Baltimore & Cape Clear Island

Diving here runs from boats out of Baltimore harbour, where both dive centres sit, and one of them also works from a base on Cape Clear Island. The tide sets the plan: the deep wrecks are dived at slack water only, while the scenic sites become drift dives when the tide is running. The many offshore islands give shelter, so there is colourful diving to be had even on windy days. Atlantic conditions can still turn foul quickly.

The rock coast is broken into walls, gullies, caves and formations, fed by the nutrient-rich water of the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream and covered in colourful flora and fauna. The wrecks are the other half of the diving. A cluster lies in the 15 to 30 m band, among them the Asian, Dido, Illyrian and Nestorian, and these older hulls still show prominent features. The deeper wrecks off the same coast extend the range down to technical depths.

The area suits qualified divers comfortable in cold water and tidal conditions. This is dry-suit territory, and depth limits are set by each diver’s qualification and experience, so the shallower wrecks and the scenic gullies are the ordinary menu while the submarine and the Kowloon Bridge are dives for advanced, experienced divers. Recreational and technical divers are both catered for.