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About
Ourselves |
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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! |
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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. |
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We
do not believe in hurried dive times or finishing our day
by a particular time which we deem to be dangerous dive practice
to gain extra revenues at the expense of safety. |
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| 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. |
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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. |
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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 and reaches
the Skelligs in about 45 minutes. She has a dive platform
at the stern to allow easy access to the water. Naturally
she is fully equipped. |
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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. |
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This is the ideal boat for those
divers who want a bit more on a dive holiday. |
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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! |
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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. |
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