Ballintoy

“Bring a Da” Coasteering on Father’s Day with CoasteeringNI – and any “Da” will do! Your neighbours Da, your friends Da, some random Da you don’t even know – just bring a Da!

The Da goes free for every child’s place booked and for Father’s Day we have no age limit for children!  You could be 45 and bring your mate (as long as he is a Da) and you only have to pay £30 for yourself and “yer Da” goes free!!!  Make sense?

NO???  Then give us a call on 07513868476 and we will explain it – just know you and “yer Da” are getting a cracker deal!

Oh! Here’s a wee bit about coasteering…

Coasteering is an exhilarating combined rock and water activity that can be delivered to every individual level which makes this activity suitable for those with no fear of heights or water as well as those who may not be quite so confident.

During your Coasteering trip you will learn rock climbing and scrambling techniques as well as how to jump from great heights safely.

Wearing sturdy footwear, wetsuits, buoyancy aids and helmets, participants travel along a section of coastline; sometimes swimming in the sea, sometimes scrambling on rocks and jumping from rocks into the sea.

Morning and afternoon sessions are available!

Are you up for some Coasteering (with yer Da)? Give us a call on 07513868476 or email jump@coasteeringni.co.uk 

We are delighted to announce an all new Coasteering adventure available to you!

Wednesday has been know as Hump Day for the longest time.  We found this definition in the Urban Dictionary:

Wednesday, or the hump of the week!

The absolute BEST day of the week, the day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. A particularly good hump day can last you the rest of the week, and by Doomday morning (Monday) you survive by anticipating hump day. Nothing goes wrong on hump day

Most other days can be defined by hump day. Tuesday is the day before hump day. Thursday is one day after hump day. Except Friday is WOOOH!!! FREEDOM!!! Day, Saturday is Mostly Hungover day, and Sunday is Pre Doom day.

We agree with that apart from ruining your Saturday by being hungover.  No day should be wasted like that – you could be Coasteering, Surfing, Mountain Biking or just catching up with friends with a walk along the North Coast followed by coffee and good grub!

Sorry, we have gone off track!

Happy Hump Day! From now until September we have a special Coasteering trip every Wednesday evening from 6.00pm – 8.30pm and it’s 2 for 1!  Yep, bring a mate, bring your partner, your son, your daughter, your mum, your dad, your granny, whoever you fancy! Make them pay to go Coasteering and you will go for free!

We will be adding Happy Hump Day Coasteering to our diary over the next few days so you can book online!  To celebrate the launch of this magnificent Coasteering adventure we are giving away 10 places for next Wednesday’s Happy Hump Day Coasteering! So pay attention to our website and Facebook page to find out how you can have the Best Hump Day ever!

Coasteering in an awesome that can be enjoyed by all the family and that is why we want to make it affordable. So we are delighted to announce a brand new pricing structure for families that want to Coasteering in Northern Ireland!

Our family Coasteering Adventures are suitable for children aged 8 and older; and with  no upper age limit you bring Granny and Granda too!  If the children are all aged 16 and older we would recommend attending an Adult Coasteering Adventure and you will still get the family rates as below.

We provide:

• All specialist equipment
• Knowledgeable and friendly guides
• Photographs of your trip
• Amazing memories!

We will be adding a load of Family Coasteering Adventures to our diary so you will be able to make the most of the school holiday’s.  It also means that you will be able to go Coasteering with other families – new friendships will be made.

Find out more about Coasteering by visiting our FAQ page

We work with a wide range of groups – families, youth organisations, schools, hen and stag groups, groups of friends, the list goes on.  What you may not know though is that we have 17 years of experience and skills working with young people at risk.

Recently we were working with a group of young adults (aged 16/17) as part of a 3 day personal development residential.  The young people were inattentive, hyper and not particularly focused on any element of the residential.  But the moment we sat them down to chat about Coasteering the next day we got 100% from them – they were focused, listened and asked sensible questions.

So what got their attention?

Apart from the fact that we spoke to them on their level without prejudice?  There were some keys words that certainly played a part – adrenaline, risk, danger, listening, working together, safety, HUGE jumps, good craic and loads of fun!

But it wasn’t just the combination of words, it was how they put in context along with facial expressions and body language.  Something that really only comes from experience

Typical young person’s response from 0:25 on the video

Organising a Stag Party in Northern Ireland?  

That means you are the best man!  Not the “yeah, I’ve known him for years and we get on grand” man.  Not the “he’s a bit of a dick sometimes but I reckon he will keep me out of jail and from getting dead” man. But the best man!

And being the best man means you have to organise the best stag do, the mother of stag party’s.  The sort of Stag Party the guys in the Hangover would be proud of.  The sort of Stag Party that will be talked about for years (in a good way) and everyone will say “you can see why he was picked as the best man, that was epic”.

