The Pond

The Pond is a boat-access reef and cave dive site located off Wicklow Head, Ireland, at coordinates 52° 58.001' N, 5° 59.942' W, approximately 1.9 nautical miles from the slip on a heading of 132°. A small quay on the north side — formerly used by the Commissioners of Irish Lights — can potentially serve as a tie-up point for a boat.

The site reaches a maximum depth of 15 m. Entry is made close to the "Landing Steps," from where divers head out to sea along the reef; the kelp bed extends to 10 m and the bottom continues down to 15 m. A 15 m tunnel runs through the rock and reportedly has seals in residence; an alternative route goes through the cave and returns to the pond by rounding the point. Alongside the cave there is a kelp bed at 10 m and a reef with shellfish, crabs, and lobsters, plus the possibility of congers.

The critical condition rule is never to dive here when the tide is running south (ebbing, high to low): the cave creates a funnel effect that draws everything in and expels it forcefully through the other side. Dived in the correct tidal state, the site is sheltered and highly regarded.