| Welcome to the July edition of - The Deco Stop Newsletter. Hope you enjoy it. If you would like more information on anything you read here please contact us. If there is anything you would like to add to next months edition, please send it to deco stop@diveinnscuba.com |
Contents Certifications....Trips....Courses....Diver News Events....Shop...Holidays...Photos...Competition |
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Congratulations to all our recently qualified divers. You all did great and hope you enjoyed the courses as much as we did. Enjoy your qualification, you earned it.
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Those who completed courses
in May and June include:
Open Water: Alan Mooney, Alan Mooney Jnr, Declan Sherlock, Graham Arkins, Brian Crook, Aidan Crook, Mark O Neill, Lisa Cuthbert, Advanced Open Water: Rebecca Cooley, Sean Cross, Robert Earley, Specialities: Rebecca Cooley, Alan Mooney Jnr, Sean Cross, Alfie Brocklebank, Ken Mooney, John Brocklebank, Dan Ibrahim, |
Reviews - Waterford Dive Trip July 2008
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With Joe and I in Egypt, we sent
the gang down to Ardmore Dive Centre for our planned Waterford trip.
They did 4 boat dives in all and although conditions leading up to the
weekend were not great leading to reduced viz, they all had a great
time. They were well looked after by Pat and his team in Ardmore
and all have recommended him. He certainly offers good value boat
diving. For more details see
www.ardmorediving.com.
One of the more popular dives completed over the weekend was on a
barge-crane; a rather unusual wreck. Here's some info John has
found about it....
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Previews - Valentia Island, Kerry and South Donegal
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In
this section we look forward at some of the trips coming up shortly.
First of these is the August bank holiday trip to Valentia. Yes
it's a long drive, of God is it long! But is it worth it; I think so and
so do others. The following is taken from a review in the Undersea
Journal, distributed world-wide to PADI pros. "Not too far south west of valentia island lie 2 small, steep and rocky islands, famous for their thriving gannet and puffin populations and for an early Christian monastery that is also a UNESCO World Heritage site: The Skelligs. This is a renowned dive site that occasionally finds itself on a top 10 sites in the world list. If you have half a chance, this is the dive to make. It is totally weather dependant and demands local knowledge and preparation ( lots of tea and am sandwiches ) but for those with the good fortune to time it right and make the effort, the rewards are breathtaking...." If this has whet your appetite join us in Valentia the August bank holiday weekend. You must have the advanced cert and places are limited
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| While the Valentia trip is restricted to Advanced divers, the following one has something for all. On 8-10 August, we return to our firm favourite South Donegal, which offers some of the best shore diving for in the country. There is a sheltered, shallow site. If you have recently qualified as a diver, it is a perfect place for you and a buddy to venture out by yourselves; you just can't get lost here. It's also happens to be teaming with life, enough to keep anyone happy. pipefish are especially common here and other favourites include scurrying hermit crabs, hopping scallops and clown-faced Tom pot Blenny's. It gets even better at night! There's a deeper site nearby where even more fish are found. As the diving is from shore, it's cheap, relaxed and you decide when and how often you dive. |
List of dive opportunities next month
| Date | Location | Diving | |
| Wed 30 July | mid week evening dive at Skerries | shore | |
| Fri -Mon 1-4 Aug | Valentia Island, Kerry. Advanced divers only | boat | |
| Fri-Sun 8-10 Aug | St John's Point, South Donegal | shore | |
| Wed 13 Aug | mid week evening dive at Skerries | shore | |
| Fri-Sun 23-24 Aug | Coral Beach, Galway | shore | |
| Wed 27 Aug | mid week evening dive at Skerries | shore |
Reviews - Rescue Course, July 2008
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"I don't really want to do that
on holiday's, I reckon it'd be better to do at home and enjoy our
trip" Good last words right there. We parted with the idea of
taking our rescue course in the red sea and decided the homely
surroundings of Dive Inn Scuba were a more fitting environment, off
to Mulingar it was...
