How Low Can You Go…?

Albert at his Greystones HQ 8OCT19

ou can tell a lot about Albert Kerr is by one simple interaction just after his beloved diving club moved into their new Greystones club house.

The marina master, Bernard Gallagher, swung by, and told Albert that, hey, there was to be no diving in the harbour.

Albert nodded, and thanked Bernard for the information. Bernard – who had also insisted that there be no kayaking and canoeing in the harbour – needed a definite answer. “Does that mean you’re not going to dive in the harbour…?” asked Bernard. “Nope,” came Albert’s reply. “You can get the police or whoever you want, but we’ll definitely be diving in the harbour.”

Having had a fascination with that great big kaleidoscopic world under the sea since he was a child, it wasn’t until he hit 33 that Albert Kerr first took a dive to see it for himself. Before he’d made it back up to the surface, the man was hooked, and Albert has been exploring underwater worlds all around Ireland’s coasts and well beyond ever since.

And much of that time has been spent helping others discover this remarkable world too. Having formed the Bray Diving Club in 1984, a move to Greystones six years ago saw the name change to The Wicklow Aquanauts Scuba Diving Club, as membership spread out through Greystones to Kilcoole, Delgany and on. That the club has members from 10 years of age to well beyond retirement age – the latest recruit just turned 70 – means exploring our seabeds is open to pretty much everyone.

“It’s like hill walking,” says Albert. “You can go for a stroll up an incline or you can trek up a mountain, depending on what works for you. We do a lot of one-on-one training, to help people find their webbed feet…”

About to turn 78 this December, for Albert, diving not only keeps him healthy but, suspended deep in that silent parallel world, supplies him all the mindfulness calm he can handle short of napping on a cloud.

With a shout-out for new members now underway, we swung down to the Aquanauts’ fine and fully-fitted Greystones HQ to find out just how wet behind the ears this Albert guy really is…

You can find out more about The Wicklow Aquanauts Scuba Diving Club by getting in touch with Albert on 0876756439 or [email protected]. And check out Kerr Jr here.