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AOW
The Pinicale: 14 to 18 mts
Ireland · reef · intermediate
14–20 mintermediateAOWboat entry
The Pinicale: 14 to 18 mts
A gully between Gurrig Island and its offshore pinnacle, walled with soft coral and anemones and petering out into kelp and swim-throughs.
Max depth14–20 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibility20 m
The dive
The Pinicale is Waterworld's spelling of the Pinnacle, and the centre's own one-line description places it exactly: a gully that runs between Gurrig Island and its pinnacle, a wall dive with the walls covered in anemones. Gurrig is the westernmost of the Magharee Islands, and both the club divers and the older Irish dive guides who write about the group single it out as the best diving in the islands.
Two independent accounts describe what is almost certainly this gully, though neither uses the centre's name for it. Dublin University Sub-Aqua Club, which dived Gurrig extensively in June 2009, drops in at a large rock off the island, works back along the rock face until it opens into a very large gully with resident lobsters and shoals of fish, and finds sheer soft-coral walls on either side that become walls of anemones as the gully narrows. Scorpion fish sit on the island side; the long-spined sea scorpion Taurulus bubalis is the species in the occurrence records for this pin. The gully eventually peters out and turns kelpy, with a number of swim-throughs hidden in the dark patches among the kelp and shoals of wrasse and pollack above it. The older Dive Ireland guide describes the same shape from the other end: descend between the island and a large rock lying about 6 m off it, through a gully into an area thick with sea urchins and walls of anemones, then follow the island contour to about 20 m and a plateau of rock sculpted by erosion.
The depths do not quite agree. Waterworld publishes 14 to 18 m; DUSAC logged a maximum of 20 m; the Dive Ireland guide has the gully mouth shallow and the ground reaching 20 m as you work north. Plan for 20 m. The two club accounts also disagree on which corner of the island the big rock sits off, north-west or north-east, which is a reminder that this is a briefing to take from the boat rather than from a page.
Access is by boat, ten to fifteen minutes out from Scraggane Pier at Fahamore. The BioMar survey stations either side of Gurrig, dived in May 1996, describe the surrounding rock as heavily pitted limestone thrown into ridges, dominated by red algae, with the football sea squirt Diazona violacea notable on the north-north-west side.
- A gully between Gurrig Island and its pinnacle, dived end to end
- Sheer soft-coral walls narrowing into walls of anemones
- Resident lobsters and shoals of fish inside the gully
- Swim-throughs hidden in dark patches among the kelp where the gully dies out
- Wrasse and pollack shoaling over the kelp on the way back
Please note before you go
- Swim-throughs in the kelp at the far end of the gully: an overhead environment, and a light and a line-of-sight exit matter
- 8 to 17-18 °C water: drysuit or a thick wetsuit, and the training to use it
- Depth accounts disagree; plan for 20 m rather than the published 18 m
- Boat-only access with no shore exit anywhere on the island group
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, ten to fifteen minutes out from Scraggane Pier at Fahamore, north of Castlegregory. Waterworld's centre sits about 30 m from the water at the pier and runs two boats, departing at 9am and 11am. A visiting club can launch its own RIB instead: Scraggane has two slips and a wide gradually sloped slipway, with toilets and ample parking, and DUSAC reports no difficulty launching or retrieving except possibly at very low tide.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Rules and permits
The reefs lie within Magharee Islands SAC (site code 002261), designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service for the habitat Reefs [1170]. No diving permit or fee is published.
Season
Roughly May to September. Waterworld puts the water at 8 °C at the start of the season and 17 to 18 °C in July, August and September. DUSAC dived Gurrig extensively in June and the BioMar survey team worked the island in May, so both ends of that window are realistic. The older Irish guide records that these islands take the full force of the Atlantic gales in winter, which is what closes the season rather than temperature alone.
Conditions
Visibility20 m
Currentlight
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range14–20 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsquiet
Waterworld gives visibility across its Maharees sites as about 40 m on very good days, around 20 m on average and about 7 m on bad ones; the Castlegregory village guide reproduces the same figures but puts the best days at 30 m, so plan on 20 m. DUSAC simply records that visibility was good on their June trip. Water runs about 8 °C at the start of the season and 17 to 18 °C in July, August and September. Boats leave Scraggane Pier at 9am and 11am with a ten to fifteen minute run out.
