Niall Maguire

Diving in international waters off Havana, Cuba - November 15, 2007

2007-11-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

I finally got the opportunity to dive in international waters quite literally as our groups passports were retained by the diving staff who had to show them to the cuban officers before we sailed to/from the diving sites.

We were advised to wear diving suits which was new to me as the caribbean water temperature has been rather comfortable. I found the cuban water to be a bit cooler than what I was used to so I was glad to have the suit afterall.

I paid the diving instructor to use his digital camera to take some pictures of me in the water and most of the pictures taken are rather good and can be viewed on my MSN site.

Enjoy.

My past dives and snorkells

2007-07-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a bit of a while since my last blog so I thought I should try and update this site.

I have thoroughly enjoyed snorkelling off Grand Cayman and I have to say that buying my inflatible air vest has proved very worthwile indeed for it has given me the opportunity to swim about half a mile from the beach to see the coral reef 'fingers' with ease and safety.

I think my favourite snorkel spots in and around George Town are Smiths Cove, Public Beach and the Cemetary Beach spots although I do intend to try some other spots outside of the George Town area.

I have taken some nice pictures with my underwater camera although they are of varying quality and most of them are forgettable. I have, however, taken some nice pictures of my time snorkelling and diving and a bonus has been that one of my dive buddies took a couple of pictures of me whilst diving.

I have been diving (about once a month or so) since the new year and I have been posting my experiences onto the PADI site although I have encountered some technical difficulties in getting the site to save same.

I have recently bought a good pair of fins that can be used for both diving and snorkelling and I have to say that swimming to a particular snorkel spot is greatly helped by 'cycling' through the water. I have now eliminated the muscle cramp on the base of my feet when swimming back to the beach by using the fins - highly recommended.

Snorkelling off 7 mile beach, Grand Cayman

2007-02-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

On Saturday January 27, 2007; there was the annual art event hosted at the Governors House in Grand Cayman. I found this quite enjoyable but particularly enjoyed my free trip on the catboat which was organised by the local catboat club on the island.

I was advised that the reef started quite close to the beach which intrerested me. The following afternoon I went snorkelling off the beach and found that the reef did indeed begin a relatively short distance from the beach and I enjoyed the experience considerably. I snorkel using an air-vest so I feel quite safe when snorkelling away from the coast but not too far away.

One has to be aware that people use their boats (speedboats included) around that area so there are areas that snorkellers and swimmers can not go into, for safety reasons. Iether way, I found the spot where I came upon the reef to be far enough out for comfort - one has to be sensible afterall!

I still mean to get a water camera but am aware that it will take some time to get used to snorkel and carry a camera with a hand, leaving only one hand free to swim with. Nevertheless taking some pictures of my time snorkelling is something I intend to do soon, in relatively shallow conditions.

A new year in Grand Cayman

2007-01-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

Well there goes another new year!

January came and boy was it warm - averaging a little over 89F. Nice to relax and get a tan in January isn't it?

Decided to give diving a proper go in the new year after getting certified in early December last year.

I went on two 'shallow' dives, abuotr 50 feet in depth and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

I don't presently have an underwater camera but I hope to get one in the near future as I would like to take pictures of what I see when snorkelling and diving whilst away from Ireland.

I went snorkelling on Saturday afternoon in Smiths Cove and, although the water was slightly rougher than anticipated, I still managed to see some very nice fish of varying colours and sizes during my time there. They all seemed to swim together and would swim away and then come back a few moments later. Quite a pleasant experience when all was said and done.

What else? Nothing much really, hoping to get away from it all (stress and that jazz) this coming weekend as we have a public holiday down here. I've probably left things a bit late but I'll see what I can do.

In the meantime,

Slan!