Bill Larnach's Blog

Farnes 2011

2011-08-23T14:54:00.017+01:00

The Farnes dive trip is one of my favourite trips of the year, each trip has a different mix of people and experiences. The marine life makes the Farne Islands special - particularly the interaction with seals.

Steve and I camped again at Springhill Farm, while the rest of the group stayed at the Lodge B+B. And our diving was on Sovereign II with Toby as skipper.

The journey up was a long drive of 330 miles to Seahouses in Northumberland taking around six hours. We arrived at 7.00pm, put the tent up, and then had fish and chips before meeting the others in the Ship Inn.

Day one started with a dive on the Knifestone reef, followed by the Britannic wreck. Relaxing dives that gave me a chance to get used to my side-slung cylinders. We saw a few seals although not as many as last year. In the evening we cooked a meal on the campsite and then went to the Ship Inn again.

On Friday I dived in a three in the morning - the North Hares reef, another relaxing dive. In the afternoon we did the Chris Christienson wreck, which was quite dark and intimidating to start with, but turned into a really good dive. In the evening we had an excellent meal in the Towers Hotel in Beadnells, one of the best meals I've had on a dive trip - liver and onions!

Saturday we dived my favourite wreck in the Farnes - The Somali. Annoyingly Steve found lots of treasure in the form of glass pots and jars, and I didn't find anything! But I did gain some valuable experience in dealing with a situation. Around 10 minutes into the dive I looked around to see my buddy was struggling to find her inflator and was starting to drift up. I dumped all my air, swam towards her and managed to grab her fin. I then yanked her down level with me. As I tried to free her inflator hose her reg came out as it was caught in the elastic of her reg necklace. But she remained totally calm and let me sort out the inflator and put her reg back. We regained our composure on the bottom before continuing with the dive, both thankful that the situation had been resolved before escalating further.

Lessons learnt: the buddy system works; be familiar with your kit.

When we were back on the boat one of my HP hoses blew, but I had a spare to use for the rest of the trip. Kit wise I'm really pleased with my side-slung set up, but I need to colour code the cylinders to make them easy to identify and configure on the boat. And I need to improve my long hose stowage.

Our afternoon dive was the Abesinia, teaming with marine life, we spent most of the dive around the boilers. We saw several flabellina nudibranchs and a blenny hiding at the back of some wreckage.

In the evening we had another meal out, this time in the Bamburgh Castle Inn in Seahouses.

On Sunday we dived Whirl rocks - a sort of undersea amphitheatre with wreckage in the centre. But as the name suggests above the amphitheatre there are upsurges of current wanting to take you to the surface. This was to be my second situation of the trip! We had a good dive exploring some huge boilers and swimming along the back wall. When it was time to put the DSMB up we almost got separated as the current grabbed us, but both managed to hold onto kelp to prevent the current from sweeping us to the surface. I was around 5m from my buddy and could see him, but he couldn't see me as I was about 2m above him. I crawled back to him, which was a struggle, we then left the kelp holding the reel together, did our stop at 6m and surfaced.

Lessons learnt: separation drills; swim away from the wall and deploy dsmb in open water.

The second dive was a relaxing dive on the Knifestone to end the trip. Overall another great trip with wantage Dive Club - 7.5 hours spent underwater.

Finally, the long drive home trying to keep awake! We arrived home around 10.00pm so I was very glad that I'd also booked Monday off to sort out my kit. Looking forward to diving Scapa Flow in October.

The dives:
Knifestone reef 63 minutes 22m
Britannic wreck 75 minutes 27m

North Hares reef 63 minutes 21m
Chris Christienson wreck 53 minutes 32m

Somali 53 minutes 28m
Abesinia 45 minutes 12m

Whirl Rocks 59 minutes 25m
Knifestone reef 42 minutes 23m

Things to sort out:
Colour code cylinders left and right
gloves
HP hose
reel clip
torch pouch
under-suit leggings

Links:
Farnes Seasearch survey 2005-2008

Vobster freediving

2011-06-14T16:47:00.001+01:00

I've just done two days of freediving at Vobster Quay Inland Dive site. I had a few problems to start with as I found it almost impossible to equalise past 12m. Also, I made the mistake of taking a dive computer on my first dive and I was focusing too much on depth and time rather than relaxing. But eventually I had some good dives.

Another problem I had was my scuba diving wetsuit which got colder and colder as the day progressed. There's a big difference with freediving wetsuits - they're hard to put on as the smooth neoprene sticks to your skin, but they're much warmer! I borrowed a Notanx Cressi suit for the rest of the weekend which was a perfect fit and really warm. The facilities at Vobster have had a makeover and there are nice hot showers which also made it easier to get the suits on.

I'm hoping that my equalisation problems are just down to an ear infection as one ear was particularly painful. It is more difficult to equalise head first rather than horizontal or feet first as in scuba diving. Another problem could be a dairy intolerance creating excess mucus so I may cut out dairy a few days before the next dive session. Being hydrated is also important.

I eventually started to relax on Saturday and the best dives were swimming through the aircraft fuselage, and being pulled down feet first by Marcus simulating going down on a sled - this was particularly relaxing as I didn't have any ear problems. I also experienced contractions a couple of times - the body's initial reaction to high CO2 levels, but as it was on the way up I wasn't bothered.

Saturday night we stayed at Glebe House bed and breakfast which is a couple of miles from Vobster.

On Sunday it was windy and pouring with rain but once in the water we didn't feel the cold at all. I followed my usual form of being tense for the first couple of dives - asking myself "what am I doing here?" on the bottom! But as I relaxed I had some good dives - one at the bottom of the aircraft fuselage rope I had my photo taken by a scuba diver. Another good one was the top of the tunnel, and the 'hairy hole' - a concrete drain draped in weed. We also did some diving along the wall which was good.

I feel that I'm missing out and not making as much progress as I should because I don't go the the weekly pool sessions in London. I may try to get to at least one a month in the future. Overall I had a great weekend and learnt a lot about myself and freediving. I went with the attitude that I must push myself to get through the AIDA tests as soon as possible, but on reflection I've changed to: if I relax and enjoy freediving proficiency will come on its own...

Lessons I've learnt:
I must relax more
Don't be tempted to wear a dive computer
I need a freediving wetsuit
I need to get to pool sessions
I need to start doing static tables
I must relax more!

Links
iApnea (free static tables iPhone app)

Cornwall 2011

2011-06-05T20:25:00.002+01:00

This year I decided not to drive down on Friday night and get stuck in the Bank Holiday traffic like last year. The drive down on Saturday should have taken 4 hours but actually took 7.5 because of an overturned caravan on the M5! But at least I arrived in plenty of time to set up my new tent with electric, kettle, toaster, lots of room, and cook myself chicken stir fry. It’s great to have a tent to stand up and cook in.

Sunday
Dive 1 – Gull Rock out of Lamorna Cove - buddy Dan. Relaxing dive not much to see apart from some large Pollack and occasional spider crabs. I got to drive the boat back which was good.

Dive 2 – Roly’s canon out of Lamorna Cove – buddy Dan. The shot was right to the cannon, another relaxing dive but not much marine life.

We all went to the Godolfin Pub for the Sunday carvery followed by an early night.

A couple of incidents to learn from: one person didn't turn their air on fully and had an out of air situation at 15m, and another missed their safety stop.

Monday
Went for a 4 mile run at 5.30am to make up for last night’s roast dinner! Not sure if it's a good idea to continue with strenuous exercise and diving, although some research shows it reduces bubble formation and DCI risk rather than the mainstream view that it promotes it.

Dive 1 – Logan’s gully out of Lamorna buddy Lucy – nice scenic dive huge spider crab, jewel anemones, etc., and dog fish sleeping. Swam all way around and back to shot.

Dive 2 – Outer bucks out of Lamorna buddy Lucy –good dive lots of jewel anemones, dog fish sleeping, cooked evening meal chilli tuna pasta.

One person reg breathing rate set to minus making it harder to breath at depth.

Tuesday
Dive 1 – Roly’s canon out of Lamorna – buddy David, went north instead of south but found cannon on way back. David dropped his weight belt getting back in boat, good dive but cold - I'm tending to feel the cold more this year, not sure if it's because I've lost 15kg or it is actually colder! One indicator is there are a lot of angler fish about, although I've yet to see one.

Dive 2 – tried to find David’s weight belt, but too much kelp and vis wasn’t good.
Evening meal at the Admiral Benbow in Penzance, fresh crab followed by sweet potato and pumpkin tart, yum.

Wednesday
Dive 1 – Volnay wreck buddy Peter out of Mylor harbour. Missed the wreck but very interesting scenic dive with lots of burrowing sea cucumbers feeding, Very cold! Hard to move fingers to get out of kit!

Dive 2 – Hera wreck buddy Peter out of Mylor harbour, great scenic dive found wreck but broken up and covered in kelp. Saw an interesting crystal nudibranch, wore 5mm gloves and felt much warmer. Evening meal cooked stir fry on campsite – another tiring but very enjoyable day.

Mark had a bad back so spent the day loosening himself off:-)

Sid, Mike, Lesley, shopping trip to the Fourth Element warehouse discovered they do a kit for pee valves, and wicking pants.

Thursday
Dive 1 – buddy Martin tried to get to Long Ships Lighthouse but swell too much, ended up at Gull Rock small area to keep out of tide good photo dive but battery went on camera! Lots of nudibranchs and a sea hare. Cold on dive but hands OK with 5mm gloves.

Dive 2 – Alice Marie wreck buddy Martin, good dive, common crabs lots of Pollack on shot line. 12lt used same air as I would with a 15lt - I still don't get that! Swam length of wreck and returned to shot.

My first stage started playing up but Sid had it all to bits and we managed to sort it. I may have a go at servicing it myself now - if I can get the parts (this German site looks promising).

Evening meal cooked on campsite sausage and beans.

Friday
Dive 1 – long row reef (100 best dives in Cornwall book) buddy Chris out of Penzance. Kelp dive, not very interesting, but relaxing, did DSMB manually but badly! Saw a huge dogfish at start of dive.

Dive 2 – Alice Marie buddy Chris, out of Penzance, great dive worse vis than yesterday, but well chilled out. Did dive on a 12lt, Conger / edible crabs. Swam length of wreck and returned to shot.

Evening meal Godolphin pub, Chick pea curry.

Knackered after a weeks diving! But another great club week in Cornwall.

Stuff I need to get:

Diving
Fourth element new arctic top / xerotherm vest / xerotherm trousers / pee valve patch

Camping
air pump / extension lead / colander / 240v light / ice packs.

Open Water Freediving...

2011-05-15T15:53:00.017+01:00

I completed my Open Water course with No Tanx at Wraysbury yesterday - another step towards becoming a qualified freediver. We started with some lectures on equalisation and equipment, before getting in the water.

Our first dives were free immersion - pulling yourself down a fixed rope hand over hand. The equlisation took some getting used to. Particularly for me as my first technique was to pull myself down as fast as I could before starting to relax! I eventually got the hang of relaxing and pulling myself slowly down giving my ears more of a chance to clear.

I was a bit apprehensive of open water to start with and some dives didn't feel quite right, but others were perfect and uniquely relaxing.

After lunch we had more lectures before a second dive session. The learning curve started again as this time we duck-dived and finned by the side of the rope. Again I had a couple of problems equalising, but did manage some good dives including a swim through inside a container. And I managed to do a rescue as part of my AIDA practical assessment.

We ended with the AIDA two star written exam which we all passed. I really enjoyed the day and I've decided to join the No Tanx club so I can go to the lake days and continue my training.

I did the course in a scuba wetsuit which isn't ideal for freediving as freediving suits are more close fitting and warmer! But I want to know more about the different types before I buy my own. The weight belts are different too - you wear weights low down on your hips so they don't interfere with breathing on the surface, and they're rubber belts that compress as you descend so they don't come loose.

I do have some good freediving fins - Cressi Gara Pro and a Minima low volume mask which I'm really pleased with.

For the past few months I've concentrated on fitness training which has gone really well, but for freediving I also need to work on the relaxation - I've ordered a book by Stig Åvall Severinsen called Breathology which I hope will help...

Lifestyle change...

2011-05-04T18:20:00.009+01:00

To get the best out of freediving this year I decided to get fit. I've been going for almost three months and in that time I've lost over 10kg, 6" from my waist and I feel much healthier!

