Cork Sub Aqua Club

Okay, so enough talking, time to go diving!

The weather forecast is wrong as per usual and its actually a gorgeously crisp day with skies so azure blue it almost hurts to look at them.  It’s obviously time to get wet, and get the diving season started in earnest.  I meet Michiel a little early and we complete his fitness test – a new mandatory requirement from CFT – so we hit the water.  Swimming 100m out from Oysterhaven slip, a quick bracing duck dive and then a short tow whilst practicing EAR.  Finally back into the slip.  Michiel heads into to change while I get my camera a look for any signs of photogenic hermit crabs that sometimes may be found close inshore.  Not today, maybe next time.

By the time I give up Dave has towed down the new boat and elected himself to cox.  We all jump into helping prepare the boat and launch it, before sorting, assembling and loading our gear on board.  We elect to try a simple dive out in Newfoundland Bay (that’s “to the left and around a bit” in CSAC parlance).  It appears to be a good choice for as soon as we pull in to our determined dive site we see at least five seals watching curiously our every move.  The come quite close, even to within 15m and Michiel and I are increasingly hopeful of an underwater encounter with these majestical creatures.

Alas it was not to be, but we weren’t disappointed with what we saw.  A variety of different crab species from the tiniest of hermit crabs (I finally got that picture) to devellish looking velvet swimmers, to big bruisers of edible ones.  Anemones and other brightly coloured shells really made for a great first dive of the year…  Back to the slip to recover and tidy up the boat, new covers and all, before heading home for a well deserved hot chocolate.