Cork Sub Aqua Club

On Sunday seven divers departed Oysterhaven in gorgeous autumn sunshine to dive the City of Chicago. Conditions were ideal and after descending to the shallow shipwreck below divers enjoyed a variety of activities including a subaquatic golf ball hunt and a spot of underwater juggling. For those looking for more orthodox enjoyment there was something for everyone with dogfish, crayfish, lobster and nudibranchs all making an appearance.

However, as was the case when we encountered basking sharks after diving the Bream Rock earlier in the summer, the dive was somewhat overshadowed by the appearance of a small sunfish half way back to Oysterhaven. There was some commotion on the boat and after a little “will we, won’t we” discussion several divers donned snorkel gear and went for a closer look. For his part, the sunfish was happy to stay near the surface and provide a few minutes of entertainment (and plenty of photo opportunities).

The second dive of the day was at Black Head where there are some nice rocky gullies. Conger eels, lobster, crayfish and friends were all present but for this diver the highlight of the day was the guest appearance by the sunfish.

A conger sticks his nose out from under a rock.

Almost a week before school kids all over Ireland begin their state exams, Wednesday night saw normal club diving take place amidst diver coxwain exams. The cork boat was full with divers, instructors and two of our own ‘L’ plate candidates undergoing their exam.

There were also two candidates from the UCC club. As they were good enough to bring another boat (and they needed divers to cover), Neil and I were lucky enough to hitch a ride to Black Head and dive from their boat.

My buddy was a little aprehensive as they had dived this site the week before and the feedback was less than spectacular. However, a week can be a long time in diving.

This fella is on the defensive.

This time we dropped in much closer to the headland and forty minutes underwater passed in what seemed like seconds. The terrain was nice, featuring some small gullies and we were kept entertained by several lobsters and a couple of conger eels for good measure.

To cap the evening off the UCC lads showed there coxwain credentials by providing sweets aplenty.

I’d like to thank the UCC lads for the boat trip and congratulate the candidates from both clubs , all of whom passed their exam.