Although the
weather on the days was a little less than inviting I cant help but
think it added to the experience. I mean who wants to do a
"numpties" rescue course in the clear water and warm weather of
Egypt when you can get a much more true to life experience right on
your doorstep with people you can better trust to evaluate you?
After an initial
few trials and errors in the pool, along with a few rescuer becoming
resue-ee events and the odd punch in the face it was deemed time to
hit the lake. This is where the sneaky side of our mentors really
shone through. If I had to count the number of times we were caught
off guard I'd run out of fingers fairly quickly but again, it all
just adds to the course really; you cant exactly expect your victims
to tell you happens next and comply with you in reality. So over two
days of exercises and surprises our motley crew grew accustomed to
fatigue, disorientation, cramps, more fatigue, perhaps another cramp
and then finally relief. A sense that something had been completed
and more importantly, achieved. We all left this experience with the
belief that we had learned something practical and useful and a
feeling of greater confidence.
In short, while this
is quite a mentally and physically tiring course it more than makes
up for it. It's fun to do and gives you a sense of purpose. I'd
recommend it...seriously, you'll never be so happy to find a plastic
barrel filled with rocks at the bottom of a lake. John
Brocklebank
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Preview - Deep and Search & Recovery Specialities
| Are you ready to go Deep?
Get beyond 30 metres with the PADI Deep Speciality. Down there,
it's different. It takes additional training which includes more careful
dive planning, air management, suitable dive and emergency equipment,
greater buoyancy control and emergency procedures. The PADI Deep
diver limit is 40m, the maximum insured limit for any recreational
diver. And there is much to see below 30m, wrecks, deep walls here
and abroad.
The course involves home study, theory class, and 4 sea dives. It can be completed on selected trips in Ireland, such as Valentia (Aug) and Malinhead (Sept) or on one of our foreign holidays. The course also contributes towards the Master Scuba Diver Rating; the highest non-professional diver rating in the PADI system. |
| Something missing from your diving? Find it with the PADI Search & Recovery Speciality Course. It takes special training to organise successful underwater searches and then lift them safely to the surface. This Speciality gives you the knowledge and skills for underwater searches and recovery of heavy objects with lift bags, for recreational use. Candidates for this course must be Advanced Divers. The course involves home study, theory class and 4 sea dives which will be held over the weekend 23-24 August in Galway. The course also contributes towards the Master Scuba Diver Rating; the highest non-professional diver rating in the PADI system. |
List of courses opportunities next month
| Date | Course | |
| 26 - 27 July | Intensive Open water Course - theory and pool class | |
| 1 - 4 Aug | PADI Deep Diver Speciality | |
| 8 - 10 Aug | PADI Advanced and Adventure Diver | |
| 8 - 10 Aug | PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver | |
| 8 - 10 Aug | Open Water Course Dives | |
| 8 - 10 Aug | PADI Night Diver Speciality | |
| 16 - 17 Aug | Intensive Open Water Course - theory and pool dives | |
| 23 - 24 Aug | PADI Open Water sea dives | |
| 23 -24 Aug | PADI Adventure Diver Course | |
| 23 - 24 Aug | PADI Search & Recovery Specialty | |
| 23 - 24 Aug | Digital Underwater Photography Speciality | |
| 23 - 24 Aug | PADI Dry suit Diver Speciality |
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We are now open 3 evenings a week,
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening until 9pm. Air fills are
available on Thursday evening 6 - 8.30pm, have a free cup of coffee and
read a dive magazine while your tank fills. We also have a drop
and fill service for tanks if Thursday doesn't suit you.
We have Special offer on dry-suits now; 4mm compressed neoprene Procean dry-suits now on sale for € 700, and that includes a PADI Dry-suit Speciality. The course involves home study, theory and pool class and 2 sea dives, which can be conducted at most dive sites. We also offer made to measure dry-suits in both neoprene and membrane varieties. Further Specials will be added. |
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| Joe and Audrey spent a week in Hurghada, Egypt in early July, in preparation for next years trips. We took in a inspection tour of the Emperor live-aboard and even spent a day diving off one of the Silver boats, Asmaa. The Silver boats are considerably smaller than the Gold fleet, with a combined salon and dining area. They do accommodate fewer divers so some allowance can be made for the size difference. Where we felt they fell down badly was in terms of the cabins; although all are en-suite there is no shower tray. The bathrooms are just wet rooms and quite small at that. There is a significant price saving between the Silver and Gold fleet but given the availability of free Nitrox on the gold, this saving would be reduced. In out opinion, after you've gone gold, you wouldn't be satisfied with less, so that's what we'll be going for. We will be confirming dates and prices very shortly but it looks like the first week of February. We will also be introducing a savings scheme if you want to spread the payments of the trip over a few months. More details soon. |
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Malta This year's Malta trip is scheduled for the kids mid-term break so it could suit our dive families, Oct 28 - Nov 4, 2008. With Ryanair flying out 3 times a week, there is lots of flexibility. You can come for a week tue-tue, or a long weekend thu-sat or even tue-sat to suit the kids hols. The water temperature should be in the region of 23 C and the days sunny and warm. The diving is suitable for all with deep walls, wrecks and great fish life. We will be mostly shore diving but we have a couple of optional trips available including The famous Blue Hole in Gozo and a chance to dive with full size tuna! The cost for a week in self catering apartment, plus 6 dive pack will cost € 400. This also includes your choice of Wreck or Digital Photography Speciality. With flights priced from € 150, it makes a great value dive break. Contact the dive centre for more details and book ASAP for best rates. Egypt We will be returning to the Red Sea for our winter trip which will be from 30 Jan - 6 February ( fri - fri ) We will b going on a Northern route which will include the best wrecks and reefs in the area. Highlights include Thislegorm, Rosalie Moeller, Ras Mohammed marine Park, and Panorama Reef off Safaga. We have negotiated a group rate for the trip and are pleased to announce we will be on the MV Elite. This boat has been re-fitted and rated as a Platinum boat. Last year was good but this time, none of the rooms have bunk beds and all rooms have individual dvd players and other surprises. The liveaboard will cost you € 765 and for this you get up to 22 dives, full food and soft drinks, transfers and last night in a hotel in Hurghada. This group rate is only guaranteed until October 25. You can flights from London to Dublin for € 300, but you will require overnights before and after in London. bring a bottle of duty free and you don't have much else to spend. Contact the dive centre for more details and book your place ASAP. Brussels We return to Brussels for what has become our annual Christmas bash. We fly out early Saturday morning, go straight to the NEMO33 facility for 2 dives, then on into the city for sightseeing, and evening out on the town. We have most of Sunday for more sightseeing and shopping. A city famous for chocolates, waffles and beer has to be a good thing. There's also a traditional Christmas fest to look forward to. If you are not familiar with Nemo33, the world's deepest pool for scuba divers, have a look at www.nemo33.com. You book your flights with Ryanair ( as usual early booking for best price ) and then book the Hilton Brussels city hotel, again on Ryanair website and then book dives (€40 per person for 2 ) and airport transfers ( approx €30 ) with us. Contact us for more details |
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Congratulations to Mark Kilmartin and Lisa
Cullen on the purchase of their new homes. We wish you all the
best of luck and look forward to the house-warming parties ( hint, hint
) Members of the PADI Diving Society get their Master Scuba Diver Rating paid for free. So if you are near to achieving this rating, consider joining the society. Your membership fee will be covered by the MSD application, so you will end up getting the Society magazine - Sport Diver free for the year. Good deal. Check our www.thescubabuddies.com John B's website for photos, news and general diving stuff. Have a look also at Alan's videos on www.utube.com/thescubabuddies |
( If thumbs are not working click on the box to see photos)
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