A trip report has been posted here. Please post a comment below.
Mar
4
One of the last lightships marking hazards on the Irish coastline has been withdrawn from service by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.
The Coningbeg lightship, marking the rocks of the same name off Wexford’s Saltee Islands, is to be replaced by a “superbuoy” with a 14km radius light and several smaller navigational aids. Continue reading “End Of An Era” »
Feb
13
Looking for ideas for that perfect St. Valentine’s Day gift? Click here for free tickets to the up-coming Allianz Boat Show at the RDS running from February 14th – 18th. Terms and conditions apply!
Feb
9
Dates and venues for trips away in 2007 have been posted here. We are kicking off with Kilkee for the St. Patrick’s Bank Holiday Weekend. For those of you who are interested, please e-mail Leah – see Members Area for contact details. Once she has an idea of numbers, an e-mail will be sent setting out accommodation costs. Prices are likely to be €60 – €80 per person.
Feb
8
All,
Following on from Pat’s suggestion of a second pool night, we have a provisional Sunday night booking from 8.45pm to 9.45pm starting Sunday 18th February and continuing for 10 Sunday nights, the last session being Sunday 22nd April.
The idea of the Sunday night session is that it is very much a “family and friends” night. We will be asking anyone interested to pay 50 Euro up front. This will entitle them to attend all 10 sessions and bring along their family / friends.
Please mail me, cathalcleary(at)gmail.com, or text me (087-4181381) if interested. We will only go ahead if we get at least 10 members to pay up!
Thanks to Pat Kavanagh for the suggestion and doing the negotiations with PSLC.
Cathal.
Jan
26
Forgot to mention, Lucy’s brother Nick – pictured above – has also joined the club. He’s 28, single and an ex-Navy Seal. He too will be training with us every Wednesday night in preparation for the coming dive season.
Jan
26
Further to Cathal’s e-mail regarding the revised pool time, we have a number of new members training with us including Lucy Hernandez – pictured above. Lucy has re-located to Dublin from San Diego following her recent divorce. She has dived extensively in the States and S.E. Asia and will be training with us every Wednesday night in preparation for the coming dive season.
Jan
13
See below for some images from Ciaran K’s trip to Sipadan Island, Malaysia last September. Continue reading “Ciaran’s Sipadan Trip” »
Jan
9
Now that Christmas is passed and the celebrations are all over we can start to think about diving again. The diving season semi-officially starts on St. Patricks weekend but I hope to get out for plenty of dives before then. In this spirit I thought I would send out an email reminding everyone of the CFT requirements so that you can be prepared for the start of the season.
Before you go diving this year:
- You need to have a current medical. This means that if you under 35 years of age you have had a medical examination in the last 5 years. If you are over 35 years of age you must have a medical examination every 3 years. Either way you need to sign the medical disclaimer in your logbook and have it witnessed by the DO.
- You need to be up to date with your fees and be registered with CFT. The fees for this year are 460 euro. If you are not sure of your status please get in touch with Donal.
- You need to be an active diver (i.e You have dived in the last 13 weeks in irish waters or similar) or have completed and logged 5 snorkels in the last 3 months.
Also there a couple of things I would like you to think about before the season starts.
Equipment Servicing – Now is the time to pull out the dive gear and make sure that it is in fully working order. Check that your regulators are in service and working correctly. Look at the sticker on your cylinder and check to see whether it needs servicing. Remember that a VIP is required every 2.5 years from the date of manufacture. A hydro test is required every 5 years from the date of manufacture. It is also worth pulling out the BC and making sure that there are no leaks and that the inflator is working correctly.
Training – Think about how you would like to progress your training this year. Increasing your diving skills and knowledge can be very rewarding whether it is a coxswain course, a rescue course or perhaps just a club diver test. Our club survives on the skills of the members and increased training enables you to contribute to the running of the club and help out on weekends away, as well as making your diving safer and more enjoyable. Please let myself or Louise know what training you would like to do this year so that we can plan to get some courses organised.
The following courses are being run regionally in the next couple of months. If you are interested please let me know ASAP so that I can book a place as they will fill up fast.
- Leading Diver Brief – Tuesday 23 January
- VHF course – late February
- Coxswain instructor course – 10th March
- Diver Medic Instructor Refresher – 14th January
- Mon * – theory 27th January, pool work 25th January
Mike
Jan
9
John Norton has kindly agreed to take equipment to Kieran in Drogheda for servicing. If your regulator or cylinder need servicing this would be a good way to get it done before the dive season starts. Kieran can service most makes of regs but not apeks.