I started with a British Heart Foundation lifestyle assessment which highlighted diet and exercise changes. My previous diet consisted of shop bought sandwiches, pies and cakes for lunch and a large processed evening meal with occassional vegetables. I now make healthy sandwiches for lunch and eat far more fresh food - a least 'five a day', and have cut out chocolate and cakes. I also try to eat fish twice a week, something I've always struggled with as I prefer to see them swimming in the sea:-)

Previous exercise was 40 minutes dog walking a day, I now either run 3-5 miles or swim 70 lengths every day.

I've now got into a routine and I'm enjoying the exercise and healthy eating - hopefully it will pay off with the freediving. But another side effect is I'm back into running again and have signed up for the BUPA Great South Run in October.

Plymouth Dive trip...

2011-05-03T19:01:00.011+01:00

We had a great dive trip to Plymouth over the May Bank Holiday. On Saturday we dived the James Eagan Layne in the morning, and I finally got to Dive HMS Scylla for the first time in the afternoon! On Sunday we dived the Persier, and James Eagan Layne again.

The James Eagan Layne is always a good dive - a WWII liberty ship that was sunk by a U-Boat 70 years ago (we're hoping to dive U-1195 on the Isle of Wight trip in July). The first dive was a marine life spotting dive with dozens of tompot blennies hiding in every crevice. I only took twelve pictures and they were all good shots of tompots.

The marine life on the Scylla was amazing - every surface is now covered in marine life with large plumose anemones in abundance. I was expecting paintwork to be visible as she is such a new wreck but everywhere was covered.

On Sunday we had a long rough ride out to the Persier, but it was worth it to dive another great wreck - fairly broken up but with lots to see including two impressive boilers.

On the afternoon dive we had a good rummage on the James Eagan Layne and I found a .38 cartridge.

Another highlight of the trip for me was successfully using my P-valve, everything attached and worked perfectly, eventually! I was able to drink at least a litre of water before each dive. But the initial 'attachment' didn't go well - I wasted two sheaths that ended up dangling on the end before I got the hang of how to connect myself! I kept my drysuit on all day, normally it would be ripped off as soon as we got ashore. I was pleased that there were no leaks and I know how it performs. My P-valve will be an essential peice of dive kit from now on.

Now that I've actually dived the Scylla I've bought an excellent print from Deep Impressions as a souvenir.

I'm looking forward to the next dive trip to Cornwall at the end of the month...

Freediving with NoTanx...

2011-02-22T08:24:00.005Z

I've finally had a proper insight into freediving or breath hold diving - it's something I've wanted to do for years. I did an Introductory course with NoTanx in London. Freediving is a very individual type of diving - you always dive with a buddy on the surface to give assistance if required, but the dive itself is very much an individual challenge.

Before doing the course my idea of freediving was forcing myself to hold my breath for as long as I could, but that is not the way to do it. Freediving requires relaxation more than anything else - something I find quite hard! But during the course on the occassions when I was relaxed I found my performance improved.

I really enjoyed the introductory course and I've booked on the open water course in May, but in the mean time I intend to get fit and work on the relaxation...

BSAC Compressor Operation course...

2011-01-16T16:01:00.002Z

Another skill development course completed - Compressor Operation. The theory lectures covered basic gas laws, and adiabatic (uncooled) and isothermic (cooled) compression.

Boyles Law - pressure, volume
Charles Law - temperature, volume
Gay Lussac Law - temperature, pressure

Universal gas law - P1V1/T1=P2V2/T2

And the practical session was on the club compressor. I wanted to do this course as it's a prerequisite to gas blending...

First Dive of the year...

2011-01-09T15:53:00.002Z

Steve and I went to Vobster Quay for our first dive of 2011. It was cold in the water at 6 degrees, but it was good to get wet after a break of a couple of months. We didn't realise before hand but we had chosen a day when the Scuba Santa event was on to raise money for the RNLI, hence the Santa outfits.

We had a relaxing and uneventful dive, the vis was good and we made our way around various attractions during our 42 minute 27m dive. But it was cold so we only did one...

BSAC Equipment Care Course...

2010-11-08T19:08:00.018Z

Four of us from Wantage Dive Club did the BSAC Equipment Care course on Saturday. The course catered for a wide range of abilities and so there was something for everyone. The mask, fin, and snorkel care was very basic, but the reg testing more indepth. After a few lectures we went around three instructors in small groups doing basic kit, bcds and drysuits / reg testing / cylinders, tools and O2 cleaning. We also had a drysuit wrist and neck seal demo, and stage cylinder o2 clean demo.

I noted the following points:

Always use dust caps or pressurise regs when rinsing - a new concept for Dave!

Regs user tests:
pressure drop test - (pressurise, shut off, watch for drop)
breath down test - (shut off, breath down)
interstage pressure test (buy gauge - look for drops or increases most regs around 9.5bar, check manual)
2nd stage release test (immerse reg in bowl of water purge down, let by should occur when diaphragm is around 1.5" under water or 1.5" H2O vacuum using a manometer and sucking on mouthpiece)
***note even if these tests pass there could still be major defects, hence the need for professional servicing***
Also, tests useful to do after a shop service to make sure they did it right.

Sintered filter - black = O2 fire / green = seawater / rust = rusty cylinder

spg - face burst plug away when opening valve not glass

close crack bottle dsmb before releasing to avoid water entering cylinder (something to try)

viton vs normal o rings - viton gives off poisonous gas

Stuff to buy:
Milton
o ring pick
o rings
tooth brush
toothpaste (light abrasive cleaner)
citra clean biodegradable degreaser
small torque wrench
magnifier
silicon grease RS part number 494124
bcd inflator tool
Oxygen hackers companion (Sid's book, not part of course)

Most of it we already knew but overall it was useful to fill in some gaps in knowledge. The underlying message was to get your regs serviced by a professional every year, get cylinders done by a professional, also zips, but do most other kit yourself if you're happy to.

Didn't get given any course notes, but I checked back with the instructor and there aren't any for this course.

Useful links (not from course):
Polymax o rings
AP valves spares
Oxygen Hacker's Companion
Regulator manuals
Apeks spares

BSAC AED course

2010-10-30T19:35:00.003+01:00

Another first aid course completed this week was the BSAC Automated External Defibrillator (AED). It was an interesting course that dispelled a few preconceptions about what an AED is and does.

An AED is a piece of equipment used to treat cardiac arrest - a condition where the heart rhythm becomes erratic (fibrillation) stopping blood being pumped around the body. The AED is able to deliver a 2000v electric shock to stop the heart completely allowing it to reset and start beating normally. You don't have to make any decisions yourself - when the AED is switched on it tells you exactly what to do and when to do it. Once the pads are applied it goes through an analysing phase and will only prompt you to administer a shock if required.

AEDs are becoming such an important item in basic life support that the UK Resuscitation Council have amended their lifesaving guidelines to include them...

BSAC Advanced Lifesaver

2010-10-30T13:58:00.005+01:00

Last weekend I completed the BSAC Advanced Lifesaver Exam, which means I now have another badge to sew on my Speedos - well I would do if herself allowed me to wear Speedos in public:-)

I was a bit apprehensive before hand as it is an assessment rather than a course, but it went OK and was well worth doing.

We started with a short 10m tow giving rescue breaths and then recovering the casualty into a boat. Then we did the a controlled buoyant lift (CBL) from 20m - we were in a group of three so we did it five times altogether - a sawtooth profile meant our computers gave us 5 minutes of deco after around 20 minutes!

We had a short respite while we did some rope and buoy throwing from the shore. Next came the hardest test - a 100m tow with rescue breaths and recovery to shore.

Then the indoor stuff - a first aid scenario with the CPR manikins followed by a 30 question first aid test. I was pleased I did some revision before hand as I got 28 out of 30. The only one I couldn't do was the diagram of a heart remembering the atriums and ventricles.

The course has given more more confidence with rescue skills, and made me realise it's something that needs regular practise....

BSAC Explorer Mixed Gas Course

2010-10-17T18:41:00.004+01:00

I've recently completed the BSAC Explorer Mixed Gas course which gives an 18/35 trimix qualification to 60m. The course is straight forward moving on from the Sports Mixed Gas course with a deeper 18/35 mix, 60m MOD, and use of two stages rather than one. The venue was the NDC at Chepstow.

Dave did the course a couple of days before and I took his advice and dropped 5kg (I was heavy in the sea anyway) - it made a big difference as I felt really comfortable with buoyancy and trim in the water. Two stages in the water were fine and I felt balanced. I like the setup of my regs - each one is totally different and easy to locate and identify.

We did a slate / backup plan but we all dived on computers aiming for a 20min bottom time. The dive went to plan with a bubble check / reg checks @ 6m, gas switch + tags @ 20m. We reached the boat on bottom and then swam around rocks / down slope to the ledge at 60m.

There was amazingly clear vis on bottom - a bit 'green' on way down and back, but not at all intimidating - good to have a clear head throughout the dive. Didn't feel cold at all with 3mm gloves - felt a bit cold on face at bottom, but overall comfortable with arctic undersuit. The drills on bottom were keeping buoyancy with stage clip on /off.

We did a short swim around 60m - I managed to stick my arm down to get 61m when Phil and Steve weren't looking:-)

We made our way back to shot and started ascent - did stops according to whose computer wanted them first. Other drills were gas switching which physically went OK, but I had trouble getting my VR3 to switch a couple of times, eventually I got it to work - something I need to practise.

On the 6m stop when Phil and I had 13 minutes of stops left Steve's Suunto Helo still had 23! Only drill after completing stops was to locate and clip off DSMB then clip back on without deploying. And Phil tried to play 'I spy' with us but we didn't understand what he was doing:-)

Debrief:
we all had good diving skills / buoyancy
We observed DIR rule 6 - we looked cool:-)
When gas switching select stage then trace hose from 1st to 2nd stage to ensure you have the correct one.
Check each others air regularly even if you usually dive together
As you gain experience of deep diving make a note of how much gas you should normally have left at a particular depth.
Take long slow complete breaths on deco stops
Don't exert yourself at the end of the dive - clip off stages rather than climb out with them on and have 15 minutes rest before moving kit

Kit:
Phil suggested outside of the course we try diving with the same gas in both stages maybe 50% to give more flexibility / redundancy.
Andy (who did the SMG course with us) was diving with a side-mount harness (all 4 cylinders side-mounted) which looked really comfortable and easy to set up - I want to try it!

Computers:
Steve and I are going to print out and compare dive profiles to look at the differences between the VR3 and Helo. I may change my VR3 to the Buhlmann algorithm which gives deep stops (this is what Phil uses). Phil advised against changing the conservatism on any computer as the default settings have been tested far more and are less prone to bugs.

Really pleased I've done XMG and looking forward to gaining more experience of trimix diving before doing the 80m Advanced Mixed Gas course...

Seil Island 2010

2010-10-03T13:04:00.009+01:00

One of our main dive trips this year was to Seil Island near Oban on the west coast of Scotland.

David and I set off on the 500 mile journey but were stopped in our tracks after only 70 miles when a front tyre on my van blew out on the motorway. I fitted the spare and we had a 2 hour detour via Stratford on Avon so I could get a new tyre fitted! We had a relaxing breakfast in a local café before continuing on our journey.

The rest of the journey wasn't too bad and we arrived at our accommodation - a Victorian hunting lodge called Bragleenbeg at around 7.30pm. The lodge was quite remote - about five miles down a single track road at the end of a glen, but was ideal for the 14 of us on the trip.

On the first day of diving we dived two classic west-coast of Scotland wrecks the SS Breda @ 20m and SS Thesis @ 30m. Two relaxing dives that got us settled into the trip with sealife-adventures aboard Porpoise II the fastest charter boat in Scotland, skippered by David Ainsley.

After diving each day we took it in turns within our apartments to fill cylinders at Puffin Dive Centre in Oban - a 20 mile round trip. They have a great set up with a coin operated filling station, but beware if the banks are low as you may only get 180bar.

Prior to the trip I came up with the idea of each apartment hosting a 'Come Dine With Me' type competition and our apartment was up first on Sunday night. David cooked a roast dinner, Lucy was quiz-master. Our entertainment consisted of four quizzes - I did a slide show of marine life identification. The evening seemed to go OK.

On Monday we did a couple of interesting scenic wall dives - one called the Slippers, and the other simply the 'Crawfish' dive. Tom and I were lucky enough to see a couple of really large crawfish. They're like large gingery orange lobsters but without any claws. It was great to see this relatively rare and protected marine creature in the wild.

