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First Time Family Snorkel in Ireland
This summer Mike and I were fortunate enough to have some family visiting, including our niece Norah, after not seeing each other since pre-pandemic times. We were lucky to get some lovely weather and of course that meant heading to the coast!
Our niece is a good swimmer and would like to learn to scuba dive one day. We mentioned that snorkeling was a really good start for getting used to using a mask and fins and also great fun. Having gotten her equipment for the trip, Norah practised in the pool before her arrival and was excited to try things out in the ocean.
We live within a 90 minute drive of several lovely bits of shoreline on the west coast of Ireland, and chose to start off our adventures at Dunmoran Strand in County Sligo. Here there is a sandy beach bordered by rocky shore, with shallow calm waters. A great starting point for snorkeling in the sea for the first time! Norah kitted up remarkably quickly as I struggled into my wetsuit, but we were soon in the shallows ready to go. We had an initial swim to get a feel of it and then gave Norah some tips on clearing her mask, snorkel and some finning techniques and we were off exploring the rocks. Almost immediately we came across some large colourful jellyfish and swam carefully around to observe them without any contact. After a good 45 minutes of seeing wrasse, crabs, sand eels and anemones we returned to the beach to dry off and warm up with huge smiles.
A few days later we headed out to the tidal swimming pool at Rosses Point, near Sligo. Here by the yacht club is a man-made pool that opens out into the sea. From the pool you can follow the coast and snorkel the rocks to the right side with an easy entry and exit at the pool. Care must be taken NOT to swim out of the pool to the left, as the aptly named “Dead Man’s Point” has some fierce currents. Arriving on a cooler, breezy day, we checked Norah was up for the challenge of snorkeling in a slight swell and we headed out right along the rocks. Norah coped brilliantly with the slightly tougher conditions and was soon zooming around spotting crabs all over the place. We even got to see a small dogfish dart out from between the rocks and out into the kelp. We took care to watch the waves and make sure we turned round early to get back to the tidal pool before we got chilled or tired and spent a happy last few minutes jumping off the poolside at the deep end before heading home.
For our last trip we went to Old Head Beach in County Mayo, which has a Blueway Snorkel Trail. As depicted on an informative sign by the car park, the trail starts from the left side of the pier, following a rocky coastline in sheltered, shallow water away from local boat traffic. On our visit the sun was out again and the waters were an inviting, almost tropical blue. As we swam around and through the thick kelp we spotted plenty of wrasse, a couple of large compass jellyfish, a pipe fish and a flying gurnard. Norah perfected her duck diving and we had an enjoyable time dropping our snorkels for her to retrieve from the sandy bottom.
We had some excellent snorkels and though sadly the family had to return home, it was a great visit.
After our adventures, we asked Norah a few questions to get her perspective:
What was your favourite thing?
Snorkeling with jellyfish and not getting stung!
What was the biggest challenge?
The salt stinging my eyes when the mask leaked a bit.
Where was your favourite snorkel spot?
Old Head had the most colourful water, Rosses Point had lots of crabs and we saw a tiny shark!
What new skill did you learn that you found most useful?
Putting toothpaste on a new mask to stop it fogging up.
What are you most proud of?
Snorkeling in the ocean for the first time and coping with waves and some current.
Do you want to go snorkeling again?
Yes!
Mike and I love the water and to be able to share this activity with our niece was brilliant. Ireland has a great system of established snorkel trails called The Blueway (https://diving.ie/blueway/). These Blueway trails can be snorkeled or kayaked and are safe routes with maps and above water signage on the points of interest. The west coast of Ireland really is a great place for some snorkel adventures!
For more information on water activities in Ireland check out: www.discoverireland.
Fire on Monroe Bravo is the latest book in the Jack Collier series by Fred Lockwood. Our story begins with our lead characters, Jack and Sandro, owners of Marine Salvage & Investigation Company, arriving on the Monroe Bravo Oil & Gas Platform in the North Sea. Having secured a contract for their vessel the MV Stavanger to act as support ship to the platform for TransGlobal Oil, our protagonists are on a celebratory visit.
However almost as soon as they arrive a series of explosions rock the platform, causing huge damage, loss of life and the very real danger of a massive human, ecological and financial disaster.
As the danger mounts for both our heroes and the surviving workers, Jack and Sandro will have to escape the inferno, all while trying to save the platform and the men still trapped unable to help themselves.
The disaster sets the scene for the unfolding story lines following the fate of the platform and our main characters, the police investigation into a suspected terrorist act and the actions of TransGlobal Oil as they attempt to navigate the pubic outcry and financial repercussions.
In his eighth book, Fire on Monroe Bravo, Fred Lockwood delivers an explosive thriller, with plenty of above and in-water drama, and our heroes fighting for survival, what more can you ask for?
We thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to the next in the series. For more information about his book series, you can check out the reviews of his previous books here on Scubaverse.
- Title: Fire On Monroe Bravo
- Author: Fred Lockwood
- ISBN: 979-8325324536
Available in a paperback version and for Kindle from Amazon and book stores.
In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea. While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!
The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October. Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze. After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center. Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.
Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe. The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!
In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience. Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site. The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.
Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos. This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see. We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life. As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here. We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total. The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home. We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.
Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality. This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.
The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better! These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous. The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands. The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went. Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.
The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography. The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue. Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins.
Check out our next blog :Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 2)” to hear about our amazing dive on the 2500 year old Peristera Wreck!
Thanks to:
Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/
Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/
Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/
Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/
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