Please drop off any regulators for service at the boathouse by the 17th January and any cylinders for service by the 24th of January.
Any questions please contact John Norton.
Jan
3
As part of the Committee’s on-going efforts to bring some culture to the club (and God knows it needs some), please take note of Friday’s (Jan 5th) New Year Lunchtime Concert at the National Concert Hall at 1:05pm. Featuring RTE’s National Symphony Orchestra playing a selection of classical music by Dvorjak and Strauss, entry is 10euro and the concert lasts 1 hour. Committee sopranos Leah and Louise will also be performing a number of operatic duets so come along and support them.
Tickets can be booked on-line but can also be bought at the Box Office on the day – although the Christmas Concert was booked solid. So if you’re working in town, want to banish the January blues, sick of the sales and your boss doesn’t mind you taking a long lunch….
Clich here for more information and to book. Post a comment below.
Jan
3
The club has set up a new SMS service which will keep members up-to-date via text with dive news and club events during the year. Members’ mobile numbers have automatically been included in the service. Please advise a member of the Committee if you wish to have your number excluded from this service.
A comment may be posted below.
Dec
10
The club’s Christmas Party this year was another joint affair with ALSAA Sub Aqua club. The ALSAA complex was the venue and there was a great turn out from both clubs.
Dec
6
It’s been a busy introduction to Committeeland for the newcomers and its more experienced citizens alike. Here’s a quick update on what we’ve been working on recently.
Continue reading “Pre-Christmas Update from Committeeland” »
Nov
27
The joint PSAC & ALSAA Christmas Party will take place on Saturday, December 9th at the ALSAA complex on the Old Swords Road adjacent to the airport. The theme for the night is ‘Winter Wonderland’. The cost is €55 and the festivities commence at 7:30pm sharp. Please advise Leah or any member of the committee if you are attending.
Nov
17
The much anticipated (?) clash of Portmarnock and ALSAA sub aqua clubs took place last night at the PSLC pool. ALSAA seemed keen arriving about an hour and a half before we did and completing an aquatic version of the Haka before proceedings commenced. Continue reading “PSAC v ALSAA” »
Nov
13
Click here for images
Well, I did it! I reached one of my lifetime ambitions, coming over the finishing line in 4 hrs 25 (see below for proof… blurry as the screenshot may be. Still in the top 50% of finishers, just about! ;) )
Nov
10
Please can you keep the night of Saturday, December 9th free for our Christmas Party. More detail will follow in due course.
Nov
10
A portly gentleman, aged mid-40s approximately was spotted in the pool last night. He was observed a little later in the bar playing with his laptop – see photofit below. Please advise a member of the committee if you know this interloper.
Oct
23
Thanks to the members of Dundalk SAC for taking a few of us out for a dive last Sunday morning on ‘their turf’.
Both weather and diving were good, we dived a wall just south of No. 9 marker buoy in Carlingford Lough. Although not the best dive this year, it was many times better than the conditions in Dublin Bay the previous week.
Dundalk have a fantastic setup and although they have two great looking boats I still found it hard to believe the two pristine Range Rovers used to tow them were club vehicles! EO, can we get one of them!?!
Oct
15
Many thanks to Les for towing and performing Dry Cox’n for Sunday’s Dive. Some underwater images have been posted below for your enjoyment.
Oct
14
I joined a visit to the NHC organised by Pat Creegan of Viking SAC on Saturday 14th October for a 50m chamber dive.
Des Quigley of the NHC gave us the full guided tour followed by the dive. If you think sounding like daffy duck after breathing in helium from a balloon is funny, you should hear yourself at 50m with a bit of nitrogen narcosis thrown in for good measure!
Des runs a fantastic facilty and asks only a €10 donation to charity for allowing divers to experience a chamber dive.
More information is available at http://www.hyperbaricireland.com/
Sep
10
Today PSAC remembered one of it’s members who tragically lost his life two years ago by naming one of it’s Ribs in memory of him. ‘Noisy Goose’ was named in a ceremony at the slipway in Howth from which Sean started many a dive trip. After the naming ‘Noisy’ was brought out on a short trip around the harbour. Thanks to all who attended.
