The annual Naas Sub-Aqua Club New Years day snorkel was a great success despite the atrocious road conditions. Eighteen members negotiated the badly snow covered roads to make the event at Digby Bridge on the Grand Canal. They arrived only to find the canal frozen over and having to break the ice ahead of them as they snorkelled.
The group consisted of seven of the fifteen new trainee members that have joined the club this year. I think the remaining new members did not believe the event would actually go ahead with the Arctic weather conditions we have been experiencing over the past week.
(Left to Right) Trainees: Robert Keane, Kevin Heffernan, John Moran, Barry O’Sullivan, Stephen O’Brien, Una Corrigan, Jimmy Galloway, Alan Gibbons, Enda Sullivan, Colm Usher and Stephanie Doran.
The participating trainees were pleasantly surprised to find that with the proper semidry wetsuits the experience was not as bad as they had anticipated. Taking the initial plunge was the difficult bit. Their smiling faces as they exited the canal was ample proof of their delight at completing their first open water adventure with the club.
With beautiful sunshine and clear skies it did not feel as cold as the -3°c temperature displayed on the cars dashboard. With all eighteen snorkelers having completed their first of five mandatory 30 minutes snorkel of the dive season we headed back to Sallins for a well deserved lunch in Boss Byrne’s bar.
Hopefully this is an indication of the dedication and enthusiasm of this bunch of new members to the diving club which has made a great boost to the club’s membership numbers this year. Well done to all concerned, especially those other club members that came along to lead trainees on their first snorkel. Next club snorkel outing is this Sunday the 3rd of January in the sea at Sandycove, Dun Laoghaire
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