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About seven
miles south of Black Head, you will find, probably the nicest shore
dive in the country. The site is located just a few hundred
metres north of where the R477 touches the shoreline, about two miles
south of ?The Admiral?s Rest? restaurant. There is a ?Shore Angling?
signpost marking the site. This site is very exposed and can only be
dived in fair weather. Generally speaking if there?s anything more than
a force two or three (west), or any kind of atlantic swell, stay
away. Entries and exits are normally done in the gully. It is
wise to survey this beforehand, as even a small swell can make the exit
tricky.
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Dive 1.
At the mouth of the gully descend into
10/12 metres. Head west keeping the reef on you left. Follow the reef
around to the left (south). All along this reef there are ledges
and overhangs, which are normally teeming with a great variety of fish.
Lobster, crayfish, pollack, congers, ling, bib, whiting and wrasse are
here in abundance. Also spotted here occasionally are John Dory, shark
and even electric ray. About a hundred metres south of the gully there
is a rock feature sometimes referred to as ?the cathedral? and other
times ?the amphitheatre?. This is a good point to turn and head
for the exit. The maximum depth here is about 18 metres on the reef
with 22/23 easily reached just off (west) of the reef.
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Dive 2.
Start as in dive 1, but head NW out over sand. About two hundred metres
out, you will reach the ?outside reef?. This reef is about ten feet
high and is home to a huge variety of fish. Good navigation is required
and this dive is only for experienced divers. It is easy to go too far
north especially on a rising tide.
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