Downings Report – Click here for images
Downings, Co. Donegal was the venue for the August Bank Holiday trip. Apologies to anyone who didn’t get the e-mail and spent the weekend looking for us in Malin Head. A small but perfectly formed figure of eight (spent hours coming up with that nautical pun) travelled north for the weekend to enjoy the hospitality of the Mevagh Dive Centre and the affable Donald Cullen.
The weather, while a little overcast, was good throughout the weekend and conditions were ideal for diving. On Saturday morning we set off from Downings pier and headed for Bray Head for two dives. A certain unnamed party who omitted to pack their dry suit was obliged to dive in a wet suit on Saturday. The shriek of horror emitted by the aforementioned individual upon entering the water was deafening. The Downings Festival was in full swing over the weekend. The highlight of Saturday’s programme being the outdoor Céilí Mór in Carrigart. All was going well until the announcement that some old time waltzes had been requested. The surge of bodies towards the dancing platform was worthy of the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Unable for this much excitement, we dropped down to Glen and The Olde Glen Bar for a meal before returning to the Carrigart Hotel for a few beers.
The first dive of Sunday was to French Man’s Rock where conditions and visibility combined for an enjoyable dive. After coffee and a surface interval on the water we were joined by another three divers for a dive on the Kalliopi – a steam freighter that ran aground in 1943. Our return to Downings was timed perfectly to catch the Festival Parade – a vibrant affair consisting of one truck transporting both a papier-mâché ‘sun’ and the local drama group who were colourfully dressed in costumes fashioned from purple fertiliser bags. Owen felt he had strayed onto the set of Killinaskully. A meal and a few beers in The North Star brought the day to a close.
On Monday we departed from the ‘Boat Yard’ pier and headed out towards Mulroy Bay. It has been alleged that sunfish were observed on this dive. Despite the presence of a camera on the dive, no photographic evidence has been provided. As a result the claim is being viewed with a degree of scepticism ;-) On our return to Downings, gear was cleaned and lunch was enjoyed in Carrigart before hitting the road home. Many thanks to Mike for organising the weekend at short notice and congratulations to Jason and Georgina on successfully completing their first Irish water dives.
10 August, 2006
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