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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.
This is the ideal boat for those divers who want a bit more on a dive
holiday.
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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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