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Ballinskelligs Watersports

Dive Centre Center (English)

Service:
  • Accommodation for Divers
  • Air
  • Diving Charter Boat
  • Equipment Gear Rentals
  • Gear Equipment Servicing
  • NITROX
  • Underwater Photography/Video
  • Underwater Publications Prints
  • Vacation Holiday Scuba Diving
  • Wreck Diving
Company description Ballinskelligs Watersports was the first Irish dive centre to operate totally independently and offer hardboat diving daily at affordable prices with no hidden extras. The centre is now in its eleventh season of operation and in that period has established itself as Irelands leading dive operator. We operate the largest fleet of dive boats in Ireland and are the only dive centre never to receive tourist grants, state aid etc. This means that we are entirely independent and have no restrictions on where we dive or when we dive. More importantly we are not obliged to cater for large numbers of divers on any given day. As well as striving to give divers a good fun filled holiday we feel that the craic (Craic is not an hallucinatory drug-it is a peculiarly Irish expression to describe fun, atmosphere, party spirit etc!!) is only at its best if we also enjoy the company of our clients - you must bring your sense of humour as rest assured you will need it!
Our idea of an Irish dive holiday is unique even by Irish standards! We are not part of any cartel and we believe that this independence allows us to offer the best value in diving in Ireland. Many of our clients and many more visit us on the recommendation of previous visitors to the centre.
Ballinskellig Watersports is the only centre with two permits to visit the Skellligs and from our research we estimate approximately 80% of all divers visiting the area choose us - we feel this is the best recommendation we can offer.
The centre has grown from humble beginnings to the stage where we can offer our clients the three largest hardboats to the Skelligs, together with two licensed RIBS. Our largest RIB is the Challenger which was specifically built for the round Ireland solo speed challenge and currently holds this record. Our hardboats are fully equipped with Oxygen, Radio, Radar, Sonar, Liferafts, GPS, etc and are fully licensed. We know from experience that divers require plenty of space on board dive boats.
We only use RIBS for smaller groups and nearby sites. Our boats range from the most recent arrival, the Orlagh Anne, which is the largest dive boat in Ireland. It measures just under 80ft and weighs in excess of 100 tons. She is a 20ft wide steel hulled vessel originally built as a patrol boat for Customs and Excise. She boasts her own board compressor, a pick up RIB launched from her own lifting boom, inside accommodation in the event of bad weather and a sun deck outside for the good weather days. She has a range of 1500 nautical miles but we really feel this is too far to go for a dive!! She is ideal for day trips or island hopping and is available for charter everyday. Our other boats are Cygnus 33, M.V. Naughty Lady, which gives speedy travel. She has a dive platform at the stern to allow easy access to the water. Naturally she is fully equipped.
We also operate the most luxurious dive boat in Ireland, MV Flying Horse. Due to the luxury nature of this boat and the fact that her accommodation is 75% covered we will only take a maximum of eight persons on this boat. Ideally we would prefer no more than six persons. She is an Aquastar 33 with inlaid teak decks, soundproofing, central heating, individual white leather upholstered seats and every item of navigational and safety equipment.
We are an extremely laid back centre and feel we have our priorities right in offering civilised dive departure times and traditional Irish hospitality! We place every bit as much emphasis on fun as we do on diving, although the diving can be pretty spectacular and is sometimes better than the craic!
Our safety record is unblemished. While not wishing to tempt fate we have supervised almost 30,000 dives over the years and never had a diving incident. In this regard you will be fully briefed before every dive and given safety instructions. We do realise you are on holiday and while a lot of latitude is given, your safe return to the boat is of prime concern.
Location description: In recent years divers have discovered that diving in Ireland is comparable with the worlds best at a fraction of the cost. Many dive operators claim that they offer the best diving sites in Ireland - usually with the Irish propensity for exaggeration!! Suffice to say that the Skelligs is Irelands only internationally renowned site and divers travel from all over the world for this unique diving experience. In our research we have unearthed 93 articles in various publications dealing with diving in Ireland and in 91 of these the subject matter was the Skelligs!! These two sites are truly the jewel in the crown and a site rated by Horace Dobbs in his book ``The 20 Classic Dive Sites of The World``. You can expect sheer drop offs and walls encrusted with anemones together with copious quantities of life. The water temperature ranges from about 10c in March to about 16c in September when the water is at its warmest. Vis is about 8mtrs on bad days, about 15mtrs on normal days and up to 40mtrs on good days which would be for about 30% of the time!! Although we have experienced Vis of up to 100mtrs!!
Below the water you will experience the clearest waters in Europe where visibility is seldom less than 15m and is often in excess of 30m! Hard and soft coral is plentiful but the most startling underwater experience is the sheer volume of life and the acres of every type of anenome resulting in spectacularly colourful diving. The rock formations above water continue below and dives range from a recently discovered pinnacle rising to within eight metres at its summit and dropping down almost as a sheer wall to 45m, to dives in the 15m to 25m range, to canyons, gullies and boulders. For photographers it is a dream come true! However photographers be warned - it is condition of bringing cameras etc on board that you send us a copy of your photos!
In general, apart from the pinnacles at the Skelligs, we will drop you in depths of 15 to 18 metres and it will slope off to about 40m so you stop at whatever depth you feel comfortable.
We hope to see you soon!

Website: Preview http://www.skelligsboats.com by Thumbshots.org http://www.skelligsboats.com
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Contact information:
Phone: (00 353) 66 947 9182
Fax: (00 353) 66 947 9303
Street Address:

Dungegan
Ballinskelligs
Ireland
Spoken language(s): English
Open: from 09-00 till 17-00
Local time:  Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) London, Edinbourg, Lisboa
Note: No guarantee is made to the accuracy of these details.

If you are a representative of Ballinskelligs Watersports , you may update your options or details in our scuba diving directory. Please use contact form or email us at info@divingfinder.com.


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