But, if you have never organised one before how on earth are you to know what you need to do? There are loads to thing about…  Who to invite (and who not to invite), how much money everyone is prepared to spend, how long will it last, where to go, where to eat and crucially, what to do!

Who to invite…

This can be a tricky one but a good chat with the groom will make it easier.  The difficult people to consider are his dad, soon to be father-in-law, his work colleagues, his socially inept and rarely talked about cousin and those two mates that fell out over a girl.

A simple rule is invite people that will make the stag party better as well as those that the groom will feel guilty about if they are not there.  And you can always have another simple night out for everyone not on the A list

How much should you budget?

You need to be realistic about how much people will want to spend.  If you know that most of these guys are attending loads of weddings this year then you may need to be more thrifty, equally, if they are all loaded then you can go a bit crazy on how much they will spend.  Make sure you think about spending money too, not just accommodation, activities and travel.

And whatever you do, make sure you get money off them upfront – collecting money on a Sunday morning will be a nightmare.  Anyway, most things will need paid in advance.  We recommend giving everyone a deadline for payments with the very clear instruction that if they haven’t paid you they will have to sort everything out themselves – this’ll stop you being out of pocket!

How long will it last?

This will be dictated by the budget you have set and what all you want to do.  Some stag groups just want to get out for the day and night while others want a full blown weekend.  If you want to do loads make it a weekend and if not, don’t! Simples really

Where to go?

Northern Ireland has plenty of choice places to go on a Stag Party – it all depends on what you want to do?  A weekend crawling around bars will be best in Belfast, Newry, Newcastle or Portrush; whereas a weekend of adventure sports followed by sing song around the fire in your self-catering cottages would be great along the North Coast or the Mourne Mountains.

We cannot stress enough the importance of being upfront about being a stag party with your accommodation provider.  We have witnessed groups being turned away on arrival because the accommodation was not expecting a stag party – yes, some places have had bad experiences with stag groups and don’t let them stay.

Eating out

This is pretty simple as the group will normally plan this as the weekend goes along but if you want to get in to a particular restaurant we advise booking in advance and make sure they know you are a stag group.

Going out

Again, think about where you are going before hand, make sure everyone knows if the club or pub has a dress code and make sure stag groups will be welcome.  Sometimes, it is best to arrive in small groups of 3 or 4; bouncers can get a bit uneasy when a large group of lads arrive at the same time.

What to do

There are loads of activities available in Northern Ireland but like everything else you need to think about this in advance.  If it’s just you and the groom an afternoon of paint balling is not going to be that much fun, equally, if you take 40 people go-karting and the track only has 6 karts you are going to be spending a lot of time hanging around.

Cue our shameless plug….

Coasteering is an awesome activity for a stag party because it has everyone participating at the same time.  It can be as thrilling or as tame as you like.  Did you know we have taken people out that can’t swim, they have never even been in a swimming pool, we’ve had people petrified of heights too! You see, we can tailor the Coasteering trip to suit everyone on an individual basis even when in a group.

We can provide a bus service to collect you from your accommodation anywhere in Northern Ireland and bring you to any of our amazing venues.

Anything else?

The best best man will organise the stag party well in advance.  He will work out which weekend suits the most amount of people and book accordingly.  At peak times of the year you will need to do this months in advance and certainly no less than 8 weeks.  Last minute stags are not impossible so if you are ever stuck let us know – we can help with everything above.

Make sure everyone’s travel plans are known and that  you have mobile numbers for those travelling separately.  It is not uncommon for one car load to be late or last for hours.

Finally, it is your duty to look after the best man (never leave him alone with the rest of the hallions) and make sure everyone gets to know each other as soon as possible – getting that ice broke early on will make for one awesome weekend!

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We  have teamed up with Meningitis Research Foundation in a unique partnership to raise vital funds for the local charity.

We are going to give £5 from every person that books with us in April or goes out on a Coasteering Adventure with us in April.  With most people booking in groups ranging from 2 – 10 people the charity could be raising anywhere from £10 – £50 at a time.

Meningitis Research Foundation is currently funding 17 research projects into the prevention, detection and treatment of meningitis and septicaemia. The Foundation has spent over £16.5 million on research since its inception in 1989.

Meningitis Research Foundation operates a Freefone helpline – 080 8800 3344 – providing information on meningitis and septicaemia to the general public and health professionals.

Emma McNeill from Meningitis Research Foundation says “we are thrilled to be teaming up with Coasteering NI and we really hope people avail of this great activity and in turn help us in our fight against meningitis and septicaemia.

For those of you that don’t know, Coasteering is one of the fastest growing adventure sports in the UK and Ireland.  Wearing wetsuits, buoyancy aids and helmets participants will traverse a section of coastline, sometimes swimming, sometimes scrambling over rocks and with some cliff jumps thrown in for good measure.  It’s an activity that is enjoyed by groups of friends, hen and stag party’s as well as families and individuals.