On current: Dublin University Sub-Aqua Club, which dived Gurrig extensively in June 2009, records the Maharees sites as fairly non-tidal, with only a small drift even at mid tide, and names Gurrig as the best of the group. The older Dive Ireland guide is less relaxed about the eastern end of the islands, where it reports a good current on the third and fourth hours of the tide at Inishtooskert and advises diving slack; that warning is not attached to Gurrig. Take the light-drift reading here, but confirm with the boat.
Best months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Questions & answers
How deep is the Pinnacle at Gurrig Island?
Waterworld publishes it as 14 to 18 metres, but the two club accounts of the same gully both reach 20 m: DUSAC logged a maximum of 20 m in June 2009 and the older Dive Ireland guide has the ground deepening to 20 m as you follow the island contour north. Plan for 20 m rather than 18.
Why is the site spelled "Pinicale"?
It is Waterworld's own spelling on the dive-site listing it submitted, and the catalogue kept it. The intended word is Pinnacle: the centre describes the dive as the gully that runs between Gurrig Island and its pinnacle. Both spellings refer to the same feature at the western end of the Magharee Islands.
What is the dive actually like?
It is a gully you follow end to end rather than a patch of reef. Divers drop in near a large rock lying off the island, work into the gully as the sheer soft-coral walls close in and turn into walls of anemones, then come out where the gully peters into kelp. That kelpy ground holds swim-throughs in the dark patches, with wrasse and pollack shoaling above.
How do you get to the Pinnacle?
By boat only, ten to fifteen minutes out from Scraggane Pier at Fahamore, north of Castlegregory in County Kerry. Waterworld runs two boats from the pier with departures at 9am and 11am. Clubs bringing their own RIB launch from the two slips at Scraggane, which has a wide gradually sloped slipway, parking and toilets.
Is this a good dive for a newly qualified diver?
It is the most approachable of the deeper Maharees sites, but not a first dive. Twenty metres, boat entry, 8 to 18 °C water and a drysuit put it at Advanced Open Water level, and the swim-throughs at the far end are an overhead environment that needs a light and a clear exit. Divers comfortable in cold water will find the profile straightforward.
What will I see at the Pinnacle?
Soft coral and anemone walls the length of the gully, with resident lobsters and shoals of fish inside it, and sea urchins on the rock. Occurrence records for this pin include European lobster, spiny spider crab, edible crab, ballan wrasse, pollack, goldsinny and rock cook wrasse, tompot blenny, leopard-spotted goby, the long-spined sea scorpion divers here call scorpion fish, and the football sea squirt Diazona violacea. Bottlenose dolphin and ocean sunfish are both on record around this pin.
Is there current at Gurrig Island?
Very little by the accounts of divers who know the group. DUSAC records the Maharees sites as fairly non-tidal with only a small drift even at mid tide, and names Gurrig as the best diving in the islands. The older Dive Ireland guide only warns about tide at Inishtooskert, at the other end of the group, where it advises diving slack water.
When is the best time to dive it?
Roughly May to September. Water is about 8 °C at the start of the season and 17 to 18 °C in July, August and September. DUSAC dived Gurrig extensively in June and the BioMar survey team worked the island in May, so early season is realistic, but the deciding factor is Atlantic swell rather than temperature.
