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Displaying items by tag: cave diving

A multi-agency search resumed at the weekend for a cave diver missing in Co Clare since the beginning of the month.

The missing man is believed to have gone exploring sea caves at the Bridges of Ross on the Loop Peninsula on Tuesday 3 May, according to the Irish Examiner.

Specialist divers have joined the search party, as the Clare Champion reports, but the poor weather forecast for the rest of the week may hamper their efforts.

Published in Diving

#Diving - Irish Water Safety has honoured cave diver Jim Warny for his role in the rescue of the Thai football team earlier this year.

Warny also gave a presentation on the Tham Luang rescue operation at the IWS conference in Athlone’s Hodson Bay Hoetl yesterday (Saturday 20 October).

Twelve boys aged 11 to 17 and their 25-year-old assistant coach were rescued in early July after being trapped in the northern Thailand cave system for 18 days.

As previously noted on Afloat.ie, Ennis-based Warny was one of the Irish connections in the multinational rescue effort.

And he was one of the many expert divers who carefully guided the boys and their coach out of the 4km of twisting passages and flooded sections in total darkness.

IWS presented Warny with the Seiko ‘Just In Time’ Rescue Award for his contribution to that remarkable humanitarian achievement.

As the Irish Post reports, Warny is teaming with a film producer on a dramatisation of his experience in Thailand as well as cave diving closer to home.

Published in Diving
Efforts are resuming today to recover the body of a Polish man who died while cave diving near Gort in Co Galway.
The Irish Independent reports that Artur Kozlowski, 34, failed to emerge as expected from the flooded cave he was exploring solo on Monday afternoon.
His body was located yesterday evening by rescuers in the deepest section of the cave, 52m below the surface.
Kozlowski - known to friends as Artur Conrad - had been living in Ireland for several years and was regarded as one of Ireland's most experienced cave divers. He was previously highlighted on Afloat.ie for his lecture on cave diving at NUI Galway late last year.
He was also the holder of a number of diving records in the UK and Ireland, including longest and deepest traverse of a cave at 103m.
He had spent the last two years exploring the subterranean cave network in south Galway, and was on the final day of an expedition this week when tragedy struck.
Friend and diver Jim Warney, who found Kozlowski, said it took an hour to locate the body in a narrow passage. His oxygen tanks - which were known to have enough air for at least six hours - and a guide rope were still attached.
Rescuers have requested assistance from a UK dive rescue team to help recover the body.
The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.

Efforts are resuming today to recover the body of a Polish man who died while cave diving near Gort in Co Galway.

The Irish Independent reports that Artur Kozlowski, 34, failed to emerge as expected from the flooded cave he was exploring solo on Monday afternoon. 

His body was located yesterday evening by rescuers in the deepest section of the cave, 52m below the surface.

cave_diver

Cave Diver Artur Kozlowski

Kozlowski - known to friends as Artur Conrad - had been living in Ireland for several years and was regarded as one of Ireland's most experienced cave divers. He was previously highlighted on Afloat.ie for his lecture on cave diving at NUI Galway late last year.

He was also the holder of a number of diving records in the UK and Ireland, including longest and deepest traverse of a cave at 103m.

He had spent the last two years exploring the subterranean cave network in south Galway, and was on the final day of an expedition this week when tragedy struck.

Friend and diver Jim Warney, who found Kozlowski, said it took an hour to locate the body in a narrow passage. His oxygen tanks - which were known to have enough air for at least six hours - and a guide rope were still attached.

Rescuers have requested assistance from a UK dive rescue team to help recover the body.

The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!