Malin Beg Dive Report June 2nd – June 5th
Thursday – Mooring the boats
Eighteen divers headed to Malin Beg at the June weekend and what a weekend it was. We couldn’t have hoped for such great weather and this gave us a choice of dives in the area. Jimmy had done his research and his organisation and helpers ensured everything ran smoothly. We did a total of 94 dives – Jimmy managed to log 8 himself over the weekend, that could be a record?
Day 1
A small crew arrived up early and 7 divers explored The Trench on Friday afternoon. There were great reports of visibility and while some enjoyed a few pints in Roarty’s on Friday night 8 divers went out for the first night dive of the weekend in Malin Beg Harbour. We were treated to Snakeslocks anemones, Plaice and Top Knots (or flatfish as we called them until we got out the fishy book!)
Day 2 – Saturday – Thor Lee Bullig & Gloster Rock
On Saturday morning we went out to Thor Lee Bullig where a few lucky groups spotted a Crayfish. We saw lots of coloured jellyfish that lit up (Sea gooseberries/Comb Jelly Fish), Cuckoo Wrasse and even a thornback ray. On Saturday afternoon many of the group were looking forward to getting out to Gloster rock where we remembered great diving on previous trips. We weren’t disappointed, walls of colour awaited us (jewel anemones, dead mans fingers, plumose anemones). There were creatures to be found in all the nocks and crannies – tompot blennies, congers, squat lobsters and prawns. For many though “the swim through” was what they were focused on finding and most groups found it. Saturday night it was off to John Eoinin’s Glen Head Tavern for some. Jimmy and Colin were rewarded with baby cuttlefish in the sand and a lobster with fighting spirit when they instead went for another night dive.
Day 3 – Sunday – Rathlin O’Birne & Gloster rock
On Sunday there were lots of opinions of where to go (sound like the Curragh?!), it was a treat that the weather was so good that we had the luxury of choice. In the morning we went to the Amphitheatre on Rathlin O’Birne and Gloster Rock won the vote on Saturday afternoon. Those who hadn’t found the swim through were determined to get it this time! We had another 2 glorious dives where we saw more colourful walls, sea squirts, lobsters, shoals of pollock, nudibranchs, scorpion fish and ling and then it was off to Teelin to retrieve the boats and then back to the Glen Head for final woolly bear pints or to the sunny benches at the hostel for a glass of wine or two.
Day 4 – Monday – Shore diving and we’re off
On Monday morning 6 divers did a shore dive from Saint Johns point and they were lucky enough to see lots of life topped off by a John Dory.
Huge thanks to Jimmy for bringing us back to Malin Beg and organising everything so well. Thanks also to everyone who helped out especially our towers Luke, Neill and Sarah and everyone who retrieved, moored & fuelled the boats, the instructors and those who manned the compressors. Thanks as well to Ronan, Jimmy’s son, who was often around to lend a hand – he even helped carry some kit up “those steps.” Malin Beg never disappoints for diving but it wasn’t just the diving that made the weekend so enjoyable. We had a great crew of long standing and new members, one stars to M4s. In the evenings it was so enjoyable to eat out in the sunshine and see the club spirit where there was lots of culinary talent on show, we all brought something and shared. There were BBQ burgers & sausages to lasagne to slow cooked beef stew to salads to home made crumble. There was even cake for birthday boy Shane. We were lucky to have the hostel to ourselves and Frank looked after us well.
On the messages at the end of the weekend on the WhatsApp group words used were “fun, magic, superb, amazing, cracking”, think you get the picture – it was a massive success and roll on the next Curragh trip.
Lucinda