Life recorded at The Pinicale: 14 to 18 mts
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTursiops truncatusrare · 4 recordsMola molarare · 2 records
Cliona celataoccasional · 8 records
Marthasterias glacialisoccasional · 7 records
Pachymatisma johnstoniaoccasional · 7 records
Calliostoma zizyphinumoccasional · 7 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Cliona celata | occasional | 8 |
| Marthasterias glacialis | occasional | 7 |
| Pachymatisma johnstonia | occasional | 7 |
| Calliostoma zizyphinum | occasional | 7 |
| Echinus esculentus | occasional | 6 |
| Ophiactis balli | occasional | 6 |
| Thymosia guernei | occasional | 6 |
| Homarus gammarus | occasional | 5 |
| Maja squinado | occasional | 5 |
| Holothuria forskali | occasional | 5 |
| Cancer pagurus | rare | 4 |
| Dysidea fragilis | rare | 4 |
| Tursiops truncatus | rare | 4 |
| Aplidium nordmanni | rare | 3 |
| Polycarpa scuba | rare | 3 |
| Scyliorhinus canicula | rare | 3 |
| Sertularia argentea | rare | 3 |
| Asterias rubens | rare | 3 |
| Henricia oculata | rare | 3 |
| Aslia lefevrei | rare | 3 |
| Pollachius pollachius | rare | 3 |
| Labrus bergylta | rare | 3 |
| Taurulus bubalis | rare | 3 |
| Haliclona (Haliclona) simulans | rare | 3 |
| Hemimycale columella | rare | 3 |
| Haliclona (Haliclona) urceolus | rare | 3 |
| Dercitus (Dercitus) bucklandi | rare | 3 |
| Steromphala cineraria | rare | 3 |
| Aplidium punctum | rare | 2 |
| Ascidiella aspersa | rare | 2 |
| Diazona violacea | rare | 2 |
| Botryllus schlosseri | rare | 2 |
| Dendrodoa grossularia | rare | 2 |
| Necora puber | rare | 2 |
| Obelia geniculata | rare | 2 |
| Nemertesia antennina | rare | 2 |
| Luidia ciliaris | rare | 2 |
| Amphipholis squamata | rare | 2 |
| Parablennius gattorugine | rare | 2 |
| Thorogobius ephippiatus | rare | 2 |
| Centrolabrus exoletus | rare | 2 |
| Ctenolabrus rupestris | rare | 2 |
| Mola mola | rare | 2 |
| Raspailia (Raspailia) ramosa | rare | 2 |
| Tethya citrina | rare | 2 |
| Chrysaora hysoscella | rare | 2 |
| Aplysia punctata | rare | 2 |
| Patella pellucida | rare | 2 |
| Antiopella cristata | rare | 2 |
| Myxilla (Myxilla) incrustans | rare | 2 |
| Protosuberites incrustans | rare | 2 |
| Haliclona (Rhizoniera) viscosa | rare | 2 |
| Spongosorites calcicola | rare | 2 |
| Rocellaria dubia | rare | 2 |
| Polycera kernowensis | rare | 2 |
| Clavelina lepadiformis | rare | 1 |
| Diplosoma spongiforme | rare | 1 |
| Polyclinum aurantium | rare | 1 |
| Cetorhinus maximus | rare | 1 |
| Munida rugosa | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Magharee Islands, Castlegregory
Explore all sitesOverHang 16-20mts0.1 km
Magharee Islands, CastlegregoryA Gurrig Island rock face of anemone-covered overhangs and a small cave, worked between 16 and 20 m.
THE CROSS ROADS: 20-22mts0.1 km
Magharee Islands, CastlegregoryOne of five named dives Waterworld works on the reef around Gurrig Island: crossed rock gorges at 20-22 m, read by the operator as two ancient river channels meeting.
THE INNER REEF: 18-33mts0.4 km
Magharee Islands, CastlegregoryKelp on the top, then a clean rock wall running roughly half a mile down to sand at 33 m, on the landward side of Gurrig Island.
THE OUTER REEF: 24-35mts.0.4 km
Magharee Islands, CastlegregoryThe seaward side of Gurrig Island: ledged, wave-scoured rock from 24 m down to a boulder field that keeps going past 35 m.
Square Rock 12-22 mts1.2 km
Magharee Islands, CastlegregorySquared-off rock forming gullies and swim-throughs at 12 to 22 m in the channel between Inishtooskert and Illaunimmil; the only published description is one sentence long.
THE POINT: 18-22mts.1.3 km
Magharee Islands, CastlegregoryBoulders, overhangs and anemone-covered canyon walls at 18 to 22 m, in the middle of the Magharee Islands where the dive centre's named sites cluster.
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