An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 30 | like a failure but as they say "Time spent on a recce is time well spent" and it gave us an idea of what the bot- tom was like; no rocks or weeds, just flat sand. Once the divers were out of the water, the shot was recovered and we returned to the harbour, where we spotted the friendly face of Ivan Donoghue, a local diving instructor from Wexford Sub Aqua Club. After a catch-up chat and a quick tour of their club stores we explained what we were up to and the problems we had encountered. He told us that the area had no less than seven slack water periods in a tidal cycle. This information was pure gold. You can't beat local knowledge! The following morning our three boats and 12 divers had a bit of an audi- ence, including Elaine Walsh a local reporter and media writer who wrote an article on our efforts, (http://visitkilmorequay.com/1916-commemorations/). After the brief we left the harbour for the dive site. With such contradictory in- formation on her whereabouts all we could do was trawl along slowly, watching the sonar screen. In metres, it read '50, 50, 50, 46, 46, 50, 50, 50'; and there she was. Turn around and back over: '50, 50, 50, 46... "Drop the shot!"...46, 50, 50, 50'. It was like a scene from The Hunt for Red October. The other two boats referred to it as luck, but those on our boat know it was skill! With extended range divers Comdt Ruairi O'Brien, Coy Sgt Murphy and CQMS Ken Sheridan, and the safety divers in the water it was confirmed that we were on target, which led the way for the other dive pairs to proceed for a successful dive. DFDG Aud Divers. Standing: BSM John Green, Coy Sgt David Browne, Cpl Killian Byrne, Comdt Ruairi O'Brien, Coy Sgt Kenneth Murphy, Tpr Tom Doherty, Sgt Diarmuid Scannell, Sgt Graham Burke and Sgt Mark Lane. Kneeling: CQMS Mick Duffy, Cpl Darren Rogers and CQMS Ken Sheridan. DFDG Helga Divers. Comdt Ruairi O'Brien, CQMS Ken Sheridan, Sgt Mark Lane, BSM John Green, Coy Sgt David Browne, Sgt Graham Burke, Tpr Tom Doherty, Cpl Killian Byrne, Coy Sgt Kenneth Murphy and Cpl Darren Rogers and CQMS Mick Duffy. Preparing to recover divers Ammo at the Aud site by CPL LEE COyLE PhotoS by ARMN ADAM MURPHy AND DFDG T he Defence Forces Diving Group (DFDG) recently conduct- ed a beginners' diving course, which provides partici- pants with the technical information and practical skills required for scuba diving. the course is run through the DFAA and is open to all DF members. Students are registered with Comhairle Fó-thuinn (CFt) the national federation representing Irish divers, also known as the Irish Underwater Council, which is affiliated with Confederation Mondiale des Activities Sub- aquatiques (CMAS). The first part of the course was conducted in the DF Physical Education and Sports swimming pool over four days. Entry requirements for the course, a 200m freestyle swim, 50m backstroke, and a submerged 30-second breath hold, were completed before the students embarked on a series of lectures, pool snorkels, pool scuba train- ing, hand signals, and CPR. The lectures provided students with the theoretical knowledge of diving, including dive physics, effects of pressure, diving equipment, and buoyancy.

• Cover