So why are we doing this?  We know that times are tough for charities and we thought this might be a great way to get people outdoor enjoying themselves whilst raising much needed money at the same time.  And we are delighted to be in a position to work alongside Meningitis Research Foundation once again.

Coasteering NI mainly operate from Ballintoy but deliver Coasteering at various locations in Northern Ireland and Ireland.  Prices range from £35 – £45 per person depending on numbers which includes photos from the day.  Please contact Emma on 028 9032 1283 or email emma@meningitis-ni.org to sign up or book directly with us.

Without a doubt the Harlem Shake is another YouTube phenomenon that cannot be explained…  Some of the videos that have been made are absolutely crazy and the people that make them must have the best craic – so we decided to make one too!

We created the event on Facebook and had a small group of people appear to take part.  The costumes and props that they brought with them were brilliant and certainly caught the attention of everyone else at Ballintoy Harbour.

So we introduced everyone to each other and then began coming up with a plan together.  The only thing that was certain was Sara would be the lead shaker – she had chatted about it the whole way up in the car and was pleased as punch when it was agreed she could do it.

After we made the video we all went down to the Bushmills Inn for soup and coffee.

Like everything we do, the best part of the day was the banter.  Read the quote and see for yourself

As Gavan said afterwards, “I did it because it was a fabulously different way to spend a Sunday, have great craic, meet some lovely new people & to do something that most folk I know wouldn’t dream of going.”

For Caroline it was all about “getting outside, breathing in the clean air, meeting an awesome group of people and having fun, what more motivation would you need!”

Sara said “I took part cause it seemed like fun and was something different being in the sea to do it!” which was echoed by her sister Emma “I enjoyed it as there was a twist to Coasteering and was different.  I came along cause it was something different and a was a good laugh.”

Super Gran (from Heroes go Coasteering) aka Lisa Kirkwood was back again and she said, ”I did it because having worked with Coasteering NI before I knew I was going to be in safe and hands. And I’m a little nuts”

And young Meghan said ”I really enjoyed getting to dance in the beautiful blue rock pools while dressed as Sylvester the cat.”

So from our point of view it was bit of fun, we all had a ball and the evidence is below!

Harlem Shake is the latest YouTube craze and we want in on the action; and we want in on it with you!!!

Have you seen the videos?  Just go on to YouTube and type in Harlem Shake and be prepared for loads and loads of videos to scroll through!  Some really funny, some weird, some rude and some that are insane!

It all started in early February 2013 when 5 teenagers from Queensland uploaded this video….

So how does it work?

The videos last 30 – 32 seconds and feature an excerpt from the song Harlem Shake by electronic musician Baauer.  The video usually begins with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by other people not paying attention or unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops (you’ll know when this happens) the video cuts to the entire crowd going crazy for the next 15 seconds. The “dancing” that ensues is as creative as you like – gyrating, the worm, moon walking, shaking, jumping and the list goes on!  Crucially, in the second half of the video, people often wear a minimum of clothes or crazy outfits or costumes while wielding strange props- the stranger the better in our opinion!

So what are we going to do?

We are going to make A Harlem Shake video at Ballintoy Harbour on Sunday 3rd March at 1.00pm.  We have created an event on Facebook already and want to get as many people there as possible.  If you want to come along and join the madness sign up to our event on Facebook or pop us an email to splash@coasteeringni.co.uk.

You need to sort your outfit and props but if you fancy jumping in the sea and want a wetsuit make sure you let us know.

This is going to be crazy good!

Understanding Tide Tables is something that is very important for some of the Coasteering venues that we use in Northern Ireland and Ireland.  Ballintoy is brilliant because we can coasteer there no matter what the tide or sea state is like – it can be really rough and it’s great and it can be as flat as a pancake and it’s great.  Other venues need certain conditions to make them safe and that’s when reading a tide table is crucial…

First off you need to know where you can find tide tables.  There are loads of sites that offer them but we really like the clean interface offered by the BBC site

Select what area you need and then you will see  3 columns on the left of the graph.  These show:

• High and low tides
• The times
• The height of the tide

This is pretty straightforward, the tide will be at it’s highest at 0320 and then again at 1505.  Note, although it might appear that tides work it in a 6 hour cycle this is not actually the case.

The height of the tide also varies and this is to do with the stage of the moon and it’s gravitational pull.  When we have a new moon or full moon we will experience higher high tides and lower low tides.  See next diagram

If you compare both graphs you will notice that the height difference is much more dramatic in the second graph – that’s because this one if for a full moon.

Another important thing to know is that for a period of time at high tide and low tide there is very little gravitational pull and therefore the sea will be relatively still.  These slack tides can last 1-3  hours split on either side of the actual low or high tide time.

It must be remembered that there are many other factors that determine whether it is safe to go in the sea.  Local knowledge is a huge factor and one which should never be overlooked.

We will be adding some more information on “understanding the sea” over the coming weeks but if you have a question please get in touch.