Tuesday was another scenic wall day with a deeper dive to 43m on the Gavallachs Eagles dive site - so named because of the sea-eagles nesting near by. At the base of the wall in the gravel were what I first though to be a type of fan worm, but we later found out they were burrowing anemones that recoiled into the safety of a tube. In the afternoon we dived the Gavalachs Mermaids Garden.

Tuesday evening was the second of our 'Come Dine With Me' evenings - the entertainment was charades which isn't my thing! But we had another enjoyable evening.

I was dive managing / marshalling on Wednesday although on a hardboat the skipper does most of the work in deciding on the site and getting us there at the right time. We did a wall in the morning which turned out to be an interesting dive as there were dozens of stalked jellyfish on the bottom - these small creatures that live their lives permanently attached to red seaweed are well camouflaged and usually quite difficult to spot, but this time there were too many to miss!

The second dive was another signature dive for the area - the Hispania wreck. David and I managed to break out time record for a UK dive with 67 minutes underwater, edging closer to Steve's 86 minute club record. The wreck was covered in marine life and David and I managed a complete tour from bow to stern and back.

On Thursday we started with another dive on the Gavallachs Eagles site the 43m wall dive. And in the afternoon a fantastic drift dive called the 'A1'. It's a wall with fast currents and prolific marine life - every square inch of the wall is covered in anemones, oaten-pipes hydroids and all sorts of other marine life. On the bottom it was possible to get out of the worst current and hold on, but up a few metres you were carried along with the sensation of flying through the water - it was a memorable dive! On the way back to the accommodation unbelievably I got another puncture!

Thursday night was our final 'Come Dine With Me' event which also went well although the entertainment was team puzzle building which wasn't everyones idea of fun:-) It turned out that each of the three apartments won a category each with the final event wining overall.

I decided to have a day off from diving on Friday and went into Oban to get a second tyre replaced at Kwikfit!

Seil was another great dive trip and I would definitely go there again - because of the weather we didn't get the chance to dive the 9-53m Rondo wreck , but I would like to do that next time...

Brixham 2010

2010-09-12T17:14:00.007+01:00

The Brixham dive trip was one of the first dive trips I've managed on my own. It went OK, but managing divers is a bit like herding sheep - when you think you have them all together for a briefing one will scurry off to the boat, the toilet, or to fiddle with their kit! Overall I enjoyed the trip and will probably organise a trip to Brixham again.

Logistically air was a problem although we did find a new filling station called Brixham Dive Shack that was able to collect our cylinders from the breakwater and return them filled. But it had to be done before five on Saturday.

On Saturday we started with a dive off of Cod Rock, which was a dark but quite interesting dive. In the afternoon we did a drift from the Ore Stone. It went OK but David and I were one of the first pairs and as we all started tho spread out the boat successfully recalled us by revving the engine after around 40 minutes. We were somewhat limited by the spring tides and slack times over the weekend.

Most of us camped at Upton Manor Farm Campsite - only a mile from the breakwater and ideal for us.

On Sunday we were all set to do the Bretagne wreck when the steering failed on one of the RIBs! After an hour or so we managed to repair it and caught up with the other RIB on the wreck. Everyone had a good dive apart from Chris and I who missed the wreck after the shot was pulled off by the previous pair!

Another lesson learnt for me on this trip was how to get accurate GPS marks for wrecks. In the past it's been a bit of a lottery getting the correct marks - relying on previous trips, or what was already in the Chart Plotter. However, I've now paid for an annual subscription (25 euros) to the EU Wrecksite which has proper WG84 marks confirmed by the UK Hydrographic Office...

Farnes 2010

2010-08-28T13:11:00.054+01:00

Diving in the Farne Islands is one of my favourite club trips of the year - I've been there four times and each time has been brilliant. There seems a misconception in the dive club that the Farnes is an expensive trip so this year I was conscious of costs. But it turned out to be no more expensive than the other hardboat trips we do.

The first way to save money is to share a lift so three of us went up together. We had only travelled a couple of miles when Chris asked if this was a three day trip - Dave and I confirmed that it was actually four. Chris then had to phone his boss to arrange an extra day's holiday!

It is quite a long drive up to Northumberland - 350 miles which took around five hours including a stop. The time flew by, especially as I only had one CD - my new 'Plan B' album - we all knew every song off by heart by the time we arrived:-)

Another way to save money was the accommodation - we usually camp at Springhill Farm, but the campsite was full. They did have a room in the new bunkhouse which proved to be excellent as well as cheaper and more luxurious than camping. We shared a four man room with en-suite, and a spacious dining area and kitchen was shared with the other rooms. At £12.00 per person per night it is highly recommended! The only potential down side was Chris' snoring, but I used ear plugs and had a sound night's sleep every night.

David made use of the kitchen and cooked us sweet and sour chicken on the first night - much to the envy of the other people staying in the bunkhouse!

As usual we dived with Sovereign Diving - only five of us from Wantage Dive Club, the remaining places taken via the BSAC South East region mailing list. Ron was our skipper again this year, a diver himself he gave excellent briefings and has a great sense of humour.

Our first dive on Friday was North Hares followed by Little Harcar in the afternoon, reef and wall dives with varied marine life including a few seals. As usual there were kit failures on the first day - Chris split his neck seal and was resigned to diving in his wetsuit for the rest of the trip! Also, the heavy swell led to some seasickness - I was pleased my stugeron tablets were working. Kit failures continued through the weekend but we had enough spares between us to keep everyone diving.

Friday evening we walked down to Seahouses and met the others who were staying in the Old School House B & B, and went on for a meal in the Lodge Hotel.

Saturday we dived the Hopper followed by Blue Caps - more relaxing scenic dives. I dived with twin 12s and my new Buddy Trident wing for the first time, and was really pleased with it. I'm getting used to diving with twins, but I'm still in the transition between twins and singles - twins for hardboat trips and single and pony for RIB dives (it wouldn't be fair to expect someone on the RIB to haul out twin 12s with 6kg of weight attached).

Lunch each day was organised by Amanda - a bulk order of rolls and cakes from the local cake shop. In the evening David cooked a full roast dinner for the three of us staying in the bunkhouse - roast pork, with homemade apple sauce. The other guests in the bunkhouse were even more envious as they smelt our dinner cooking! We also managed to watch the first episode of this year's X-Factor.

We took it in turns to cook breakfast each morning. On Sunday morning David managed to set off the fire alarm for the whole building when cooking sausages, and woke the other guests:-) After that we always made sure the extractor fan was on.

On Sunday we did the classic Farnes wreck called the Somali - broken up in 30m, but with a large engine and boilers as well as lots of places to rummage, and marine life to see; another one hour dive was logged. David decided to lift an old lobster pot with his lifting bag, and once back on the boat any small creatures living on it were recovered by our eco-conscious companions and thrown over the side.

In the afternoon we did another great wreck the SS Coryton - shallower at less than 10m but still interesting and completely different from the last time we dived her. A lot more sand had been removed by a storm and there was less kelp. It was also lighter with better vis - we found some nice nudibranchs. I got the numpty of the trip award by accidentally putting my hood on back to front - much to Ron the skipper's amusement!

One benefit of diving with a different group of divers is you get to see new kit and techniques. I was impressed with the idea of using a 300 bar decanting whip to top up twin cylinders, and it's something I intend to adopt in the future (currently available from GoDive for £59.99 including postage).

Sunday night we joined the others again for a meal in the Bamburgh Castle Hotel, followed by a drink in the Ship Inn.

On Monday it rained for most of the day, but the sea state was OK so we had a good dive on the Britannia wreck where we saw a large conger hiding in the rocks - he was really inquisitive and came out to investigate my camera. Our surface interval was spent huddled in the wheelhouse out of the rain and then the Blue Caps in the afternoon - this time we did a full circuit and met some seals in the shallow bit in the middle.

In the bunkhouse there was a great poster listing all the wrecks from the Farnes area over the years, and I wanted one - we found out it was from the RNLI. So after packing our kit we visited Seahouses Lifeboat Station and talked to the wife of the crewman who had actually researched and drawn the map over a number of years. She also told us some fascinating stories such as when the Somali blew up it put a crack in the ceiling of their house! It was a great finale to the trip.

After a meal of fish and chips we started the journey home, reminiscing over the weekend's events and looking forward to next year's trip...

Dive details:
Friday
North Hares 67 minutes 14m
Little Harcar 55 minutes 15m
Saturday
Hopper 47 minutes 19m
Blue Caps 54 minutes 22m
Sunday
Somali 68 minutes 28m
SS Coryton 64 minutes 11m
Monday
Britannia 55 minutes 24m
Blue Caps 55 minutes 18m

Links:
My Flickr photos
Chris' PicasaWeb photos

Portland diving

2010-08-09T20:14:00.005+01:00

Every now and then a dive trip doesn't go as planned and lessons are learnt - Portland was one such trip!

The first dive was supposed to be on the Black hawk, but we made the mistake of asking to use another RIB's shot. The people on the boat said it would be fine. On the surface there was a normal sized shot buoy, but as we descended I discovered it was attached to an SMB line and reel. I was buddied with an Ocean Diver who hadn't dived for a while and was taking time to clear her ears.

As we slowly went down we eventually came to an irate diver who didn't appreciate us using his line as a shot. We were the third pair to use his line - I found out after that a diver from the first pair had actually stepped on his head, so no wonder he was stressed! There was no sign of the wreck so I put my own DSMB up and we returned to the surface. But the next problem was that I had forgotten to fill my crack bottle so we had to contend with a limp line. I was glad when the dive was over and we were at the surface! But another good lesson learnt - be wary of descending someone else's SMB line, and check your crack bottle is full!

The afternoon dive was much more relaxed - a gentle drift off Grove Point where we saw dogfish, lots of crabs, and recovered from the morning's events. But I also started to feel a bit seasick despite taking Stugeron; and I suffered from being in the sun.

I hadn't booked a campsite as there was a minimum booking of three nights so I slept in the van. I decided not to dive on Sunday and returned home early as I was still feeling unwell. I returned home to find that I had to clean up after Charlie who had also been ill!

VR3 dive computer...

2010-07-22T15:31:00.009+01:00

I've always liked the VR3 dive computer since I first saw one - it looks rugged and well made with its distinctively shaped aluminium case. And it's a proper technical diving computer with loads of options. Once I started trimix training I decided to buy one. I went for the full C4 version open and closed circuit trimix / nitrox with a high definition colour screen. My decision to purchase was helped by VR Technology's 'green' offer - the full package for half price (£499.00) when you recycle an old dive computer.

Since I've got the VR3 I've developed a love/hate relationship with it particularly when I first used it and started putting it in CCR mode and losing my gas list. I made the mistake of getting mine just before a big dive trip to the Shetlands and I had to fast-track how to operate it. Now that I've done a few dives it is fairly user friendly and I'm really pleased with it. But the battery life seems poor at only 20 dives!

The Prolink software seems a regression back to the 90s with a user-interface that seems quite geeky compared to the more modern Suunto Dive Planner. But on the positive side ProPlanner and the VR range of computers have been used by thousands of divers worldwide.

My dream computer is the Shearwater Predator, but at £1200.00 it's more than double the price of a VR3...

iPhone Apps for diving...

2010-07-09T16:31:00.015+01:00

I've had my iPhone 3G for a couple of years now and I think it's brilliant!

Here are the 'free' diving related Apps that I use:

London Dive Chamber
Shows your nearest chamber, plus loads of info on dive incidents / DCI.

Nitrox Mix
Simple nitrox calculator using sliders for depth, mix, PO2, also shows EAD.

Wind Guru
Great wind forecaster

WhatKnot - excellent knot tying App.

iResus
Resusitation guidelines - updated by the Resusitation Council (UK).

Simply scuba
Online Scuba store

I've only paid for a couple of apps - one is iDecoPro (£4.99), - it's really good and well worth it. Excellent technical dive planner, gas calculator, intuitive and easy to use. And it's the top rated technical diving App on iTunes.

Another reasonable App from the same developer is iScuba Plan (£4.99) - more of a recreational dive planner focusing on no stops using PADI RDP tables, but with an excellent interface. Great for a quick check of no stop times using various nitrox mixes - everything you need on one screen.

A great charting app that I have is Navionics UK/Holland (£14.99) This is a full charting application thta can be integrated with google maps. It's ideal for planning dive trips as it includes interactive tidal diamonds, etc.

Shetland 2010 MV Karin

2010-07-04T14:45:00.045+01:00

Our long awaited Shetland dive trip on MV Karin was finally upon us – the Friday before was spent finishing off work and frantically packing. My new VR3 dive computer arrived and I spent more time playing with it than concentrating on packing my other kit – the evening flew by and I stuffed what I thought I needed in my two bags.

