Dublin, Dalkay - A Rocking Weekend!

by Bill Quinn

U2 were playing a series of gigs in Dublin. I was lucky enough to get tickets for their first gig on Friday the 24th of June. I was even more lucky that my wife wanted to see her sister in Galway on the Saturday, leaving me with a free day. Hmm what could I do?

A quick scour of the internet left me with a couple, quiet literally, of dive companies in Dublin. So I started to ring around. The majority had answer machines on. One said "yes we have diving. Boat leaves at 7.30am; so check in 6.30am!"

Forget it, this is meant to be fun, a holiday. Then I came across Oceandivers . The phone was answered by Woody. My gut said this was the company to use. I decided to book, couldn't get through on the phone so I sent an e-mail. By the following lunch time, still no reply to e-mail so I called. Got Woody who apologised for not replying to e-mail but I was booked on the Saturday, no deposit required. Woody was also very apologetic that no Nitrox was available, they are working on it.

Next, kit. I prefer diving in my own kit. I believe it is safer, as I know my way around it. Also, not knowing Oceandivers I didn't know how good (or bad) their rental kit would be. Two boat dives with Oceandivers would be 60 euros, about £ 40. With full kit rental 85 euros, about £ 56.

I was flying Ryanair to Dublin, so time to find out how easy it would be to fly with my own gear. First criticism of Ryanair (and other low cost carriers), the tickets were very expensive compared to normal. I think this was because they hiked the prices up for the U2 weekend. I have noticed this before with other major gigs and sporting events; still, supply and demand that is how they make their money. Second criticism is Ryanair's weight allowance. 15 Kg in the hold (as opposed to the usual 20Kg) and 10Kg as hand luggage (subject to bag size), per person. So with my wife and I this was 30Kg in the hold and 20Kg as hand luggage, not enough, even though we were travelling light (short weekend). Rang Ryanair (premium rate number). Very easy and very efficient. £ 17 each way, and then I was told I could bring a tank so long as it was empty. Gave me an extra 32Kg! Minutes later an e-mail confirmation comes through. However, the e-mail confirmation does not say sports allowance, you have to do the sums and see that an extra £ 34 was added.

In the back of my head, to hire cylinder and weights from Oceandivers was nearly as expensive as hiring full kit. As I packed, I calculated I had enough spare weight for a tank. Should I? Why not put Ryanair to the test? 15 litre tank emptied and packed and 12Kg of lead added for good measure!

So, came to check in at Bristol airport. Easy was not the word. Checked in in 5 minutes flat. Tank was brought to oversized baggage where I proved that the tank was empty and then it was all on the way. I nearly keeled over. This is the third time flying scuba gear and by a long way it was the easiest. Well done Ryanair. But, I was nervous, Bristol is a regional airport and I was expecting it to be easy (although not as easy as this), Dublin has gone security mad (no complaints there), so would there be problems on the way back?

Got to Dublin and all the bags came through really quickly. So outward flight was easy, quick, simple and painless (despite a really rude flight attendant called Patrick).

U2 gig was fantastic despite the best attempts of the weather to dampen people's spirits. U2 played the best part of 3 hours and it was amazing. I'm not a U2 fan, but I have seen them numerous times and they always do a good show. If you have the time (and money) go and see them. Still I digress this is not a concert review…

So, why Dublin? Well I'm a born and bred Dubliner (despite being in England 15 years). I've spent over half of my life looking at this bay and sailing on it. So, I had to dive at least once in my home town. Research said to me it would be ok but no where near as good as Donegal, West of Ireland or Baltimore. Also, a member of my dive club (Severnside), said he had dived in Dublin and it wasn't great. This was probably a few years ago. I was also concerned because in my early days the Dublin sewage was dumped more or less into the bay, happy memories of sailing dinghies (if you capsize keep your mouth shut). So expectations weren't high.

