Sheephaven divers returned to Buncrana last Saturday morning to assist in the search for a person missing since the previous Sunday.

The divers were requested to assist the RNLI and the Irish Coastguard Unit from Greencastle in a search at low water along the shorefront over a distance of a nautical mile.

To increase the area to be searched the divers were towed behind a RIB along the search area, with two sticks being deployed for a dive time of approximately 50 minutes per stick.

Past Sheephaven club member and Polar explorer Danny Brennan provided the tow boat and kept the divers on a precise track both on the outward and return legs of the search pattern.

While the towing technique proved to be excellent at covering the ground, unfortunately the casualty was not recovered.

The water temperature at 8 degrees was the factor that restricted the dive times, any longer than 50 minutes at those temperatures would have been quite challenging.

Sheephaven divers were out again on Sunday morning, this time for a bit of recreational diving in PortnaBlagh, along with the regular Sunday morning snorkelers.

In-water conditions were excellent, with near perfect visibility at greater than 10 metres throughout the dive area, while water temperature was recorded at 10 degrees Celsius at depth.

The visibility is a product of the sheltered nature of the area and the extended period of mainly southerly air flow, which has kept any significant swell away from stirring up sedimentation to spoil the view.

Finally Sheephaven SAC wishes to express their condolences to the club member Timmy Boyle on the recent passing of his mother, Mary. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílís.