Spectacular weather conditions ensured our PADI Combined Deep & Nitrox Specialty weekend took place with aplomb. Our students got to grips with the use of enriched air nitrox and the exhileration of deep diving. The course culminated in a forty metre dive off Inis Barna on Sunday morning. Cillian Gray led the course while our adventurous students; Dan Forde, Joe Mc Dermott Roe and Conor Mc Carthy; sailed through with flying colours. Well done guys!
Combined Deep & Nitrox Specialty Students, Sunday 11th April
Scubadive West recently took delivery of brand new cylinders for use on our PADI Tec courses. We have already set dates for Tec 40 training, for which divers can use their existing equipment with just some slight modifications. We will supply Tec 40 students with dual outlet cylinders, stage cylinder and regulator, SMB and reel, and a two metre hose. All you need supply, in addition to your existing full set of standard dive gear, is a second regulator. How easy is that? Contact us on info@scubadivewest.com or call 095 43922 for more information.
Cillian with the brand new cylinders
You travelled in your droves to the west, for this the first bank holiday weekend of 2010. Diving conditions up until Sunday evening were very good, despite some inclement weather earlier in the week. Visibility averaged ten metres plus on all the dive sites visited since Friday morning. Particularly popular with visiting divers were Llechog Prahan; a submerged wall dropping from fourteen to thirty metres; and the mighty Julia T. Saturday saw our first Discover Scubadiving of 2010 take place, with four newcomers experiencing the magic of the underwater world.
Saturday morning on the 'Marlin'
Colourful anemone on Doonee Beacon Saturday afternoon, courtesy of Patrick Rooney
Dahlia Anemone, taken by Kieran Brady on Doonee Beacon
However, today is a different story altogether regarding the weather. Southerly winds are blowing strongly, and forced cancellation of Monday’s boat diving. We are lucky that southerly winds actually improve overall visibility on our dive sites and ensure that our private cove is still safe to shore dive in. Three intrepid divers opted to shore dive this morning, and will experience excellent visibility. Fortunately, weather conditions are set to improve as the week progresses, with next weekend looking very good for diving out West.
Below are some photos taken this morning from the dive centre.
The 'Offshore Diver' amidst a squall
Our cove is safe and protected, and vis is excellent for shore divers
Updates on this year’s SCUBAPRO Days continue to pour in. Taking place on June 19 & 20th at Scubadive West, SCUBAPRO Day’s is Ireland’s largest dive festival. PADI has confirmed their attendance at this year’s event, and will be running their Equipment Specialty free of charge throughout the weekend.
Last Year's SCUBAPRO Days
The official Irish launch of PADI’s Tec courses will also take place on the weekend. PADI representatives will be on hand to talk through these courses, and we also plan to run Discover Tec throughout the weekend for interested divers. SCUBAPRO plans to officially launch their range of technical diving gear on the weekend, so there is something for everyone.
People, this event is going to be huge, and all of the above activities will be FREE of CHARGE!
There will also be some fantastic bargains on SCUBAPRO UWATEC gear available on the weekend.
Mark Evans, editor of ‘Sport Diver’ magazine, is a devotee of Connemara and the exceptional diving on offer here. In May 2009, Mark visited Scubadive West with his friend Paul and undertook an Island Dive Trip aboard the luxury dive catamaran, the ‘Brazen Hussy’. Mark spent almost a week with us at the time, and undertook our Streamstown Drift Dive and some inshore boat diving also. The trip from the UK was made in a brand new Landrover Discovery, courtesy of Landrover and so began the boys’ road trip! We have made available in PDF format a copy of part one of this feature; the visit was detailed in the March and April issues of Sport Diver. We hope you enjoy the read. A slice of the action can be yours with a Scubadive West Island Dive Safari in 2010.
Click on the Sport Diver icon below for a copy of this article.
Please be advised that the file size is very large, and may take some time to download.
Sport Diver Magazine
Courses News, News | admin April 12, 2010 | 
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