So, check in with Oceandivers was 9.30. I arrived at 9 am. Very easy to find, good map on there website. My tip is follow signs for the car ferry and as you turn off the main road turn sharp left. Keep going straight. No clear sign that this is Oceandivers, but at the end of the road there is a sharp bend with the car park on the left. I saw the Oceandivers van so knew I was in the right place.

Parked up and introduced myself. Was met with a very warm welcome by Woody. Who yet again apologised for no Nitrox. I was settled in and the morning dive was explained clearly as to what was going on. My gut was saying good choice.

Diving and two air fills should have been 71 euros but Woody reduced this to 69 euros, about £ 44. No medical was required, or log book. My word that I dived in cold water and recently was enough. But my qualification was checked. I also didn't have to sign a liability release form.

I kitted up and was ready to go. Parking was wonderfully Irish! Beside Oceandivers the car park was free (run by the council) but by the slipway the parking was pay and display (run by the harbour authority). Parking was about £ 4 for the day so not much.

The boat was a twin engined rib, 115 horsepower each side, catermaran, so quiet big. In all there were 16 divers, which was a bit cramped but not too uncomfortable. Most of the divers were doing a peak performance buoyancy drill for their PADI Advanced Open Water. The majority were also in wetsuits. I was buddyed up with Sean Bellamy who was a nice guy, PADI Advanced Open Water. Had a good pre-dive chat and I felt comfortable with him. It was agreed that I would lead as I had a camera. That way if I missed something he could holler (well rattle or point torch) at me and point out what I missed.

So dive one was at the Muglins. This island is adjacent to Dalkey island, which lies at the Southern end of Dublin bay about 1 Km from the shore and about 6 Kms from Dun Laoghaire (where Oceandivers are based). It is a tiny island about 100 metres long. The conditions out were rough, I estimated a force 3 gusting 4 but Woody said higher (and to be fair he was probably right).

On arrival at The Muglins a clear dive briefing was given by Woody. Especially concerning the tides. I had read about these already, but in a nut shell you have to be extremely careful here as the tides are strong. Woody clearly explained how the tide came into the bay and split around the Muglins. So stay close to it and if you feel caught in it swim back (if you can), otherwise DSMB and surface.

Backward roll in and my camera was handed to me. We descended to 22 metres where I was stunned by the landscape. This really looked like something from another planet, something I wasn't expecting. Loads of dead men fingers about. In fact it was nigh on impossible to settle on the bottom and sort yourself out without hitting one (which is something I wouldn't want to do and buoyancy control was essential). We headed off just drifting along. Every once in a while you needed to propel yourself but a gentle push on a rock with your finger was enough to get you going. It was incredibly scenic down here, not much fish but plenty of dead mens fingers, anemones and star fish. Sean was a good buddy staying where I could see him but not in my face. My only criticism was that whenever I was trying to take a picture he would shine the torch on what I was taking a picture of. Something, which I guess I would have been inclined to do if I wasn't a photographer! Getting into the dive there were some lovely crabs just hiding nicely in the crevices. At about 17 metres you could really feel the swell. After about 35 minutes dive was over. I went in with 200 bar and came out with 100 bar. It was a very pleasant dive but the currents and swell was something else. We needed to do a bit of a surface swim back to the boat as we were a bit too close to the rocks. Water temperature was a pleasant 13 degrees Celsius.

Once back on the boat, Woody greeted us with hot ribena (a pleasant change from tea or coffee; especially as I don't drink either of them). Once all the divers were on board we headed back to Oceandivers. People on board were in various states of green as it was rough!

My only criticism of Oceandivers for the day was that it was a bit chaotic back at their base during the change over. I had to ask 4 people to fill my cylinder (eventually standing beside the pumper till he did it). There seemed to be a bias towards sorting out the trainees. I wasn't even told that the dive was back off the slipway we had just come from, but I figured it out.

Dive two we weren't coxed by Woody, it was somebody else who didn't introduce themselves. Things were not as slick as they were in the morning. Buddy pairs only been decided at the last minute. But it worked. This time there were 11 divers in the boat and the boat felt like a limo. 16 was too many but 11 it felt empty!