Steve picked Chris and I up early Saturday morning and we arrived at Birmingham for 4.30am. I thought it would be fine to be a few kilos over – I was mistaken! I was charged £141.00 excess baggage, I couldn’t even spread it around the others as they had already gone through – I needed everything I had so I had no choice but to pay. First lesson learnt – never go over your baggage allowance! (It was my own fault for being complacent as I’ve flown all over the world and always been over but never been charged before).

We flew to Aberdeen on a small prop’ plane and then on to Sumburgh on an even smaller one. We met Dimitri outside the airport - a Russian working in Belgium who was also booked on the trip; a minibus taxi took the six of us to meet MV Karin in Lerwick harbour. Another group of divers joined us on the boat, they'd all been on the Karin several times before - one had a rebreather that I was drooling over.

The first thing you notice on Shetland is that there are no trees! It's sparsely populated and there is little traffic. A great place to relax and chill-out.

Karin is typical of the UK liveaboards I’ve been on – twin cabins; a couple of toilets, but this time only one shower. We found our cabins and started sorting out our dive kit. I was slightly disappointed that I ended up with twin 10lt cylinders, while everyone else had twin 12s, they all said it wouldn't matter but they didn't want to swap:-) Second lesson learnt, make sure your clear on what you’ve booked kit wise! But in the end it didn’t really matter as I matched Steve on air within 10 bar each dive – but it’s a psychological thing to have that bit extra in reserve.

On Saturday evening we went for a meal in a local Italian, before an early night in preparation for the next day’s diving. Lerwick had everything we needed - restaurants, pubs, cafés, shops, and a Post Office for me to send some kit so I didn't get charged excess baggage on the way home!

After a couple of repairs to leaking manifolds we did our first dive on the ‘'Gwladmena'’ (a 67m steamer with a cargo of coal for Lerwick sank in Brei Wickon January 2nd 1918 following a collision with another vessel). There was a significant swell and my next incident involved falling over with full kit on including a stage, and banging my knee – there’s a large concrete slab about 8” high on the deck of the MV Karin. My knee swelled up to the size of a balloon but didn’t really hurt so I carried on with the dive.

The dive was great, the wreck sitting upright with a few areas to penetrate, 38m to the seabed, most of the dive was at 35m, and there were a few hermit crabs, butter fish, big edible crabs, but not that much fish life. Steve and I did a full circuit and then explored the bow for a second time as we were approaching our planned bottom time – our dive time was 57 minutes. I was pleased with my new VR3 dive computer but the gas switching took some getting used to. And I bent my Suunto Vyper by forgetting to change the nitrox mix! Ying and yang were definitely out of balance for me on this trip!

The second dive was a shallower wreck called the 'Pionersk' (a 165m Eastern Block factory ship wrecked on Ness of Trebister in 1994) – we didn’t find it at first, just lots of kelp and a few small bits of metal. Dimitri suggested we surfaced to get directions, which we did and found that we were heading in the right direction after all. The wreck appeared out of the gloom and although it was quite barren there was a lot to explore; Steve became particularly excited when he found some intact portholes - he seems to have developed an uncontrollable fetish for anything brass! Another hour-long dive was logged.

Back on the boat I was seasick due to the swell but soon recovered after regurgitating a couple of chocolate bars. Steve and Dimitri both had leaking manifolds, which needed attention. I was having a dilemma as to which mask to use - one with lenses in so I could see further away, or the plain one so I could easily see my computer(s). I opted to alternate between the two making sure I could see my computer clearly on the deeper dives, and get a varifocal prescription for the next trip - turning 50 this year has taken it's toll!

We were told that the charter only included a light breakfast and lunch – which was news to us as we thought we had booked full board. The lunches were delicious though, and also the thick spicy soup we were handed after each dive, made by Chris the deckhand. But yet another lesson learnt about being clear on what you’ve booked! We went to the fish and chip shop for our tea.

I woke up on Monday to find I had broken the zip on my sleeping bag! I got up most mornings at 6.30am – the others about 8.30am. I had a relaxing cup of tea and played with Max - Chris the deckhand's collie dog who liked to jump in the air for plastic bottles.

We were now in a routine with the first dive at around 10.30. The 'Glen Isla' (a 1423 ton cargo ship that sank in 1917 after colliding with another vessel) sits on a seabed at about 42m, I managed to head-butt someone’s cylinder just below the surface, we descended to the decking at 35m and swam a full circuit around the wreck, the deepest we went was 39m. A great dive – but with hindsight it would have been better to have a weaker back gas so we could have gone to the bottom.

The second dive was on the 'Luno Khods' (a Latvian registered 83m cargo ship that sank in 1993 after dragging her anchor) stern section, which is well broken up over a reasonably wide area. Steve was again like a puppy rummaging from one piece of brass to another! After 50 minutes we both needed a wee, and decided to go up, but I still had 9 minutes of stops which pleased Steve:-) After this trip we’ve both decided to invest in p-valves – a device that lets you urinate while wearing a dry suit and therefore drink as much as you want before a dive.

Monday evening we had a bar meal at a hotel in Lerwick - the room had a strong smell of cheese but it turned out to be the delicious broccoli and Stilton soup and not someones feet.

On Tuesday we dived the intact part of the Luno Khods. Dimitri joined Steve and I as a three, the wreck was huge and sitting on its side, the bottom about 46m and the side of the deck in 31m. There were open holds, port holes intact with glass, and various bits of ships equipment about the place including a huge spare anchor and winch assembly, we ascended after 28 minutes of bottom time to be once again greeted by hot spicy tomato soup when back on deck. Steve and I had p-valve envy when Dimitri said he was 'comfortable' during the dive.

The diving on the trip was really good and just right for our level of experience – pseudo-technical diving in the form of accelerated deco in 40 metres; lots of practise in switching gases, etc. On most dives the marine life was quite sparse, but there were a couple of interesting scenic dives with lots to see in the 20 - 25m area. Sunstars were quite common with different colouring to those in Norway, as were dahlia anemones. Lots of common crabs some of them really big – the biggest I’ve ever seen.

Tuesday afternoon we did a scallop dive near Whalsay, north of Lerwick - although mine was more a photography dive. We saw some huge whelk like shellfish with their syphon tubes out. I had a minor falling out for the first time ever on a dive trip – after being told I should be preparing scallops, but it blew over and was soon forgotten.

The others had scallops for tea, but I bought something at the local supermarket.

By Wednesday the trip was getting more enjoyable – my spate of incidents had subsided, and I was able to enjoy the diving and the holiday. The first dive was back on the bow of the 'Luno Khods' - Steve and I had a great dive, this time the wreck was much more familiar, the vis was better than the first time, probably 10m+ and the water clear. We lapped the wreck 2.5 times and were far more aware of our surrounding because of the good vis. Even my VR3 started to make sense and I was able to get the hang of gas switching without inadvertently putting it into rebreather mode.

John the skipper wasn’t sure about the weather for Thursday so he suggested we do three dives today just in case. The second dive was on the 'Murrayfield', we couldn’t find it, but there were huge wreck shaped rocks at the bottom of the shot, we later found out that it’s very broken up and you have to rummage between the rocks. We had a good dive - very scenic, I found a huge common crab - it must have had a shell at least 400mm across.

The third dive was back on the 'Pionersk', we went in near the bow section sticking out the water, and headed down to look for the wreck, I navigated to the wreck remembering the route from the first dive on her (we later discovered we were the only people to find it). The wreck is absolutely huge, we covered similar ground to the previous visit to get our bearings, Steve had a good investigation of the portholes, there are a few placed were you can penetrate.

We swapped to the opposite side and turned around, we came upon the processing plant, it’s huge with lots of interesting machinery, you can swim right amongst it, this wreck was getting better and better the longer you spent on her, we had a great dive.

We went for a curry for our evening meal - not usually advisable when diving, but this time there didn't seem to be any problems.

On Thursday the weather was closing in but we headed to North Bressay, and dived a wall that drops down to 50m. Steve and I had planned to do an air dive and touch the bottom and work our way back up. Once we arrived we were told to avoid the end of the wall, as the skipper didn’t want us to go round the corner, as a result we only reached 36m. I hadn’t taken my camera because of the expected depth but Steve was able to get some great shots of a dogfish. He also got several shots of me looking like a daddy-long-legs, with my legs splayed everywhere.

In the afternoon we had a walk around Shetland Museum and Archive and did some present shopping in Lerwick - jewellery for herself, but I couldn't find anything for Charlie my dog - he's been ill with a bad stomach so best I didn't get him anything to eat!

On Friday our last day of diving we dived on North Bressey slopey wall again, vis was good, we saw a few ling, huge scallops, loads of hermit crabs, a couple of scorpion fish, and loads of other stuff. Steve and I did 66 mins, we had to do one long dive this week, could have done longer if we’d had our p-valves!

The second dive was Dales Voe, it ranged between 15m-20m, and the skipper was hoping that we’d find some seals. The viz was good, it was kelpy at first, we didn’t see any seals, so we headed deeper to get out the kelp. We saw a few large whelks, nudibranchs, and crabs. It was quite cold in the water but we ended up doing 48 mins as we didn’t want to get out, this was our last dive on the trip.

We stayed in for our last night and Amanda prepared sausage and mash in the galley which was delicious.

Shetland is a lovely place and thoroughly recommended as a dive location, but it doesn’t quite have the allure of Orkney or Norway. Orkney has the kudos of the German fleet as well as a unique atmosphere; and Norway has stunning scenery and some amazing wrecks.

The Karin is OK as a dive boat with plenty of space and reasonable cabins, but I didn’t like the concrete block on the deck or just one shower.

All the dive sites were good considering we were limited by the weather, but we could have done with fuller briefings on some of them. Overall the trip seemed to improve over time as we settled in and became familiar with the setup. I'm glad I went on the trip and I've learnt some valuable lessons and gained more experience in the type of diving I want to do in the future…

Lessons I've learnt on this trip:
Don't go over your baggage allowance!
Be clear on what you book
A p-valve is an essential piece of dive kit
Read the manual before you dive with a new computer!
Don't go over your baggage allowance!!
Greenforce torches are awesome!
When you turn 50 get the right prescription mask
Don't go over your baggage allowance!!!

Links:
My Flickr photos from the trip
Shetlopedia
Shetlopedia wreck database
Shetland Museum and archive (some great photos to get an idea of what the wrecks looked like before they sank)

Wantage Dive Club Cornwall 2010

2010-06-19T11:12:00.011+01:00

This year's annual Whitsun dive trip to Cornwall started with a very tiring six and a half hour drive - a lot of it stationary on the M5! Some people who set off hours after me still arrived at the same time, I just hit the hold-ups at the wrong time. I eventually got there, erected my popup tent in a few seconds and was ready for bed!

Day one saw us diving out of Carbis Bay north Cornwall as the weather wasn't so good on the south coast. We dived Porthminster reef and St Ives Coastguard lookout, I was with a new diver so I didn't take my camera. But we had a couple of enjoyable dives to start off the trip.

By Sunday the weather had improved and we were able to dive out of Penzance - we dived 'Low Lee Reef' which has a nature trail marked with ropes. And in the afternoon the Conquerer wreck - a large factory ship trawler that ran aground in 1977. I noticed a lot more nudibranchs this year - either there are more about or I'm able to pick them out more easily.

On Monday we dived out of Lamorna Cove I actually got to see Roly's cannon - an old cannon found a couple of years ago on a ledge at 17m. It was well encrusted but you could clearly see the barrel and trunnions - next year we hope to do a proper survey of the area. In the afternoon we did Gull Rock one of my favourite dives of the trip - not for the dive but for what happened. Chris lost his mask on the surface, and I lost my cylinder boot as I entered the water. Gull rock is a distinctive pinnacle that you can swim all the way around - at the end of the dive I swam away from the rock in the hope of finding Chris' mask, and I found it! When I got back to the boat Steve had recovered my cylinder boot.

Tuesday was another day based at Lamorna Cove, with another dive on Roly's cannon, and then the Lincoln wreck.

On Wednesday there was a 'Race for Life' event on in Penzance making the car park and slip area busy so we went further afield to launch at Mylor Bridge Harbour - a picturesque marina near Falmouth. The first dive was the Manacles although we were dropped in a different place close to the shot of another boat - but it was still an interesting reef dive. The afternoon wreck called the Volnay was my favourite dive of the week - lots of marine life including nudibranchs and also some treasure in the form of lead balls from shrapnel shells. And I managed to take some pictures of candy striped worms.

