Snorkelling

Cork Skate

Does anyone know any good Snorkelling spots in Ireland? And what are you likely to see?

drunkmonkey

i'd love to know this 2....

techdiver

I've gone snorkeling in Caherdaniel, Kerry before and it was amazing. Great visibility and lots of life.

Here are some pictures from the cove bar - http://www.yournitelife.com/VenuePage.aspx?VenueId=10

I've also recently went snorkeling in Silver Strand, Wicklow and it was also quite good. Not on par with Caherdaniel, but still fun.

I would also like to know other good spots especially around the Dublin/Wicklow area.

Quadsey

I'd say you might get a better responce if you asked on the 'scuba diving' forum as i'd imaine they'd have a beer knowledge of that sort of stuff.

drunkmonkey

techdiver wrote: »

I've gone snorkeling in Caherdaniel, Kerry before and it was amazing. Great visibility and lots of life.

Here are some pictures from the cove bar - http://www.yournitelife.com/VenuePage.aspx?VenueId=10

that bar & beach look cool, can you recommend any where to stay near by....

techdiver

drunkmonkey wrote: »

that bar & beach look cool, can you recommend any where to stay near by....

We stayed in some self accomodation just up the road. I can't quite remember the name. There is also the Derrynane Hotel - http://www.derrynane.com/

Cork Skate

Quadsey wrote: »

I'd say you might get a better responce if you asked on the 'scuba diving' forum as i'd imaine they'd have a beer knowledge of that sort of stuff.

Can a mod move this i wonder? TacT, are you still a Mod?

markhboyd

Surely snorkelling isn't an exteme sport no?

fmcc

depends on your depth and time underwater snorkellers may dive down a few metres or stay on the surface. freedivers may want to go deeper attached to a line and thats where it gets more extreme maybe its all a matter of opinion. Don't think either is extreme imho if done correctly. Anywhere you can get safley in and out of the water on the west coast is worth a shot, you should see wrasse,pollock, crabs etc and who knows what else.

Cork Skate

fmcc wrote: »

depends on your depth and time underwater snorkellers may dive down a few metres or stay on the surface.

Stay near the surface for a while for me anyway. Diving to about 4-5 metres but just getting the hang of it (not a strong swimmer). I have been in water about 20 metres and saw loads. Anymore and its too far away i'd say.

Is there any good website that would show you what fish are in which type of waters etc.?

drunkmonkey

markhboyd wrote: »

Surely snorkelling isn't an exteme sport no?

depends on how hungry the fish is, I swam with one of these bad boys...

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/12/27/WhaleShark_wideweb__470x296,0.jpg

harmless but extreme...

seadeuce

Yes, swimming with whalesharks is a lovely experience. Finally did that last year.

Snorkelling is only extreme when you die.

If you do decide to use a weightbelt, be sure you weight yourself properly (i.e. be positively buoyant above 5m) that way you won't end up in Davy Jones'

Never hyperventilate before taking that final breath to submerge. You may make it down, but not back up.

Ideally you should snorkel in a twosome. One on the surface, one below. Alternating. The reasons should be obvious.

Of course if two whalesharks come along ....



Seadeuce

Cork Skate

seadeuce wrote: »

Never hyperventilate before taking that final breath to submerge. You may make it down, but not back up.

Do you mean not to take a series of deep breaths yeah?

I relax till i am ready to dive, take a deep breath and go for it. That is alright i'd imagine

fmcc

deep slow breaths skate is cool and the gang, hyperventilating is quick shallow breaths and blows off a lot of co2 which is what triggers your urge to breath not low o2. When we hyperventilate we blow off too much co2 and trick our brains responses. You may well stay under longer but the likelyhood that you have a blackout is greatly increased.
Try and have a minimum of double on the surface what your dive was. ie dive for 30 secs don;t dive again for a MINIMUM of 1 minute but ideally leave it more. As you progress your body will get used to higher levels of co2 and you will be able to stay down longer. You will find that the body also develops a dive reflex so if you start finding your arms and legs going colder and your busting for a pee its a good sign.
If you get really into it do a course well worth the money.
PS just pee in the suit we all do it and any one says otherwise is lying.

fmcc

Cork Skate wrote: »

Is there any good website that would show you what fish are in which type of waters etc.?

Not saying its good but I have started a blog about the ocean and some of the challenges its facing. if you go to the first video at the top it should run a vid I was using last year for snorkel lessons but wont be doing any this year but the pictures and video in it should give you a good idea of what your likely to see.

http://irelandsocean.blogspot.com/