Milestone day as Athlone Sub Aqua Club launches new €128k boat
Athlone Sub Aqua Club launched its new boat, Athlone Diver, on the banks of the River Shannon on Sunday.
The boat was launched at the clubhouse by Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council Cllr Aengus O'Rourke.
Athlone Diver is an 8.0m Humber Ocean Pro semi-rigid inflatable boat (RIB), powered by a single Yamaha 300hp outboard, and was built by Humber Boats of Hull in the UK at a cost of €128,000.
The new boat is fitted with a state-of-the-art electronics and navigation equipment, most notably a Hummingbird, Helix 10 Side Scan Sonor. This sonar can locate a sunken wreck and project a 3D image of the wreck onto its large screen.
Additionally, a key feature of the new boat is the fitting of a diver’s ladder, something which has not been a feature of any of Athlone Sub Aqua Club’s previous boats. This ladder allows a diver to get back into the boat whilst being fully kitted up in dive gear, reducing pick up times after a dive, and is an added safety measure in challenging sea conditions.
Athlone Diver can carry 12 fully-kitted divers and two crew at a speed of 25kts, making it one of the largest club diving boats in the country – this is very fitting as Athlone Sub Aqua Club is one of the largest diving clubs, if not the largest, in the country!
The launch of Athlone Diver on Sunday was a momentous occasion due to the great turnout at the event along with the glorious weather which allowed for boat trips along the river.
The boat was designed and specified by a technical sub-group within Athlone Sub Aqua Club. The sub-group travelled over to Humber's factory midway through the build to inspect the work and advised on additions and modifications, of which may best suit the club’s needs.
Athlone Diver has been funded partly by a Sports Capital Grant and by the generous support and kindness of the local community. The fundraising came from many events held by the club, most notably the hugely-successful Bay to BBQ swim held in September 2021. Athlone Sub Aqua Club is very thankful and grateful for the financial assistance received in order to purchase Athlone Diver.
The boat will give many years of service to the club and the local community. While Athlone Sub Aqua Club is primarily a sports diving club, the club provides a voluntary search and recovery (S&R) service, a service made possible through the support provided by the local surrounding communities of Athlone. Each year, Athlone Sub Aqua Club is requested to assist in a number of searches in and around Athlone and Midlands locations, and even occasionally other parts of Ireland. Athlone Diver will provide much needed support and aid to divers whilst conducting searches in these challenging areas.
When not in use on search and recovery activities, Athlone Diver will travel to many beautiful dive sites along the west and south coasts of Ireland. Additionally, Athlone Diver will assist with safety cover provided by Athlone Sub Aqua Club for many events and competitions held by water-based clubs and organisations within Athlone.
This is the third RIB belonging to Athlone Sub-Aqua Club to be named Athlone Diver. The first Athlone Diver was a 5.8m Osprey Eagle and was officially launched in 1991 by former Minister Mary O'Rourke, who is Councillor Aengus O'Rourke’s mother. The club would like to acknowledge Mrs O'Rourke’s support to Athlone Sub Aqua Club and to extend its best wishes to her.