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We have a Newsletter twice a year for all our divers - Spring and Autumn. The Newsletter looks back that the previous season's diving, and has details of dive trips for the coming 6 months ….. allowing you plan your dive weekends and trips abroad.



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Date: 19/3/2008
Subject: Spring Newsletter 2008
Content: Summer is just around the corner — the sun is shining and although still a little chilly, everyone is starting to look towards the upcoming dive season.

Finally, we have the details and prices for our 3 bigger dive trips in Ireland this Summer. Each one is hugely popular and many of you have booked in already! We’re delighted that we’ve managed to secure great accommodation for Valentia this year, which should make our stay far more comfortable!

And remember, these are just the trips .... there are tons of courses running throughout the year. Details are in our previous Newsletter and in our monthly emails.

So read on and book in …..

June Bank Holiday Weekend Fri 30th May to Mon 2nd
June Valentia Island, Co Kerry

** NEW ACCOMMODATION THIS YEAR ****

Suitable for Open Water Divers with experience and above

Running Advanced Open Water Training Dives, and Digital Underwater Photography. PADI Enriched Air (NITROX) Specialty will run beforehand and divers will be able to rent Nitrox tanks and get Nitrox fills.

We are visiting Valentia Island Sea Sports for the 7th time on the June Bank Holiday Weekend. The Dive Centre is run by Sandra & Martin, who are running 2 dive boats taking a total of 18 divers.

For years our problem in Valentia has been finding reasonable accommodation. Each year we try something different, and most have been fairly poor. But not this year !! We’ve found brilliant accommodation in Portmagee, which is on the mainland beside the bridge over to Valentia.

We’re staying in The Moorings Guesthouse which has absolutely beautiful rooms – really comfortable (make a nice change). The Moorings has an award winning restaurant which we’ve booked a table in for our group on both Saturday and Sunday night. And of course, a cozy bar. So it looks like it will be the perfect location!

Valentia has some spectacular scenic diving with fantastic underwater topography and marine life. There are sheer drop-offs, caves and ledges teaming with marine life.....conger eels, anemones, dogfish, lobsters, pollack and wrasse (great for newly qualified Nitrox and Digital Underwater Photography Specialty Divers!).

This is always a hugely popular trip and we have just 18 places available on it. The cost is slightly more this year due to our new accommodation - €410. This includes twin or double accommodation, full Irish breakfast, 5 boat dives and 4 tank fills (arrive full and leave empty, as usual). Equipment rental for the weekend is €150. Tank rental €60. Nitrox Fills will cost extra and can be paid directly to the Dive Centre over the weekend. We’ve already taken deposits for this weekend so don’t delay ….. book now for a great June Bank Holiday of diving!

Check out The Moorings website – www.moorings.ie

August Fri 1st to Mon 4th, Bank Holiday Weekend — Baltimore, West Cork

Suitable for AOW upwards, those doing AOW Course or Deep Specialty. Nitrox available for divers who have completed their EANx Specialty.

The Baltimore Dive Trip on the August Bank Holiday Weekend has been one of the most popular dive trips for AOW + Divers over the past number of years. To date we have been incredibly lucky with the weather on this trip, and it is one of the few locations in Ireland to offer such spectacular wrecks.

Two of the most famous wrecks here are the U260, a fully intact German U-boat lying between 36m-42m, and the Kowloon Bridge, the longest wreck in Europe lying at about 36m. A couple of years ago the Kowloon Bridge was damaged during the winter storms and the bow has split in two, with the top now lying in about 17 mtrs. So for those of us who thought we knew the dive, think again!

We’re running Deep Specialty this weekend and will have Nitrox Specialty running just prior to the weekend for divers who want to rent Nitrox tanks. Also, divers have the option of travelling down on the Thursday night and completing the PADI DPV Specialty with Aquaventures on the Friday (or just fun diving).

All divers should be diving regularly throughout the Summer to ensure they’re ‘dived up’ and ready for this weekend. The August Bank Holiday Weekend is the busiest of the year for West Cork, and we have booked accommodation and boat spaces for 25 divers. Our boat spaces are matched to our accommodation so unfortunately on this dive trip it’s ‘all or nothing’ – if divers choose to arrange their own accommodation I cannot give them one of my boat spaces …. Sorry guys!

Divers will be staying either in the Stone House or in a nearby B&B/hostel. The Breakfast BBQ will be on the go again this year - help yourself to cereal / toast / tea & coffee, and a BBQ breakfast roll for everyone. This means everyone gets the same brekkie no matter where they’re staying.

Our tides aren’t ideal this year and we’ll be working hard to catch both the U260 and the Kowloon Bridge during the weekend – we may have a few early starts folks!

The cost of this weekend is €365 which covers 5 boat dives, air fills, 3 nights B&B. If you’d like to travel down early or book in for extra dives plse let us know as soon as possible and we’ll book accommodation for you. As always, there are just a handful of ponys, 15ltrs etc for rent, so reserve yours early!

Just a note – Aquaventures are now asking all divers carry a Delayed SMB.

23rd & 24th August — Inish Boffin/Turk Dive Safari

Suitable for AOW upwards

. For the 4th year we’ve booked the Mini Safari departing from Scubadive West out to Inish Boffin. Divers will travel to Galway on Friday night and stay in K2 as usual and need to be at the Dive Centre by 9am the following morning to load up and head off for the 2 days diving.

The journey out to Boffin takes about 1 ½ hours. Divers will ideally dive around Inish Boffin & Inish Turk on both Saturday & Sunday, staying overnight on either Inish Boffin or Turk on the Saturday night.

Some of the divers who did this trip last year were absolutely blown away by the diving, and indeed the clarity of the water. Not only that, it’s a great opportunity to visit one of the west coast islands and relax into their pace of life! There is only 1 boat going to Boffin that weekend, and we have all 12 places booked for our divers … so if you’re interested in joining a really different dive trip with great diving, drop in with your deposit to secure your place!

The cost of this weekend is the same as last year - €305. The price includes 1 night at K2 (Fri Night) with full Irish Breakfast, one night accommodation on Inish Boffin (Sat Night), full brekkie both days, dinner on Saturday night, 4 boat dives with 3 fills. It doesn’t include lunch.

As usual, a deposit of €75 secures your place on any of the trips. The balance is due 10 days beforehand. Only when your deposit is paid is your place confirmed. Deposits can’t be refunded or transferred to other trips.

All these trips are already half full. If you have your name down without a deposit, you’ll need to pay your deposit in the coming weeks to secure your place.

We’re really looking forward to each of these trips – all we need is the weather to cooperate with us !




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