The club decided to head to county Wexford and join Hook SAC for the weekend, where we enjoyed fantastic hospitality, facilities and diving.

Diving started on Friday night with an excellent night dive at Hook lighthouse when an assortment of life was seen including small cuttlefish and even an octopus perhaps!

The following day was a shore dive a little further along the coast – the marine life was abundant with every small crevice filled with squat lobsters, blennies, crabs, conger eels and lobsters. We then joined Hook SAC for the rest of the weekend and it was feet up – bottles were filled, divers buddied off with Hook SAC members who showed us around the dive sites and all we had to do was turn up with gear at the allotted time – heaven.

For anyone who has not visited the clubhouse – it is fantastic. Housing 2 boats and a tractor, bank compressor, toilets, showers and a large common area including a kitchen and plans are afoot for the addition of a balcony!

Most of the diving from the boat was wreck diving, with a visit to the Anthony, the Lismore, Harry’s wreck and the girl Arlene.

‘The girl Arlene’ consisted of a wheelhouse in which there was not enough room for divers because of the amount of fish there! We even had a visit from the rescue 117 helicopter (they flew over while on a training mission).

Once again we enjoyed the culinary skills of Brian and Aude and the local restaurant ‘the village kitchen’.

On Monday evening a group of smiling Aughinish divers (and one from Lough Derg) returned on the road to Limerick vowing to return for the diving and hospitality.

Many thanks to Hook SAC for looking after us so well and please let us return the favour some time on the west coast.