Diving

I've decided that there is no point in letting a little cold get between me and one of my favourite hobbies, so I've decided to start diving in Ireland! Up until now, I've only dived in Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. All of these locations are all tropical or sub-tropical diving, so my 5mm one piece wet suit was more than adequate for my needs. However! Irish waters are another matter entirely...I've heard people comment on water temperatures that are measured in single figures....

Anyway! Best not to dwell on that just yet. I've decided to join a local Sub Aqua club called the Dalkey Sub Aqua Club, as they seem to be the best organised of the dive clubs near Blackrock. They are part of the CFT or Irish Underwater Council, which is the Irish equivalent of the BSAC. The idea is a club based system where the club owns at least one boat as well as a compressor, and is capable of training it's newer members. I'm expecting to 'cross over' to the CFT system as a 2 star CMAS diver, and looking forward to the opportunity to get a bit of training - my underwater navigation skills are laughable once the current picks up!

I'll also get the chance to use my new Apeks ATX 200 regs that I got myself for my birthday in December, which I'm really looking forward to! They were fairly spectacularly expensive, and I have two other big diving expenses coming up: a dry suit (a necessity if I'm really going to jump into 9 degree celsius water) and a strobe. One of the guys I dived with in New Zealand recently got a strobe for the same digital camera as mine, and the results are spectacular, and I must follow suit...

Looking forward to getting those regs wet!

Marty