Main pic: Sheephaven SAC’s Joanne O’Hare with her find!
Members of Sheephaven Sub-Aqua Club (SAC) listed a ‘nest of golfballs’ among their discoveries during their weekly dive off the west Donegal coast last weekend.
They made a welcome return to the picturesque Boatstrand Pier at Carnboy, Carrickfinn, for Sunday’s meet-up. As they arrived, the local swimming group, the ‘Boatstrand Buoys and Gulls’, were just finishing up their morning dip. Regulars at this stunning location, some of them swim here at 6.30 am up to five days a week throughout the year.
Members of Sheephaven Sub-Aqua Club (SAC) at Boatstrand Pier.
Conditions were somewhat challenging, with a brisk south-westerly wind making the outward journey choppy. Nevertheless, the group pressed on northward along the coast for 1 km, observing the seabed gradually shift from sand to shingle, then to pebbles and larger rocks.
The water was crystal clear, revealing an abundance of marine life. We spotted crabs, shoals of small fish weaving through kelp forests, flatfish hiding in the sand near the beach, and even a small cuttlefish close to the slipway. The highlight, however, came when Dominic Roarty reported a rare sighting of a shoal of 10 squid swimming together in one direction, possibly fleeing an unseen predator. According to Dominic, they looked like “they were swimming for their lives,” so he hightailed it toward the shore!
Another curious discovery was an underwater “nest” of golf balls, no doubt the result of someone practising their long-range shots. This turned into the perfect opportunity for Willie Sheridan, with over 50 years of experience teaching swimming, water safety, scuba diving, and snorkelling to give us a masterclass in duck diving. His enthusiastic apprentice, Joanne “I can’t do it!” O’Hare, to her own delight, soon surfaced with a prized golf ball in hand.
Sunday’s club snorkel offered an ideal opportunity for members to continue their training for the annual Fin Swim, taking place on Saturday, 19th July.
A huge thank you goes to Bridie Sharkey for introducing us to this hidden gem and to An Caisleáin Óir in Annagry for the hearty breakfast and those never-ending pots of tea!
Sheephaven Sub Aqua Club will be back in Portnablagh tomorrow evening, 25th June, meeting up at 7pm.
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