I won't name the person who I was paired up with for reasons which will become apparent. They were PADI Open Water with about 20 dives logged. Not as friendly as Sean, and I didn't get the same feeling of being comfortable as I did with Sean. This however is one of the joys of being a single diver sometimes you are the most experienced and sometimes you are not. I was getting worried when the conversation started "Nothing changed on my kit", then a few minutes later "Oh I got a new mask so I'm just seeing what it is like" then "I'm going to leave my gloves behind just want to see what it is like" then "I got a new hood not sure how well it fits" and it went on.

This time we were diving out the back of Dalkey island. More or less on high tide and this was the highest tide of the year. The cox was concerned about where to put us in, changing the position more than once. Eventually we kitted up and rolled in. I left my camera on shore, as on the last dive I wasn't comfortable with it. It was a new (secondhand) camera that was bulky and in the tide and current was awkward just need to be more familiar with it.

We descended to 15 metres where we spent most of the dive. The scenery was different but bore a resemblance to The Muglins. This dive was hard work, the current kept on changing direction (quiet quickly too). I was navigating and trying to keep an eye on person X. My buddy kept on vanishing on more than one occasion I had to do 2 or 3 360 degrees before I found them. Person X was also making me sea sick going up and down like a yo yo. The third time I lost them, I did a couple of 360s and couldn't find them. As per the briefing, I was reaching for my DSMB to ascend when suddenly they appeared.

We carried on the dive. It was 13 degrees like the first dive and the visibility was the same at about 7 metres. It was very different. Lovely lobsters, big lobsters which SCUBA divers are not allowed to lift in Ireland. I also saw my first ever prawn so I was happy. I was disappointed that I didn't bring my camera as there were more photo opportunities but hey Murphy's law was at it again.

About 29 minutes into the dive I caught the sight of my buddy rocket upwards from 15 metres. Buoyancy control gone again. Watching my computer I slowly ascended towards them. When they appeared to be in control they started to descend. I would guess they went from 15 metres to about 6. I signalled enough is enough and I was calling the dive; I was both fed up with this but I was also concerned for them. Despite getting an OK from them, my buddy proceeded to sink past me at 10 metres.

Eventually we re-grouped at six metres where not only did I do a 3 minute safety stop, I increased it to 5 minutes to allow for this yo yo. I even managed to impress myself with my navigation surfaced exactly where we descended, wow! Back onto the boat, but someone forgot the ribena… It was a good dive, an interesting dive, but I was less than happy with my buddy.

On the way back to the harbour, I was listening to them talking to a trainee. I would have like to have been on their dive, sounded really interesting, was completely different to mine. In fact it sounded like as if they were in the tropics…

Overall an excellent day. Very enjoyable. I thought Dublin bay would be a place I would say been there seen that wore the t-shirt, won't go back. Not only will I go back (already looking at August), but I would also highly recommend Oceandivers. Excellent organisation, thanks for an enjoyable day.

As for the sewage? Well thankfully Dublin Corporation has built a new pipe which dumps it much further out. Speaking to divers the following day this has helped visibility in the bay and has also restored wildlife considerably over the last few years. It might also explain the blue flag I saw at one beach close to Dun Laoghaire. So not a problem.

Right next challenge, Dublin Airport. As I would be coming back to dive Dublin I left my lead behind but this still left my tank. Security is tight and they do advise to leave at least one and a half hours to check in (everybody's belts, shoes, etc. are x-rayed). Yet again a painless Ryanair check in. Tank brought to excess baggage where there were no problems and we were on our way. Back at Bristol luggage came through quickly. So top marks Ryanair (and the airlines handlers). Best service I have ever seen or heard about from booking to carrying Scuba gear.

As for my pictures. Well could do better, but for first outing with this camera and in the heavy swells and current I was happy with the results. Need work but a good start; judge for yourself!


Ireland Page