Thursday's first dive was the Alice Marie a 25m wreck in Mounts Bay, another favourite dive site of the club. I dived with a trainee and ended up holding her hand around the wreck to be sure I kept sight of her in the poor vis. I really enjoy diving with trainees but it's also challenging and demanding. The afternoon dive was supposed to be the Warspite but there's very little left so it ended up as a relaxing shallow reef dive.

Friday was our last day of diving and it proved to be quite eventful. The first dive was on the Outer Bucks an interesting reef. In the afternoon we went out to Longships Lighthouse - on the way we almost ran ran over a huge basking shark! It's the first time I've seen one for real and it was certainly an impressive sight. Roly our coxswain stopped the boat and we caught a glimpse of it gliding past with its mouth open. We dived on the North side of the lighthouse and it was a shallow kelp dive. After the dive a couple of us went snorkeling with some grey seals which was a great experience. They're inquisitive creatures and great to interact with.

The dynamics of the trip were different this year - different people, different dives and different responsibilities; it takes a lot of concentration to look after new divers in open water, but it was still a great experience...

BSAC Sports Mixed Gas Course...

2010-05-24T21:16:00.012+01:00

I've just completed the BSAC Sports Mixed Gas course (open-circuit 50m 20/30 mix)- it's been one of the hardest, but most exhilarating diving courses I've done - there was a real sense of achievement in passing, and a lot of useful knowledge gained. Most of all it's taught me to respect technical diving and to follow the rules and procedures to make it as safe as possible, while understanding the risk.

The course is advertised as running over two days, but realistically, to allow for trimix fills and completing two deep dives it actually took three. Our first weekend started with a dry practical lesson on kit configuration - and our group had everything including inverted manifolded twins, independent twins, twin 10s, 12s and even twin 7 / 300bar (not recommended because of difficulty in blending trimix to 300bar). The instructors shared their experience and gave some great tips on getting the most out of your kit.

We then continued with theory lessons on mixed gas diving, dive planning, and physiology, before doing a shallow skills practise dive. As we were kitting up I had an inner o-ring blow on the DIN fitting, but luckily I was able to nip back to the shop and get a spare! The dive went OK - we were all in awe of the instructors who demonstrated the skills perfectly holding their buoyancy to a couple of centimetres! The main skill was buoyancy, and we practised shut downs, stage removal / passing to each other, diver rescue, etc. I also had a slight leak from a HP hose, but I managed to change it with a spare I had brought with me.

We stayed overnight in a B & B in Chepstow and went out for a Chinese meal where we pondered our dive plan for the next morning.

On Sunday there were more lectures before our first 50m dive on trimix - there was an amazing difference with trimix compares to air as it felt like we were at 10m rather than 50m and with a totally clear head. It was good to feel 100% in control unlike my previous 50m dive on air. The dive was straight forward with skills practise on the bottom and then sticking to our runtime for staged deco on the ascent. Although Neil had to pull out because of a 1st stage failure so it was just me and the instructor for the dive. After the dive we did the theory exam which over-ran so we had to finish off at the Chepstow Hotel. It was a tiring weekend but we had got through a lot of the course - just the assessment dive to complete.

The following Sunday we did the assessment dive where we led the dive to show we could stick to the runtimes and confirm that our buoyancy was good enough. I was a little apprehensive on the surface, but everything went well in the water and we passed the course. I definitely want to go on to do the 60m Explorer Mixed Gas course in the near future - once I've had a practise with two stage cylinders.

Some of the things taught on the course which I intend to adopt include:

Attaching a slate to yellow DSMB
Using a bottle yellow DSMB
Dive planning using a slate and iDeco software (iPhone App)
Replacing reg necklace with the Lumb Bros. solid type
Replacing clips to ensure they're all the piston type
Attaching flag to stage cylinder
Longer hose on stage reg to allow easier sharing
Rule of sixths for independent cylinders
Closing suit dump on stops
Learn some knots such as prusik hitch

Plymouth May 2010

2010-05-04T18:50:00.004+01:00

My first proper (non-training) club dive trip of the year was Plymouth - it was freezing! But all diving is good diving just for the experience of different conditions.

The weather was generally OK, it was the uncharacteristic water temperature for this time of year that made it cold - as well as wind chill during the transit to the dive sites.

On Saturday we started with a dive on the north side of the Eddystone lighthouse - always a good dive with loads of jewel anemones and atmospheric walls of soft corals and anemones. In the afternoon we did the James Egan Lane a WWII liberty ship in Whitsand Bay - we descended the bow shot and had a relaxing 40 minute dive.

In the evening we had a group meal on the campsite - Venn farm, one we use regularly. There was the usual banter with subjects as diverse as camel's toes and the eighties(?) cartoon Wacky Races!

Sunday was a reef dive off of Hilsea Point where I came face to face with a large cuttlefish on a ledge - he signalled he wasn't happy before jetting off! The afternoon dive was again on the James Egan Lane - this time we descended the stern shot and did three circuits of the stern as I wasn't sure how to get to the mid section!

Sunday evening we all went for a meal in a pub close to the campsite. Steve and Roly came very close to having a tomato sauce fight and getting us barred,but Jackie managed to control them - just!

On Monday the plan was to do two dives but everyone was so cold after the first dive that we only did one, which is virtually unheard of!

It did mean that we got home at a reasonable time. And this was one of the few trips where I didn't drive so I even managed to sleep for a while on the way home...

BSAC Advanced Nitrox Course

2010-04-18T14:54:00.001+01:00

Steve and I did one of the last Advanced Nitrox courses this weekend. It's now been superseded by the new BSAC Accelerated Decompression Procedures course. But we had to get qualified before doing our first trimix course (Sports Mixed Gas) next month.

Nitrox is fairly straight forward with calculations based around Dalton's Law - we had a day of theory before a multi-choice theory assessment, and then a days diving at Vobster with a practical assessment involving deploying a DSMB. It was cold and the vis was terrible but we got through OK..

Cromhall again...

2010-04-12T18:37:00.006+01:00

A few of us went to Cromhall on Sunday to have a go at the Buoyancy Workshop and to have a practice with our twins, particularly shutdowns.

I became a bit disheartened when I couldn't even reach my valves let alone turn them! But on reflection I've decided to persevere and not rush out and spend a few hundred pounds on hoses to invert cylinders or slob knobs. A browse around the forums suggests that it's best to stick with it, keep practising and try out different tips and techniques such as:

Don't stick your elbow out to the side - keep it tight in and brush against your face as you go back, this will give an extra couple of inches

Loosen shoulder straps and belt straps so you can pull the valves up

Wear a thinner undersuit

Fix a short stub of heavy duty radiator hose to the valve knob to aid locating and turning

Route hoses so they don't obstruct valves and knobs.

The diving was still cold for this time of year, but I did get some reg swopping practice with my independent twi 12s and we all had a go at buoyancy. I'm looking forward to warmer water so I can go back to 3mm gloves...

BSAC First Aid for Divers Course...

2010-04-10T17:44:00.000+01:00

Eleven of us from Wantage Dive Club completed the BSAC First Aid for Divers Skill Development Course on Saturday. Most of us have done some form of First Aid training before but this course puts First Aid in the context of diving. And as Basic Life Support is covered in other BSAC courses it concentrates mainly on injuries.

The course was run by the Diving Officer from Newbury club and one of our instructors. We had a great time bandaging each other up - Mark gained a new nickname as the Ginger Ninja when he was the casualty:-)

At one point Newbury's DO seemed left lost for words and wondering what we got up to on dive trips when she asked "How could a puncture wound be caused?" and Steve replied: "...by a sheep?" !!!

Everyone seemed to find the course enjoyable and well worthwhile...

Portland 2010

2010-04-05T16:25:00.000+01:00

The Portland trip this year was a bit of a let down because of the weather and the vis when diving. We only managed to do three dives over the weekend - we even did the Mulberry Harbour just off of Castletown!

The campsite turned into a mud bath so we has to park on the road. There was the usual club camaraderie so it wasn't a wasted trip, but we did come home a day early hoping that the forthcoming club trip to Plymouth would make up for the poor diving...

Cromhall Dive...

2010-03-20T17:35:00.000Z

We had a trip to Cromhall Dive Centre today - it was bloody freezing at 4 degrees! I messed up the navigation one the first dive as I misread the site plan, but Martin and I bimbled about and as I always tell myself - "any dive is a good dive as it's all about gaining experience in different conditions"!

The second dive with Mike was relaxing and we found a telephone box, boat, wheel barrow and a few other attractions...

BSAC Open Water Instructor Course...

2010-03-16T12:36:00.000Z

I completed my Open Water Instructor Course last weekend down in Brixham - it was a really good course and I learnt a lot about teaching in open water; and that I'm not ready for the practical instructor exam until I've got a lot more experience!

Some of the hints / tips / things to try out we were given included:

Break down the buddy check into small steps
teach kitting up in every lesson
be aware of positioning of students
use a datum line consisting of buoy, reel, and 4kg weight as a reference point

Rescue skills:
When rescue breathing you don't have to make a seal on core diver training syllabus - it's up to individual instructors (only compulsory on Lifesaver courses). A useful technique is for rescuer to make a seal on back of their hand that's over casualties mouth.
rescue breaths are a one second breath as in normal breathing
when you're on your own you can drag a casualty out on a shore by crossing their arms in standing depth and dragging them on to your back

Gaining experience:
Instruct whenever you can and incorporate training into normal diving activities
Think of continuing into a second lesson if necessary - some students need longer than others
All the competence standards are on the Instructor CD.

Kit:
don't connect hooks to hooks with reels and DSMBs as they can come undone - connect the DSMB to the eye of the hook so it can't come loose
one technique for kitting up, particularly if you're on a hardboat or kitting up on a bench like at Vobster is to face your kit and connect your drysuit inflator first, then turn and put your kit on.

Compass dry run:
get students to put hood on through face opening to restrict vision

I just need to start putting together lesson plans and get plenty of practise instructing before the practical exam...

BSAC Snorkelling Instructor Course...

2010-02-21T12:59:00.005Z

Although I've already done the BSAC Instructor Foundation Course and passed my Theory Instructor Exam I signed up for the new Snorkelling Instructor Course to further my experience and instructor development.

The course was spread over two days at Radley College Sports centre in Oxfordshire and followed a similar format to the Instructor Foundation Course - developing skills and learning how to be an instructor on day one and doing a practical and theory assessment on day two. The practical emphasis was on demo / do, and the theory on the BSAC PAVE mnemonic - Progressive, Accurate, Visual, Effective.

The course was relaxed and it was useful to recap on the basics of instruction. And I found out my finning technique needs improving! As a photographer I spend my time hovering or frog-kicking around taking photos so I need to improve basic straight leg, bending from hips finning when I'm demonstrating to others. But I did do a perfect forward roll entry:-)

The course was certainly worthwhile and helped me gain confidence. And it all helps towards my target of completing BSAC Open Water Instructor training this year...

Re-compression Chamber Dive...

2010-02-07T11:14:00.007Z

On Thursday nine of us from Wantage Dive Club visited the Diver Clinic re-compression chamber in Reading - it was an interesting experience that dispelled several myths about re-compression chambers. At first it seemed strange to have a chamber in Reading Berkshire as you can't get much further away from the sea in the UK, but symptoms tend to occur when recreational divers return home so it makes sense to have somewhere local. And the chamber is also used to treat other medical conditions.

We started the evening with a presentation on decompression illness - how to recognise symptoms, and an overview of hyperbaric medicine. The we did a shallow dive to get a feel for the chamber.

I didn't realise that the chamber is pumped with air, and the deco gases are supplied individually via face masks. With hindsight this makes sense as any hyperoxia (oxygen toxicity) problems can be dealt with immediately by removing the face mask and breathing air. We tried heliox with the characteristic squeaky voice, which Susan particularly seemed to enjoy!

The chamber was quite compact with five of us squeezed in, but when operational there are a maximum of two casualties and a medic. Everything is controlled manually by an operator on the outside linked by intercom. The chamber is exactly the same as the ones used on diving vessels in the North Sea.

First dive of the year...

2010-01-03T14:38:00.004Z

Steve and I went to Vobster for our first dive of 2010 - a few things went wrong with kit! And it was quite cold with a water temperature of 7 degrees! It was my very first twinset dive - twin 12s with a buddy Explorer BCD and Buddy Redwing (my Christmas present!) combination.

