Diving in Ireland

Scarinae

I was in Honduras for the summer and while I was there I did my Open Water and my Advanced... I absolutely loved the diving and am keen to do some more, but I'm aware that diving in Ireland is going to be quite different in terms of temperature and visibility in particular! The water I learned in was very warm, so even though I have a 3mm wetsuit I didn't need to use it but could just dive in my bikini, also the water was very clear so we often had visibility of 25-30m. My question is, do I need to get cold water training or anything like that to get accustomised? And if so, where is that available? Also, how much is it usually to hire wetsuits (I'm guessing my 3mm won't be enough for here!) and would I be better off maybe hiring once or twice and then just buying my own. I am in Trinity and I've heard there's a Sub Aqua club but I don't know anything about what sort of things they offer, I'll have to contact them once term has started again but if anyone knows anything about the club I'd love to hear from you (chances are I'm missing Freshers week, which is a shame cos it'd be the best time to fire questions at them)
For anyone who has experience in both Irish diving and tropical diving, what other differences should I expect while diving here? And what sort of sites would be most interesting? I've heard there's some good wreck sites around the place and I wouldn't mind trying more of this because I did a wreck dive at the site of a crashed aeroplane in Honduras and it was awesome! Any information anyone could give me would be much appreciated. Thanks!

sdep

The TCD club is a BSAC club, but takes people who have trained with other agencies.

Each October, there are up to 32 places for beginners and 16 for PADI open water / advanced open water divers.

Sign up is usually on the Monday after Freshers' week, so if you're not going to be around, then contact the club to let them know you're interested in joining.

Pool training and lectures take place over winter and the first open water diving takes place in March in Galway. The water is around 8 degrees then, so you'll want a well-fitting 7mm 2-piece semi-dry - around 300 new, less with club discount, much less 2nd hand - or a drysuit if you're already sold on Irish diving.

After that, the club goes diving in Dublin Bay and around the country from April to October. Club diving is a mix of shipwrecks and reefs, and visibility varies between a metre on the worst days in Dublin Bay to 30m+ in the North and West. Temp varies between about 8 degrees and about 16 in late summer.

Details of fees, courses, diving, contacts etc are on the club website at:
http://www.subaqua.tcdlife.ie/

smcmullan

TCD Freshers week is on this week and DUSAC have their stand there today, tomorrow and Thurs.

Signup is next Monday (bring proof that you were at TCD, your dive quals and your cash/cheque) and its pretty much go-go from there. There's lectures and pool sessions and a trip to St. Johns Point in Donegal scheduled for divers crossing in from other agencies and an excellent way to transfer skills learnt abroad to Irish waters.

The post above was spot on except in one regard. Crossovers can be any grade. I came in with PADI Rescue and TDI Advanced Nitrox training. The club can handle divers crossing in from novices to Trimix rebreather and everything in between.

Cheers, Stephen

sdep

According to the website, DUSAC sign-up is Monday 8th October at 7pm in the conference room in the new TCD sports centre.

There are usually 32 places for beginners and 16 places for 1* divers (e.g. PADI OW, adv OW, BSAC OW). DUSAC have taken on more 1* divers in January, but not always.

New divers do a 2-term course of pool sessions and lectures. 1* divers join in for aspects specific to the BSAC system and rescue skills, and as mentioned, get to go diving in Donegal in Nov.

I forgot to say - thanks Stephen - that 2* divers (e.g. BSAC Sports Diver, PADI rescue diver) or higher aren't usually limited for places, though should check with the diving officer to find the BSAC level their qualification equates to, and whether they need attend any lectures or pool sessions.

A big difference between club and dive centre diving is the club emphasis on training in the surface side of diving - boat driving, radio use, chartwork, oxygen first aid, dive and rescue planning, gas blending, instructing etc. This may not be for everyone, but for many it makes club diving great fun and very rewarding.

Stephen