17 meter. The nicest spot is to be found on the south side. On the left hand side of the gap, that divides the big Sovereign in two, lay the remains of the Dutch trawler “ The Nellie”, of which the anchor is on display at the Oysterhaven slip.

Reannies Point is located east from the Sovereigns, about 25 minutes motoring from Oysterhaven. We enter the water on the west side of the point, on the inside of the bay. Once in the water, you dive in southerly direction towards the point. The bottom is covered with big rocks that are creating a maze of amazing underwater scenery. During the summer certain parts of the dive site are overgrown with kelp, which creates nice swim troughs.

Black Head is in southwesterly direction, past the entrance of Kinsale Harbour, and is about 25 to 30 minutes of a spin depending on the sea state. The dive site is protected against the prevailing winds and against the westerly swells. At Black Head, you have plenty of choice as to where you could enter the water. Inside the bay, next to the cliff face the depth is about 10 meter. The profile slopes down through gullies and over rocks to about 20 meters. I prefer to get in the water at the point. You see the cave when you are facing Black Head and a cliff comes out further for about 20 meters. Get into the water in front of the cliff; work your way through the kelp on the left hand side of the rock, and a gully opens up in front of you. The gully is wide enough for one diver at the start, but will become a small maze of gullies with a sandy bottom.  Let the exploration begin: blennies, small lobsters, conger eels, lings, shrimps,plaice, only to name a few. I recommend diving this spot at dusk!

Bream Rock is only 10 minutes further down the “road” from Black Head. The Bream is located under the Kinsale Lighthouse (Old Head of Kinsale) and the reef runs in easterly direction to a depth of about 30 meters. You will find a big rock separated from the mainland, get in the water on the north side of the rock. You will drop in about 6 to 10 meters of water, dive east and you should find the Bream. The reef is covered with different types of anemones. Due to strong currents, there is an abundance of life here. The Bream is best dived at slack water and an SMB is a must.

The Ling Rock is a fantastic scenic dive, about 40 minutes throttling from Osyterhaven. The Lings are more a set of pinnacles that rise up from 70 meters to about 22 meters. As this dive site is “in the middle of the ocean”, you can expect plenty of sea life, with the usual suspects: lobster, crayfish, big pollock, etc and lings! During the season we often come across Basking Sharks. The Lings are best dived on slack water with fair weather.

Happy Diving!
(© Joost Vanmuysen 03/ 12)

What can you do on the first weekend in April? For all Cork Sub Aqua Club SCUBA Trainees and PADI Crossover candidates the answer is simple – get started with your Open Water Dives!

Classroom sessions were completed and the three open water snorkels but a memory. Pool work gave a chance to practice and master vital SCUBA diving techniques and then, at last, Saturday and Sunday provided the opportunity to practice and test those SCUBA skills in Oysterhaven’s sheltered waters. Oysterhaven may not be the major Cork dive destination but it does allow us the space to shore dive in almost all weather conditions. As it happened the weekend weather was more than kind to us. The usual April Irish water temperature was not as inviting but was bearable in short doses.

With many reminders and hints about everything from equalising to SMB deployment each group set off on several tours of the Oysterhaven seabed. Visibility was reported to be “massive” but that was before skills were demonstrated while circling several mooring buoys.

Brian Burke planned and oversaw the activities on the weekend and also managed to find the time and energy to lead/test trainees in the water. Declan O’ Grady, Dave Riordan, Kieran McAulliff, Dick Vaughan, and Andrew Kenny were on hand to instruct, supervise and test.

Congratulations to Leonard, Janet, Ronan, Jenny, Catriona, Ed, Vytas for successfully completing all their required Open Water SCUBA Dives. For all Cork Sub Aqua trainee Divers 2012 got off to a magical start last weekend. Many lesson were learned and a huge range of skills displayed. The superb competency from all trainees makes us look forward even more to the coming dive season.

While the diving season is still starting, Cork Sub Aqua divers are sharpening their skills in classrooms. Last weekend, 10th and 11th of March, four members of Cork SAC spent time in Blackwater SAC clubhouse attending “Extended Range” and “Diver First Responder” lectures.

“Extended Range” diving course teaches divers how to dive safely to depths of 50 meters. The theory part of the course covers dive planning, gas management, survival skills, equipment required to carry out deep dives and decompression. Before starting the open water dives, CSAC members Joost Vanmuysen and Declan Curtin will have to pass the theory exam. Next, during 4 shallow dives, in less than 30 meter, the candidates have to prove that they are competent in completing the open water drills of this technical diving course. And finally they will have to complete a dive to 50 meters with a minimum of 15 minutes of compulsary decompression. Course organizer, Stephane Portrait, suggested that we might go to a WWI  shipwreck “The Poolena”, a coal ship that sunk off the Waterford coastline

The course “Diver First Responder” teaches the necessary skills to provide life support to a casualty of a diving accident. DFR is a one day, skill development course and a pre-requisite to become a rescue diver. The first part of the course is spent practising CPR and AED skills on mannequins, and after the lunch, we continued with reviewing dive physics and physiology. This course was attended by Jessie Castle and Justas Poderys. CSAC instructor Declan O’Grady, who recently passed his Mon 3 theory exam, lectured the students on behalf of the Irish Underwater Council.