The first problem was a hissing noise from my hoses which turned out to be the HP hose on its way out; a new hose from the onsite shop @ £32.00 cured the problem. Then Steve had a hissing inflator hose which wasn't too bad so we carried on in.

My twins setup is totally independent - un-manifolded cylinders, two jackets, two sets of regs, etc. I've chosen this configuration for optimum self-sufficiency and in preparation for some solo diving. The only down side I can see is having to swap regs throughout the dive.

We completed our buddy checks and started the dive by descending to 22 metres. I decided I wanted to have a go a swapping regs, and as I pulled the first reg out of my mouth it free-flowed. I couldn't stop it and lost 100 bar, but Steve managed to shut down the correct cylinder and we surfaced. I checked the reg again turned it on and it seemed OK so we continued the dive.

The next problem was my weight - I thought 8kg would be enough but I was far too light so we cut the dive short after about 30 minutes and I came up via a shot line.

We decided to do a second dive despite the cold! I added 4kg which was perfect and made my buoyancy far easier to control.

My first impression of twins is that once they are in the water they are far more comfortable that a 15lt and pony configuration. I need to practice swapping regs, but I don't see any problems with switching to twins for deeper diving and doing some technical diving courses...

Fuerteventura 2009

2009-11-22T18:42:00.059Z

The Wantage Dive Club trip to Fuerteventura was brilliant! I've dived in the Canary Islands before (Tenerife), but Fuerte was far better - not just the diving but the whole package - the resort, the dive centre, the dive guides, and the evening entertainment!

On Wednesday 11th November, twenty of us met up at Gatwick for our early morning check-in before the four hour flight, which went without incident. We arrived in Fuerte to a balmy 23 degrees and had a short 7km coach transfer to our accommodation for the week. We stayed in individual apartments all part of the Barcelo hotel complex in Caleta de Fuste. Herself was cockahoop that we had an extra large balcony for her to sunbath while I was away diving. Wednesday afternoon was spent getting dive kit ready and having a diving medical (required by Spanish law). In the evening most of us met up for a meal at 'Miss Piggy's' (our name as it had full size statues of Miss Piggy and other Hollywood characters inside) - a restaurant that had a wide selection to cater for our large group.

Our diving started on Thursday with a briefing at 9.00am. We dived with Deep Blue Diving - the owners Roland and Volker are long standing friends of several club members and all the staff went out of their way to be helpful and make our diving as enjoyable as possible. The first dive site called 'Barranco' was only 5 minutes away by RIB - we saw numerous arrow crabs which always seemed to be close up to a spiny black urchin for protection; and goatfish rummaging in the sand. The first dive was also memorable for seeing some large grouper close up.

The second dive was also a short distance away at a site called 'Anfiteatro' or 'Anfi' for short because the rock formation resembled a Roman amphitheatre. Another relaxing dive where we saw several black moray eels, rays, and more grouper and goatfish.

On the second evening most of us met up for an Italian meal followed by an ice cream on the walk back to our apartments, with Rob, Sid, and Chris going on to a karaoke bar. For the rest of us it was past our bed time:-)

On Friday our routine was established - dive briefing at 9.00am and 1.00pm, meet for pre-dinner drink in the Kings Arms at 6.30pm, which we stuck to for the rest of the week. Our Friday evening meal was a tapas in El Capitanos.

Our Friday dive sites were 'Tesoro Negro' and 'La Emboscada' (Spanish for the ambush) where we saw more black morays and eagle rays, and I saw my first tiger moray which are a greeny yellow colour and have more menacing teeth. We also saw our first purple club-end anemone, these unusual creatures (all anemones are animals) are found hidden away in rock crevices and are usually accompanied by a solitary cleaner shrimp.

There are no wrecks in the area but the varied marine life more than made up for the lack of metal. The symbiotic relationships were really interesting - arrow crabs and urchins, sea cucumbers and small red scorpion fish on the night dive, and the club-end anemones and cleaner shrimps. Each dive seemed to have a different focus - some dives had black morays hiding in every crevice, others shoals of barracuda or other predators eyeing up the sardines. Some dives had stationary grouper, or free-swimming rays and angel sharks. And there was the small stuff such as nudibranchs, sea slugs, anemones, and sponges. The dive centre had an excellent marine life ID guide called 'Guía visual de Especies Marinas de Canarias' - in Spanish, but with lots of pictures and English names were also listed (It's available direct from the publisher for 40€). They also do a condensed version in English called: Field Guide 365 Atlantic Species (available for 18€).

Saturday was another great day's diving where we saw club-end anemones again. It was fascinating to see Roly coaxing inquisitive morays out of hiding by wiggling his fingers millimetres from their mouths without getting bitten! And we came across an extremely well camouflaged octopus who grabbed our fingers with his tentacles and tried to pull them into his hiding place - he seemed desperate to explore us but would only expose a couple of tentacles at a time while staring at us intently! We went into deco on this dive - not really because of the depth, but mainly the length of time underwater!

After me asking every day what the buddy pairings were Jackie gave in on Sunday and said I could decide:-) I dived with Roly and we had a great dive - reaching 42 metres and 54 minutes. I saw my first sleeping angel shark close up, as well as free-swimming eagle rays and shoals of barracuda.

Sunday night was another meal at Miss Piggy's, although some of us ordered exactly the same dishes as our first visit they were totally different! Pasta the first time was a huge serving in a metal bowl covered with bread, and the same item the next time was pasta on it's own in a small bowl. We also called into the Kings Arms on the way back, initially to watch the X Factor results in the hope of Jedward getting voted out, and then to watch an Abba tribute act. Halfway through they wanted a couple of male volunteers, gulp! The others were chanting: "Roly and Bill", but that just wasn't going to happen! Luckily herself managed to shout: "Chris and Sid" at just the right time and they were called up to perform as Bjorn and Benny! They were dressed in jumpsuits and blond wigs and took to their parts really well:-)

On Monday I spent the day with herself and didn't do the day dives. We had a relaxing day with a quick look around the shops to buy a present for Charlie and then sunbathing / walking on the beach. But I didn't miss out on diving as I managed to do the night dive at 'Anfiteatro', which was really enjoyable and my 250th dive! Underwater colours always seem far more natural in torch light - we saw cuttlefish, white spotted octopus, a large red hermit crab with anemones on its shell, and a large ray. We also saw a strange Y-shaped tentacle thing which turned out to be a female worm called Bonellia viridis. There was lots of marine life out feeding such as large sea-cucumbers, and even the black sea urchins seemed to be moving about. The night dive was followed by a Pizza meal and ice cream on the way back.

Tuesday was our last day diving and it turned out to be one of the best. The first dive was 'Tessoro Negro' again and at the end of the dive we saw an impressive seaslug which I enjoyed taking photos of - I signalled to Roly but he didn't seem to share my enthusiasm for slugs! For the second dive the challenge was to navigate from the drop off point at 'Baranco' back to 'Mole lighthouse' at the harbour, around 500m - the first time it had been tried before. Only one pair ended up in the right place after an epic 84 minute dive - me and Chris! I did use and trust my compass but there was an element of luck involved in surfacing within 10m of the lighthouse! And I have my computer dive profile to prove we didn't surface during the dive to check our position:-P

The last night was spent sorting dive kit before another tapas meal at El Capitanos with Roland and some of the dive guides. We then went on to Piero's karaoke bar and witnessed Rob's legendary karaoke. At one point Rob, Roland, and Sid did Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody to much applause. I'd almost had enough to drink to get up and sing myself but it wouldn't have been a pleasant experience for anyone in earshot!

There were a couple of incidents on the trip - one person had a suspected decompression injury after a coughing fit on surfacing from a normal dive and spent a night in hospital, and another unrelated to diving - a painful regressive back injury that required medical intervention, neither were able to dive further during the trip. These incidents highlighted the importance of adequate medical/travel insurance.

Although my personal preference is for temperate water diving I really enjoyed Fuerte and diving with Deep Blue - Fuerte is an excellent warm water diving location and I hope to return in the future. Herself also enjoyed the trip spending most of the week reading and sunbathing away from the hectic pace of work, and in the evenings getting aquainted with Wantage Dive Club...

My diving summary - 11 dives * 9.5 hours underwater * average breathing rate (SAC) 16lt/min * max depth 42m * max time 84min:

Barranco
23m 47 minutes

Anfiteatro
22m 48 minutes

Tesoro Negro
36m 42 minutes

La Emboscada
33m 48 minutes

Tesoro Negro
34m 38 minutes

La Pirámide
37m 49 minutes

La Emboscada
42m 54 minutes

Anfiteatro
26m 52 minutes

Anfiteatro
19m 49 minutes

Tesoro Negro
31m 64 minutes

Barranco to Mole Lighthouse
19m 84 minutes

Links:
Deep Blue Group on Facebook
My photos on Flickr
Paul's photos on Flickr
Chris' photos on PicasaWeb

Solo Diving...

2009-10-24T21:30:00.008+01:00

I don't approve of solo diving - it goes against the fundamental principle of the buddy system taught by all the mainstream diver training agencies. But solo diving has a strange allure and it's something I can't stop myself wanting to have a go at.

I went to the dive show at Birmingham NEC today and a seminar on solo diving rekindled my interest in the subject. The philosophy of SDI is to teach responsible solo diving rather than being wary of acknowledging the concept like most other training organisations seem to be.

Most divers will experience unintentional forms of solo diving in their diving careers - separation / diving with a less experienced buddy not capable of rescue / instructors with students / task loaded photographers, etc.

Everything covered in the solo diving presentation was common sense and already done by most experienced divers - redundant air supply / dive within your own physical and psychological limits / risk assessments / adequate level of experience and skills / suitable mindset. But SDI go a stage further by accepting that solo diving can be a managed and brought out in the open rather than being almost a taboo subject for fear of litigation. There's an interesting comparison between SDI and PADI here.

As a photographer I'm very interested in the concept of solo diving and I'm planning on doing the SDI Solo Diving Course being run by the Wraysbury Dive Centre. Another attraction for me is the idea of being totally independent and self-suffcient underwater...

BSAC on Solo Diving
PADI on Solo Diving
Divernet article

Deep Diving at Chepstow...

2009-10-10T19:00:00.005+01:00

Steve and I had our first trip to the National Dive Centre at Chepstow today - it's a flooded quarry with shelves at 25m, 50m, and 90m.

I've now done several dives to 50m and I'm starting to get a feel for deeper diving. Anything over 25m starts to produce nitrogen narcosis and it effects different people in different ways. It's a bit like being under the influence of drugs or alcohol - some people get aggressive, paranoid, heightened senses, others get extremely relaxed, complacent, lack of concentration, etc.

I tend to get slightly anxious about doing a deep dive until I get to around 30m where I get more and more relaxed. At 50m I'm aware that I'm extremely relaxed and have to concentrate really hard on what I'm doing. It's quite addictive to get to that 50m mark as there's a real feeling of euphoria.

I'm still diving on a 15lt and pony, so the next stage is to move to twins and do some practise before some technical diving courses...

BSAC Theory Instructor Exam...

2009-10-09T18:53:00.008+01:00

Ever since I completed my Instructor Foundation Course in February, I've wanted to continue instructor training so I booked the Theory Instructor Exam for the 4th October. The reality that I would have to do some preparation didn't sink in until two weeks before the exam when I received details and my lesson topic, gulp!

My topic was 'The Sinuses' I spent the evening of the first week preparing a PowerPoint presentation and thinking about the lesson. The exam is split into two elements - a 60 question theory paper and a 10 minute lecturette in a small group, assessed to the set criteria by two Instructor Trainers.

I searched the Internet for information related to diving and the sinuses and structured my lesson around the 'must know' items in the BSAC instructor manual for the sinuses. I altered a couple of BSAC diagrams to fit in with my presentation and borrowed some images from the Internet. As well as PowerPoint as a visual aid I had an actual pointed red pepper cut in half to represent a sinus:-)A great tip in my feedback letter from the trainers was to use coloured cotton wool to simulate a sinus bleed.

I quite enjoyed putting together the presentation, until I started the rehearsals! I practised to myself first, then to my dog Charlie, and finally to a group of club members. I was going to keep my attempt at the exam to myself, but I soon realised I needed some help and feedback if I was going to have any chance of passing.

I sent out a plea for help on our club's Instructor mailing list and got some really helpful advice. It was also great to do a live rehearsal which helped a bit with nerves.

With less than a week to go I started to worry about the theory paper so I did all the diver grade exams on the BSAC Instructor Resources cd, together with some old Dive Leader papers I had been sent. This gave me a thorough understanding of BSAC tables both nitrox and air, and kept the calculations fresh in my mind.

