Dundalk Sub Aqua Club begin training of six new recruits

By Ruth McEnteggart

DunDALk Sub-Aqua Club is a 24-hour service that was set up in 2001. They are a local group of divers who take part in local and national rescue missions whenever anybody gets in trouble on the water. They have recently taken on six new recruits.

They start training in October, and they are educated on health and safety then taken out to sea to perform a short snorkel. Dundalk Sub Aqua unit currently has 60 members and 22 fully certified members. Some of their members have been diving for up to 25 years and contribute a lot in terms of knowledge of local/national diving sites and experience in how to keep the club a vibrant and active one.

There is no age limit to join the club, but applicants must be over 18 or over 16 if there already is a family member in the club. Anyone with an interest in joining can try a three-week free trial. This trial consists of trying on equipment, how a scuba suit works and finally taking a short snorkel in the sea.

Further progression in the club means more activities. Such as learning what to do in specific situations such as someone falling off a boat or if a person is short of breath and how to communicate underwater. There are intensive training procedures undertaken by the trainees. each fully trained member undergoes five 10-meter dives, and slowly progresses up to a 45 metre dive.

They hold their training lectures in St

Vincent’s School on a Wednesday night at 7.30pm followed by pool training in Dundalk Leisure Centre pool at 9pm in the wintertime but move on to Greenore as soon as the evenings get brighter. In between local diving they occasionally travel further afield to dives sites in Donegal, Rathlin Island, Strangford Lough, and Scotland.