GSAC Newsletter
Summer 2010

It's been a great summer's diving. Almost every weekend brought a different dive site, from Kilkee to Aran to Killary. In fact we probably spent more time in Aran than for many a year. GSAC also made a welcome return to Slyne Head very recently, which we hadn't dived in many years. And the season is not over by any means.

Technology also moves on, and thanks to our new (un)official photographer Thomas Moore we have video of the club in action on YouTube plus some great still shots on the club Facebook page. I have included a few of them in this newsletter, plus links at the bottom where you can see them all, even if you don't have a Facebook account.

Contents

DODs for August/September

The DODs, towers and assistants for the next few weeks are listed below. If you are on this list and cannot make a particular dive it is your responsibility to find someone to switch days with you. If you have a problem with a particular date please organise a replacement as soon as possible and let the DOD know. Don't leave it to the last minute.

As outlined by Paul C, the procedure for each dive will be:

• The DOD will contact and discuss with the DO the options available and agree a dive site.
• DOD will decide how many boats are needed and inform the names on the list if they are or are not required for towing.
• DOD will assign dive groups on the day, organise equipment and brief divers at the site.
• Afterwards the DOD will email details of the dive (location, tides, dive groups and times) to Joe Fegan who will make them available to the DO online.

Report - President

Rory Martin

Hi All,

I think I'm definitely safe in saying winter is over this time! The diving season is in full swing and the good weather is bringing large turnouts at the Sunday dives. With such big numbers it's more important than ever that you reply to the Teamer message if you are intending to dive. This helps the DODs a lot in their planning.

We're also out in Carraroe almost every Wednesday as in previous years. We need as many experienced folks at the dive site to help our new recruits with their training as we can get.

June bank holiday - Kerry

Joe Fegan

A small but dedicated crew headed down to Portmagee this year and were rewarded with two full days diving on the Skelligs. There may also have been some beer consumed along the way, I can't remember.

We finished off the weekend on Sunday afternoon with some exploratory diving around the O'Malley Breaker and the lee side of the Doonee Beacon. Oh - and I'm happy to report that Shay finally got the all-clear for his shoulder late last week and had his first dive with Paul Foley down at Kilkee on Sunday, May 23rd.

May Bank Holiday - Dingle and the Blaskets

Thomas Moore

This year for the May bank holiday the club ventured south again. With the lowest numbers travelling (8 divers in total) for a long time it looked like it was going to be a quiet weekend. One boat was all that was needed.

The trip down with the boat was as eventful as ever. Trying out the new jeep for the first time there was always going to be teething problems. A small problem with the wiring to the trailer socket on the jeep ended up with us taking a detour through the beautiful east Galway countryside to find a mechanic that was still opened after six on the Friday on a bank holiday weekend. Luckily we got sorted and eventually got back onto the main road.

Arriving in Dingle late we went in search of the other members who had arrived down before us. We quickly found them in the nearest pub to the holiday cottages. After a couple of rock shandys the group decided it would be best to get an early night instead of going up the town for more rock shandys and a chicken burger and curry cheese fries. At least that’s what I think we did.

The original plan was to dive Smerwick Harbour on the north side of the Dingle peninsula. However in the week building up to the trip there was strong northerly gales that dashed these plans. Instead after a last minute meeting we decided to work out of Ventry Harbour on the south side of the peninsula.

Launching the boat in Dingle was a simple task due to the great slipway. After a quick spin around in the boat we were ready to work out of Ventry harbour for the day. The first dive was at a site called Parkmore Point. This turned to be a very good plan B. An excellent dive with plenty of life got most people raring to go for the second dive. The second dive wasn’t as good as the first. A bit more kelp and a lack of an interesting rock features weren’t to everyone’s pleasing.

Saturday night in Dingle was almost as quiet as the previous night. After a quick dinner in the pub a couple of people pushed the limits and tried the local Guinness but most people were smart and stuck to the rock shandy. That’s what I think happened anyways. I’m fairly sure we weren’t in a pile of different pubs drinking pints until all hours.

On Sunday "morning" we decided to be more adventurous and made the trip out to Great Blasket Island. Fungi made an appearance and escorted the boat out of Dingle Harbour on the way to Ventry. After a slightly rough crossing we arrived on the lee side of the island in calm water. Seals watched us entering the water but unfortunately stayed away from us during the dive. There was mixed reactions to this dive, some people had a great dive, others were disappointed.

After the trip home we settled in to our tea between dives. Some people decided they had enough done for the day at this stage so the group for the second dive was small.

We played it safe again and went back to Parkmore Point where we had another lovely dive. We wrapped up the day with a lovely dinner which was waiting for us upon our arrival back in the house. Teresa Martin will be invited along to more weekends away.

On Monday "morning" we decided to stay local and dived Crow Rock placed just outside Dingle harbour. Upon leaving the harbour we were greeted by a National Geographic cruise ship. A lovely easy dive with plenty of life was had by all and it was a great end to the weekend.

After tidying up the boat and putting away the equipment an uneventful but long drive home was had. We finally got the boat back into the shed and put into bed around half nine.

Equipment report

Thomas Moore

Work on the boats is as ongoing as ever. With the recent good weather and Bank Holiday & Trainee weekends the bigger boats have been getting a lot more use than earlier in the year. There have been a few small problems but we’re working on them on an ongoing basis. Please do inform me of any problems that you find so that they can be addressed.

Examples of the ongoing work:

Joe Fada:

• Radio not working – The cable broke where it meets the aerial. This is currently being repaired by replacing the cable from the radio to the aerial.
• Depth sounder not working – Caused by a breakage in the cable at the back of the boat. Work is ongoing to replace this as well.
• Break cables need changing – Plans are in place to replace a couple of the break cables on the trailer this Saturday.

An Glasán:

• Radio not working – This is still in the troubleshooting stage. I believe that the aerial is damaged but have yet to confirm so.
• Trailer fishtails when towing – Problem has been noticed over the past year. When towing the trailer at speeds over 80kph it fishtails making the trailer both uncomfortable and dangerous to tow. After a bit of research into this it was decided to move the axles on the trailer back to put more weight on the towing vehicle. Early trials show a huge improvement in the tow ability of the trailer.

Thanks to everyone that has helped out over the past month or so, don’t forget it’s your equipment as well! You should be looking after it and treating like it is your own.

New Club Jeep

Recently the committee decided to upgrade the club jeep. The old 98 jeep was giving us a lot of problems and was regularly travelling to the mechanics. We have since purchased a 05 Toyota Land Cruiser D4D, LWB commercial. Some of you have probably seen the new jeep on the dive sites already. The long wheel base maker towing the heavy boats both safer and easier. With proper maintenance and driving with care, this new addition to the club's equipment inventory should serve us well into the future.

We have also managed to sell the old jeep with very little heartache. The mechanic that worked on it all along for us bought it. It needed a DOE in the near future and to pass this there was a lot of work to be done on it. It needed a new exhaust, new tyres, a couple of lenses and a bit of work on the steering. To sell it so fast and easy was a bonus for us.

Big thanks to both Barry Coll and Connor McEnroy who did almost all the work in getting this done.

The jeep is both an expensive item to buy and also to keep running. The club is going to be doing some fundraising throughout the year to help with the cost of running the club. If you have any ideas please do pass them onto the committee.

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