The exam was at a school in Hampton South London with a start time of 8.00am - I was waiting by the gate at 7.00am! After sorting out the classrooms and our running order (luckily we were given the choice and I asked to go first), we went straight into our lessons. Mine was over in a blur and they all seemed to get better. I was quite nervous, but so were a couple of others so it didn't seem too bad. I was more worried that the structure of my lesson didn't meet the PAVE criteria - Progressive, Accurate, Visual, and Effective.

After a short break and cup of coffee it was straight into the written exam - the first few questions were a nightmare until I got settled and gained confidence with the tables questions. There were a few ambiguities - one question had an answer of 90 minutes, and yet 90 minutes wasn't an option. I left the exam feeling deflated and not honestly knowing whether I had passed. The following Thursday I tentatively phoned for my result and to my surprise was told I had passed both elements! When my assessment came through in the post I was pleased with a good pass and recommendation to continue with the Practical Instructor exam.

But just is my luck, my club has decided not to run an Ocean Diver course this winter, which means I miss out on getting experience teaching the core Ocean Diver syllabus - I feel like I've passed my driving licence but I haven't got a car for the foreseeable future!

Farnes 2009

2009-09-15T19:49:00.004+01:00

The Farnes dive trips seem to get better and better each year! This was my third trip - we dived with Sovereign Diving and stayed at Springhill Farm Campsite It was a long journey but David cooked an excellent curry when we arrived.

On day one we dived 'North Hares' and the 'Abessinia'. Before we even got in the water there were some minor diving calamities - Laura's inflator hose stuck on, Neil had a freeflow, and Chris' wrist seal split! But we all went on to have a couple of good dives - apart from Chris who had to wait until we got back to repair his seal. I was leading and turned South too soon and missed most of the Abessiniainflaterfree flow, but we did see a couple of velvet swimming crabs and a lobster munching on a large Monkfish carcass.

Our evening meal was a delicious pasta dish cooked by Tom and Clare who were also camping.

Day two and our first dive was the 'Blue Caps' - our skipper Ron gave us an excellent briefing - telling us to circumnavigate the pinnacle by coming up and through a gully where the seals were playing. We were followed by a couple of young seals who kept their distance but were really inquisitive. The second dive was the 'SS Coryton' which I've dived before but I didn't remember it being this good! We dived the length of the wreck and back. The wreck was broken up but the prop shaft led us to some huge boilers with Blennies resting in the tubes.

Day three was another dive on the 'Blue Caps' this time following the reef along rather than up and over and back to where we started. The afternoon dive was on the 'Pinnacles' another excellent dive where Graham and I saw two curly octopus. Mike and Amanda both had their high pressure hoses blow on the surface!

Day four saw us diving 'Big Harcar' and 'Little Harcar', we told David the maximum dive time was 45 minutes as he had been doing 60+ minutes. He stuck to the time, but the rest of us were having such a good dive we did 60 minutes:-) The trip was soon over and we faced the long drive home, all looking forward to coming back again next year...

Diving tool kit....

2009-08-30T11:39:00.003+01:00

As an engineer I'm fascinated by hand tools and have a large collection of my own. I've recently discovered a range of stainless tools offered by German manufacturer Wera. These tools seem suitable for a marine environment and ideal for a 'diving tool kit'...

Kimmeridge again...

2009-08-09T20:29:00.001+01:00

I organised a trip to Kimmeridge this weekend - mainly to get this year's Ocean divers in the water, but only a couple of them took up the offer. Five of us did two very shallow but relaxing dives - it all adds to diving experience...

North Cornwall...

2009-08-03T23:12:00.001+01:00

Last year I missed out on the North Cornwall dive trip, which was disappointing as it was hailed as one of the best trips of the year. This year I signed up and we did have some great diving.

We stayed at Trewiston campsite just outside the seaside village of Rock, which was our launch base for the weekend. Our first dive was on the SS Sphene a 25m wreck full of marine life including numerous conger and Tompot blennies - one of the congers came right out to investigate the camera! The second dive was a relaxing scenic dive.

On Saturday the wind direction had changed meaning we can to move South and launch out of Fowey. Because of problems with organising air fills we were only able to do one dive, another scenic reef. Interestingly it was noticeably colder diving south Cornwall by at least 4 degrees. I dived with Susan and she pointed out some sea hares as well as an unknown squidgy thing which we have since found out is a stalked jellyfish.

On Sunday we were back to launching from Rock and another dive on the SS Sphene I enjoyed the dive, but felt seasick on the way back despite taking my usual Stugeron motion sickness tablets! I dropped out of the afternoon dive and relaxed ready for the drive home. And did some reminiscing over childhood summer holidays and sailing out of Rock. It all seemed that much bigger then and Padstow much further away, but I was only about 10...

Diving Portland again...

2009-07-20T18:50:00.001+01:00

We had another club trip to Portland this weekend. The weather wasn't too good, but we still managed to dive outside the breakwater. The dives weren't brilliant, but it was good experience for me leading a newly qualified diver. We did a couple of drifts along Balaclava Bay, the Landing Craft and the outer breakwater to the north.

Another camping trip at Seabarn farm Weymouth...

Dive Norway 2009

2009-07-09T18:50:00.045+01:00

Five of us from Wantage Dive Club set out on the evening of Friday 26th June for our long anticipated dive trip to Western Norway aboard the 'Jane R', a fifty year old Scottish herring boat. We flew to Bergen and met up with the 'Jane R' , and her skipper Gordon Wadsworth at around midnight - it was still light! After a beer (£6.80 a glass!) in a local bar we settled into our cabins, and early next morning started getting our kit ready for the first dive. We also met the other five divers on the trip who came from Crawley Divers.

The UK was experiencing a heatwave with temperatures in the 30s, and so was Norway! During the whole week it only rained for around 10 minutes and soon dried out. We left Bergen and started cruising north at steady 5 knots to our first dive site.

After a breakfast of porridge and some kit fondling on Saturday morning we were ready for our first dive - the 'Spring' a 1914 cargo ship that ran aground metres from the shore. Glenn didn't have enough weight so we surfaced while he added a couple of kilos and then had a short dive around the bow of the wreck, and made our way around an adjacent wall for our 63 minute dive. There were dozens of hermit crabs who all ran away as soon as I got close and didn't want to pose for photos!

The afternoon was spent catching up with sleep, before our second dive in Fedje harbour another one hour dive where we saw a range of marine life such as colourful dragonets, angler fish, common crabs, and flatfish. After a shower and evening meal most of us went for a walk around the Island and on to the local pub to watch Amanda doing karaoke with the locals - a guitar and accordion were the backing music.

Gordon was a relaxed and laid back skipper - there weren't any hard and fast rules like you get on some liveaboards. We all mucked-in and helped with mooring the boat, filling nitrox, etc. Nitrox was via an O2 Haskel pump, using the air compressor to pump from the O2 cylinder to our dive cylinders.

Our first dive on Sunday was a modern wreck called the 'MV Server', a 20,000 ton cargo ship, which sunk in 2007 causing an environmental incident with the oil spill. As with all the wrecks it had an interesting story explained by Gordon before the dive. The 'MV Server' was empty and on its way to Murmansk in a force 6 - the Greek skipper who hadn't been to the area before, didn't fill with water ballast as he thought it might freeze - this made the ship too high in the water, the props were cavitating and couldn't bite, and it was swept onto the rocks and sank. It was an interesting dive with penetration into the bridge, and crew accommodation (the holds and foward section were salvaged). It was strange to see plumose anemones growing on the radio equipment on the bridge and to be diving a wreck that was only two years old.

I almost got the numpty of the week award for trying to get up when my cylinder was still tied on a couple of times, but Amanda became a clear winner when she tried to put her leg in the arm of her dry suit!

After each dive Anita the Norwegian cook supplied us with coffee and pancakes or cakes. Although the water temperature was around 10 degrees I didn't feel cold on any of the dives. The food on the trip was really good, and although I don't usually eat fish, the fish dishes had enough garlic, cheese, etc., so even I enjoyed them. We had three meals a day to cope with our ravenous appetite due to diving.

In the afternoon we went for a walk around a WWII German gun emplacement on Fedje Island - part of the 'Atlantik Wall'. Gordon the skipper has a wealth of knowledge and gave us a detailed description prior to each of our excursions.

Our second dive on Sunday didn't start well as we missed the wreck - the 'Kilbulk' lying in a steep sided valley - it was deeper than we thought and as we were diving on nitrox, our max dept was around 30m, I did catch a glimpse of the masts, but they were gone before I could catch the attention of the others. It was quite gloomy, the vis wasn't all that good because of the plankton, Dave was getting a headache, and we were about to call it off. And then I saw a wolffish laying on the slope! I frantically waved my arms about to attract the other two and managed to get a few photos. We only saw one all week, but I was particularly pleased as it was one of the reasons I wanted to dive Norway.

On Sunday evening we moored at a newly built boat hotel and walked to the top of a hill to take in a view of the fjords all around.

Monday took us to Norä Fjord and a dive on the 'SS Frankenwald', which sank in 1940 after a navigation error while under German control. It's arguably one of the best wrecks in Norway and was a great dive - 45m to the sea bed and 30m to the deck. It was so good we dived this wreck twice. Disappointingly my camera started playing up, first the housing buttons started sticking and operating themselves causing custom white balance to make everything red. And then I somehow got condensation on the inside of the lens which never really cleared for the rest of the trip. At least I got the wolffish photo before it started playing up, and I know next time not to open the housing when it's wet, and to pack some silica gel sachets. I think the condensation must have been related to the extremes in temperature, 30+ degrees on the surface and 9 degrees in the water, as I've used the same camera setup on liveaboards without any problems before. But strangely no one else on the trip with a camera seemed to have the same problem? Perhaps it was also down to my excessive kit fiddling and opening the housings after every dive?

In the afternoon we visited a stone mason's factory where they cut and polish the local conglomerate stone (sulestein) into table tops, pizza plates and other things. Gordon the skipper noticed an old but unused 1983 gearbox for the 'Jane R' laying in the corner - which was a surprising coincidence as the Jane R's was playing up! He eventually bought and fitted the gearbox at the end of the week.

Our third dive on Monday was a scenic dive around Faeröy harbour which we called the lucky crab dive, as Dave and I wrestled with a particular crab to get it in the goody bag, only to feel sorry for it on the surface because it had put up such a fight and let it go!

Tuesday's first dive was the 'Havda' wreck off Luta Island, followed by the 'Macbeth' - two interesting square profile dives at 23m and 37m. I was surprised at the size of the anemones on the Havda - when closed they were the shape and patterning of marrows, at least 150mm diameter. At lunchtime we moored on Luta Island for a walk around another WWII German fort - this one had German writing on the walls and even drawings of the surrounding mountains for range finding the guns in the control room. Tuesday afternoon we moored at an isolated unmanned lighthouse at Geita Island, where we had a look at even more amazing views.

For our evening dive we were back near the stone mason in Buskoy harbour, where Gordon negotiated the price of the gearbox. And Glenn, David, and I dived against a wall covered in anemones and sunstars.

Wednesday was the best day of the trip with a climb of 480m to the top of Aralden Island , a rapid descent back down to cool off with a swim in the fjord, followed by our first dive on the 'Welheim'. This was another amazing dive - for the first 10m it was like diving in milk, but then the vis suddenly became very clear and we could see the whole wreck below - we descended to 46m and made our way back up to the bow. It was so milky at the top we couldn't find the shot which was only a few metres away so we surfaced with a DSMB. Our second dive was a scenic dive in Norddals Fjord, before making our way to Florø - described as the "prettiest town in Norway" to moor up for the night.

Thursday morning was spent walking around Florø and visiting the Tourist Information Centre, before heading off for a second dive on the 'Welheim', where we reached 47m and managed to find the shot on the way back this time. Our second dive was a scenic dive at Skorpa. In the evening we moored at a disused saw mill where we had a barbecue - the place is nicknamed 'midge bay' so insect repellent was essential!

Friday was the best dive of the trip on the 'Ferndale and Parot'- two wrecks one above the other ranging in depth from 5-70m. It was a personal milestone for me as it was my first 50m dive. Again the vis was poor for the first few metres, but under the algae it was amazingly clear. We got to the stern of the Ferndale and could easily see most of the Parot, so we dipped down another few metres before slowly making our way back up to the Ferndale. We went through a hole under the Ferndale where we saw huge plumose anemones - accurately described by Gordon as hanging down like: "cauliflowers on the end of donkeys' dicks".