Good luck to Joost and Declan with their ER dives and let us welcome two new DFR divers – Jessie and Justas, who will make diving safer in the club with their up-to-date first-aid knowledge.

Spring was in the air.  A beautiful clear day and at last a bit of warmth in the sun.  What could be better than a snorkel to revitalise body and mind?  Of course, snorkels in mid February do not tend to be particularly memorable.  Usually the water is full of sediment stirred up by winter storms leaving visibility very poor (half a metre would be a miracle!).  The poor viz can make duck dives a bit of a challenge at times.

Well, it wasn’t like that today!  The weather has been calm for at least a week or so and the water was beautifully clear – around 8-10 metres visibility which is exceptional for this time of year.  As we headed out past the stacks to the east of the cove, the seabed was clearly visible way down below (I’d love to say there were dense shoals of fish darting around the coral heads, but that would be pushing it a bit!).

Back in the real world, the conditions were excellent with only a slight swell as we approached high tide.  Exploring a narrow channel we found a cave and had a look inside.  At the back of the cave the roof dipped below sea-level, but the sea was glowing a beautiful turquoise beyond as light penetrated through from the other side.  Decision time – return to open water the way we came, or duck dive through?  Sensible head won and we headed back.

Diving the Atlantic during the winter months is not always an option, so after a tiny bit of research, Guagán Barra came on the radar. When we read that there was a spot of around 30m, the decision was made to make a pilgrimage.

Guagán Barra, meaning “the rock of Barra” is the forestry area, where the river Lee rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of the county. At the base of the mountain, the Lee fills the Guagán Lake, from where the she carves herself a route eastwards through Cork City, and eventually empties into the sea at Cork Harbour, after a distance of approximately 50 km.

It was on the tiny island in the lake that St. Finbarr, patron saint of Cork, founded his early Christian monastery. Before moving down the river to establish a monastery at what is now St. Finbarrs Cathedral in Cork City.

Our first dive experience in the Lake was in December 2011, cold and windy. A passer-by walking her dog was wondering
what we were up to. With all the dive gear spread out on the ground, we had no other choice than to confess that we were going to dive the lake.  “Interesting!” she replied, “ be careful out there, the bottom is very boggy…” We decided to dive in front of the hotel, in the lee of the church to have protection against the westerly that was rather strong that morning. The first stretch of the dive was in less than 3 meters of water. The main vegetation was fresh waterweed and remains of tree roots. Once we past the church we found the old river bedding and a maximum depth of 8 meters. The water was crystal clear, brownish of colour and a majestical 8 degrees. When I checked the boggy bottom, I managed to put almost the full length of my arm straight down into it. We met the owner of the hotel while we were planning our second dive. He explained that the deeper part of the lake, at least 30 meter, was on the west side of the smaller island west of the church, the complete opposite side of where we dived. He also secretly said that there were big trout in the lake. For the second dive, we went in the water close to the entrance to the church and headed for the small island. Again, we could only find a maximum depth of 8 meters but this time there was a rocky bottom. Unsatisfied, we returned to Guagán Barra in January 2012 to continue our quest to find the deeper spot. This time we finned out all the way to the small island, before diving west. After a small stretch of rocky bottom, we arrived in the old river bedding that is meandering from west to east. From the deepest spot we found, we tried in vain all four directions. The maximum dive depth was 10 meter or about 30 feet. So, now, Declan C. and myself are convinced that our royal enthusiasm changed 30 feet into an imaginary 30-meter.

When I was writing all this down, I googled Guagán Barra Lake again and found: “Guágan Barra Lake lies in a rock basin carved out by the ice but nowhere does it reach depths greater than 12 meters.” 

(© Joost Vanmuysen 02/12)

Dive year 2011 was successful in many ways: Cork Sub Aqua managed to finance the expensive up keep of both our RIBs, trailers and our two oxygen kits, although the available resources were scares. And most importantly all club members can look back on a brilliant dive season.

Since 2008 the number of membership almost halved to 30 members in 2011. However last years total of 539 dives gave an average per member almost equivalent to the average of 2009, where the total amount of dives peaked to 900. Brian Burke, our Club Diving Officer, specifies that the clubs weekends away were always very well attended. Where numbers in
Oysterhaven for diving on Wednesdays and Sundays, largely depend on weather and circumstances.

