Snorkelling - 07/14

Snorkelling Keem 

Instructor - Maria McKay

Location - Keem Beach Achill

Keem

Today we decided to go to Keem bay in Achill for a snorkel. When we arrived the sun was out the water looked clear and the air was warm, so this was a good day from the start. 
We entered the water on the right hand side and had a look along the rocks. Straight away we saw loads of sea life, anemones, starfish etc, but then we came across a big group of spider crabs. This was really cool as I had only ever seen one on its own. 

Spider Crab

This is the largest crab in irish waters with a width of 20cm and leg span of up to 50cm. 

We decided to go down even closer to have a look and this was amazing. Everywhere we turned for about 10 metres was just all spider crabs. We then decided to move on and snorkel over towards the left hand side of the beach by the cliffs. This can be slightly testing at times as there is a really strong rip running along that side. 
We were snorkelling for about an hour when all of a sudden a seal popped his head up about 20 metres away. We thought this was really cool but when it kept getting closer and closer we decided to call it a day. Apparently if a seal comes closer and closer to you it's to warn you to get away from the area because they have pups close by.