The first bank holiday weekend away this year was to Dingle at Easter, with Parkmore Point and the Three Brothers as main attraction. Rays, dolphins and octopus were also spotted in Dingle Bay. We decided not to travel for the May weekend, as this was to soon after Easter and we received a kind invite from Inbher Sceine Club for their regional weekend in Cahersiveen, mid May. The diving here was that great that we had to return … soon. For the June bank holiday we wondered off to the boundaries of West Cork, the Allihies. Despite the windy conditions, that forced us to look for new dive sites, some members achieved seven dives in the four days that we were here. On July 8th 9th 10^th, Helen Buckley organized the regional weekend in Baltimore on behalf of Region South. The dives on offer were a mixture between scenic and wreck diving, with the dive to the Kowloon Bridge as main attraction. The great weekend had representation from five different sub aqua clubs: Cork, UCC, Ennis, Inbher Sceine (Killarney) and Aughnish (Limerick). For the first week of August we traveled back to Portmagee. Jim Murphy, the club’s secretary, organized a mooring for both the Humber and the Cuanmhara, which greatly reduced the workload on a daily basis. Although the weather conditions were sometimes appalling, the club got to dive in excess of a dozen dive sites: Skellig beag, Bray head, Cuis Diarmada, Coastguard patch, Lemontoughner Rock, Basalt cliffs, Oilean na Iasc, Puffin Island to name a few. To finish off our travels, we went back to Baltimore for the October weekend. Due to dreadful weather and heavy fog, diving was restricted to Lough Hyne. Some did up to six dives others took the opportunity to visit Sherkin Island. Nevertheless, the craic was mighty over the weekend as several diving clubs, such as our colleagues from Blackwater SAC, were also in Baltimore.

Closer to home, we also had very good diving with, on occasion, extreme good visibility. We all remember the dazzling dives on the Lings, Santo and Black Head. However, the recently rediscovered submarine UC42 was the main attraction for our diving out of Oysterhaven.

At this time of year, Cork SAC will start again with a new diving program for beginners. The pool sessions, were our club instructors will teach the basic scuba skills, and the theory lectures will be finished halfway March, so the new qualified divers are ready for the upcoming dive season. You can find more information about the course here. If you are interested, but still not sure if diving is something for you. You can give diving a go on 18^th January in the pool of Leisure World in Bishopstown at 7pm. Here you can try a dive, for free, under the supervision of experienced divers. You only have to bring swimming gear and a towel, Cork Sub Aqua Club will supply all the scuba gear.

See you there!

(JVM 01/12)

At the club´s AGM, on 7 November last, Jessie Castle was rewarded with the “Club Diver of the Year Award”, the infamous bell! Jessie started training with Cork Sub Aqua in January, together with Marc McGrath. At the end of the series of pool sessions, both demonstrated a high level of competence in performing the scuba and snorkel skills and passed the theory exam with flying colours.  Jessie continued eagerly, got more dive experience during the summer, engaged in a few challenging dives and took every opportunity to practice the practical skills for the club diver exam (CMAS ** diver). And to top it all off, she enrolled in the “ Nitrox Diver course”, one day of theory and one qualifying dive, that was completed on 10 December in Lough Hyne, Baltimore.

… so, let´s listen to Jessie’s side of the story.

What inspired you to take up diving?

It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time, as I have loved swimming, snorkeling and messing around in the water since I was a kid. I did a couple of trial dives in Crete last year and was determined to learn to dive after I got home.

Why did you join Cork Sub Aqua?

I wanted to learn to dive and was more interested in joining a club than doing a one-off course as I intended to keep diving during the year rather than to just get a qualification I could use on holiday. I also liked the idea of being in a club so that I would have the opportunity to dive with others more experienced than me. The social side of it is also good.

Is learning to dive hard?

I don’t think it’s hard to get the basics, and after that it’s all practice. I think you learn something on every dive.

What is the most difficult part of the scuba skills?

Your buoyancy on the first few dives in the open water can be tricky, especially if there is a surge. Learning to dive in a dry-suit also made the buoyancy a bit harder for me initially, but I don’t regret that decision at all!

Did you ever have a scary moment?

Not so far, although I did experience some claustrophobia on a dive where the visibility was poor, and that wasn’t much fun.

How was your first boat dive?

My first boat dive was in Lough Hyne and I loved it. I didn’t find it daunting at all, although getting back on to the boat was another story.

What was your most memorable dive to date?

It was definitely the dive at the Ling Rocks in September. The conditions were perfect and we could see the surface from 30m. The dives on the south side of Puffin Island during the August bank holiday week away were spectacular also.

How easy was it to buy/ find all your dive gear?

It was easy enough to find new gear, although there is a lot less second-hand gear available for women (i.e. in a small size). I bought some of my gear in the UK as there is a bigger choice and it worked out a lot cheaper.  And the instructors in the club are more than happy to give advice on what and what not to buy.

Do you think that diving is for everyone?

I think that probably anyone could learn to dive.  It doesn’t involve any skills that you would need to have in advance, as long as you are comfortable enough in the water. Not everyone might want to stick at it long term, but it’s worth finding out!

What are your diving plans for next year?

I’m hoping to get out regularly to dive with the club, and maybe to get some diving abroad if I can.

Again, congratulations …. And happy polishing!

(JVM Dec 11)