We had started our return journey south and our second dive of the day was another dive on the 'SS Frankenwald'. Friday night was spent moored at Fedje harbour, before continuing our journey to Bergen.

On Saturday we dived the 'MV Server' again, and our last dive was just outside Bergen at Mjatveitstø - we saw a reasonably sized ray on this dive.

Our return flight wasn't until early evening so Sunday was spent walking around Bergen and present shopping - Charlie my dog got some reindeer salami, and Herself some jewellery and perfume.

Overall it was a fantastic dive trip, and one that we all want to do again - probably out of Narvik next time. The diving was excellent, the Jane R has a relaxing aura , and the trip was made by the skipper's character and knowledge...

Things to bring on the Jane R:
Insect repellent
Tea Bags
Brown Sauce
Silica gel sachets for underwater camera housings

Useful links:
Dive Norway
Norway Diving Information site
Atlantik wall
Bunker Art
Norway wreck list
War Sailors
German Destroyers
Festung Norwegen
Norwegian Tourist Board
Sea Food from Norway
'Jane R' Group on Facebook

West Bay

2009-06-18T19:07:00.006+01:00

Our dive trips this year keep getting better and better! The West Bay trip was no exception with four excellent dives on the Baygitano, Saw Tooth Ledges, the Gibel Hamam, and High Ground Reef. The visibility was the best I've seen on the Baygitano at around 5-8m, and the congers were impressive as usual. But I didn't get any decent photos of them as I didn't have the camera strobe set up right! I did get to take lots of other photos though, and I intend to fill out SeaSearch forms for all four dives from the photos I've uploaded to Flickr.

Another pre-dive comment from Mike - he said they're weren't any boilers on the Baygitano, and as we descended the shot two huge boilers appeared! Steve had an amusing way to remember how valves work - "righty tighty, lefty loosey", as an engineer I instinctively know which direction to turn, but it's a great saying to pass on anyone who is unsure...

We camped at Highlands End Park Eype overlooking West Bay.

Cornwall '09 Dive Trip...

2009-05-31T17:43:00.027+01:00

The Wantage Dive Club annual pilgrimage to Cornwall was a great week of UK club diving; there were numerous happenings - as you would expect when around thirty diverse people share various parts of a week together! Almost everyone camped at Trevair Touring Park with a few sharing caravans and cottages on the same site. Our dive base was Lamorna Cove, where we met the RIBs each day once they were launched from Penzance slip.

All grades of diver were present from novices to BSAC Advanced Divers. We started the week with some scenic dives around the Bucks (an offshore reef consisting of two pinnacles visible at low tide). On Sunday some of us did the 'SS Hellopes' wreck at 34m, which was our deepest dive. There was a huge range of marine life spotted during the week including a large common octopus (named George from Rainbow, by Les) seen by Tom and I, a large shark (yawn!) allegedly seen by Steve, and almost everyone saw congers, cuttlefish, dogfish, tompot blennies, crabs and lobsters, as well as the usual squidy things.

We soon got in a routine of up, breakfast, dive, lunch, dive, dinner, shower, bed. It's surprising how tiring diving makes you - not during the dive, but in the breaks in between. I had planned on filling out SeaSearch forms each day, but I've left it until after to trip and will use my Flickr images taken on the dives.

On Wednesday we were blown out and had a day off where most of us went to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. It brought back childhood memories of my dad painstakingly building a wooden GP14 dingy and sailing holidays in North Cornwall. Building my own boat is something I want to do one day - the Mirror dingy pictured above during our museum visit is still available in wooden kit form from Trident UK.

In the afternoon we called into Porthleven for a cream tea - Sid was so taken with the cream teas he even called into Tescos on the way back to the campsite and bought the ingredients to make his own. Roly found a namesake in the form of a Fish & Chip shop called 'Rolands Happy Plaice'.

Another activity experienced on the day we were blown out was kite flying as Mike had brought his power kite with him. Within minutes it ended up stuck in a tree on the campsite, but was subsequently recovered by Roly via a ladder and boat hook. Mike, Sid, and I went on to take the kite down to the beach at Marazion and after becoming airbourne several times I'm hooked and want a kite of my own, and a go at kitesurfing.

The week continued with dives on the 'Alice Marie' wreck - fairly flat and broken up, but a great dive because of the congers and edible crabs hiding under the plates. As well as several dives on the inner and outer Bucks (where we saw the octopus), we also dived Gull rock, Logan's gully, and Pendennis Point on the south coast. On the last day we tried several dive sites on the north coast out of Carbis bay, but the swell and current were running too much. We eventually ended up at Porthminster reef and it turned out to be one of the best dives of the trip. It was only shallow at 10m, but teaming with marine life - there were dozens of spiny spider crabs on every rock, wrasse, tompot blennies, candy stripe worms, pipe fish, and more. It was great to see how much the novices enjoyed the diving and spotting the marine life.

The week didn't pass without some minor incidents - Mark sprained his ankle while walking Calum the dog; Andy missed a stop after getting caught on his marker buoy, and also lost his brand new torch the first time he dived with it!; Mike flooded his camera; and Tom lost a fin. But overall as a club all 218 dives were safely completed.

It wasn't only the diving that made the trip special, but the people involved: the assistant dive managers, cox'ns, boat crew, and all the divers for being at the right place at the right time, with the right kit. And most of all a special thank you to Jackie and Roly for organising yet another fantastic dive trip...

Links:
My Flickr photos
Paul's Flickr photos
Chris' Picasa photos

Mounts Bay Archaeology Project

Training at Vobster...

2009-05-09T12:44:00.000+01:00

I did my first one to one training today - it was a positive experience, I learnt a lot. It's important to concentrate on the trainee so there was no taking a camera on the dive. I had to grab hold and control two peoples buoyancy a couple of times, but it's given me the confidence to deal with novices in various situations...

Salcombe dive trip

2009-05-04T12:23:00.000+01:00

We dived out of Salcombe this weekend - camping at Alston Farm and launching at Salcombe slip. The most memorable dive of the trip and one of the best dives I've done was The Maine wreck. It was covered in marine life such as Oaten Pipes hydroids, blennys, wrasse, and anemones. We dived the wreck twice as it was so good.

Another wreck was the Herzogin Cecilie - Mike had dive it several times and said: "if you can't find this wreck you should give up diving", needless to say no one found the wreck, not even him!! There were a few kelp dives, but I particularly enjoyed the one with David as it was so relaxed. We had a great weekend's diving...

Training at Cromhall

2009-04-25T13:02:00.000+01:00

I shadowed David and Mark doing Ocean diver training today and got my first taste of dealing with novices. Everything went OK and I learnt a lot from the experience...

SeaSearch Photography Course Brownsea Island

2009-04-21T19:09:00.006+01:00

Four of us from Wantage Dive Club attended the SeaSearch Underwater Photography Course at Brownsea Island, hosted by Dorset Wildlife Trust. It was an interesting weekend, both from prospective of learning more about Underwater Photography and also experiencing the wildlife on Brownsea Island.

We were all fascinated by the chickens who stand about on one leg and then fly up in the trees at night! And the red squirrels running up and down the trees. Brownsea Island is a really tranquil and relaxing place, but there were a few challenges such as carrying our kit down to Pottery Pier and then back up the steep steps!

The diving was shallow with variable vis, but OK for surveying the area and taking photos. I was pleased to find a few crabs, and a large pipefish.

We learnt some interesting techniques - I was impressed with synching images with geodata via a GPS using Google's 'gpicsync' freeware...

Portland Trip 2009

2009-04-11T20:20:00.003+01:00

The Portland Dive trip this year was the best I've done - the weather was perfect and even the vis in the harbour was around 4m. We dived the Countess of Erne and the Cragside wrecks in the harbour. And outside several dives around Balaclava Bay Reef, and the British Inventor wreck, which is totally flattened but has some interesting marine life, including a huge edible crab.

This was my first proper go at dive managing (jointly with Les - 1.5 days each) and everything went reasonably well.

SeaSearch Dives..

2009-04-05T19:51:00.000+01:00

To complete the SeaSearch Observer Course you have to fill out 5 forms, with the first two checked by a tutor. We did ours at Kimmeridge, which was my first time diving in this area. The dives were ideal to practice the SeaSearch stuff but it was very shallow in the bay at less than 3m...

SeaSearch Observer Course

2009-03-28T19:39:00.001Z

Lucy and I have completed the SeaSearch Observer Course at Kimmerage. This one day course teaches you how to fill out the SeaSearch Observer forms and some basic marine life ID techniques. I found the course really interesting and I'm looking forward to combining SeaSearch and underwater photography.

First dive of the year...

2009-03-14T18:00:00.001Z

Andy and I went to Stoney today for the first dive of 2009 - it was cold! And the vis was only a couple of metres. On the first dive I missed the hydrobox, so we bimbled about in the 35m bit and then we eventually ended up back at the bus stop, exactly where we had started from. On the second dive Andy missed the Stanegarth so we came back via the bus. The day got us back into the delights of UK diving...

BSAC Instructor Foundation Course

2009-02-22T19:01:00.002Z

I'm one of the majority who doesn't like standing up in front of a group of people and talking. And I mean I really don't like it! But I forced myself to do it as teaching a subject is one of the best ways to know it inside out yourself.

The BSAC Instructor Foundation Course is a two day event which introduces the basic concepts of diving instruction in both a classroom and pool environment. Day one is where the Instructors do the demonstrating and on day two each student does a 10 minute classroom presentation followed by a 20 minute pool lesson. None of the course is assessed.

Saturday night was spent putting together some OHP slides on my classroom subject - 'The effects of Pressure on the Ear' (I should have used PowerPoint!). And a slate on 'Alternate Source' for my practical lesson. I wish I had spent more time on preparation and at least rehearsed the theory lesson. But once I was up there it wasn't as daunting as I was expecting. The course mantra is 'small steps' and I need to put this into practice in my own transition from student to instructor. The key to not only doing it right, but enjoying what you're doing is preparation which also helps to reduce nerves.

My next step is to get plenty of experience within the club environment before going for the Theory Instructor Exam which is assessed against set criteria...

RYA VHF Marine SRC Course

2009-02-08T18:44:00.000Z

Another five of us from Wantage Dive Club have now completed the RYA VHF Marine Short Range Certificate and are competent to operate the club radios. It was an interesting course which covered GMDSS, DSC, a little radio theory, and procedures. And finished with a simple assessment.

It's a one off competence test so the problem will be remembering everything for years to come as we don't get that much chance to practice. But some procedure prompt cards should help...

Marine VHF Radio...

2009-01-10T09:25:00.021Z

I've been interested in radio communication for many years - I was a radio operator in the Army in the 1980s, and I've had a full Amateur Radio Licence since 1983. A marine radio course is being run locally so I've put my name down.

When scuba diving from a boat an important piece of safety equipment is the VHF radio - all divers / boat users should know basic operation and how to send a distress message. In the UK voluntarily fitted radio equipment must be covered by a Ships Radio Licence, or a Ships Portable Radio Licence issued by OFCOM, and a Certificate of Competance issued by the Royal Yachting Association known as the Marine VHF Radio Short Range Certificate(SRC). Unlike Amateur Radio where only an individual operator is covered by the licence, with short range VHF marine radio anyone can use the radio as long as it is licenced and they're directly supervised by someone who has passed the competency test.

Digital technology has led to major changes in the way VHF radios are used in distress situations at sea. The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System(GMDSS) and Digital Selective Calling(DSC) mean that a distress call complete with GPS coordinates can be sent with the push of a single button on DSC equipped radios. Here's a short demo from radio manufacturer Icom:

I'm hoping to take the one day RYA Marine VHF SRC in February and although the course is self contained and you don't need to do any preparatory work, it is useful to know the phonetic alphabet before hand. There are also quite a few books on the market, which are useful references during the course. I've chosen Reeds VHF/DSC Handbook (2nd Edition) which is recommended by several commercial training providers.

Useful links:
Ofcom Ship Radio information (.pdf file)

Maritime Coastguard Agency leaflet on Benefits of DSC (.pdf file)

Maritime Coastguard Agency leaflet on GMDSS Sea Areas (.pdf file)

ITU MARS Database

Review of 2008...

2009-01-05T17:07:00.004Z

For me 2008 has been a year focused on diving - I've completed 79 dives, doubling my total number of dives logged in a year; I've qualified as a BSAC Dive Leader and gained a range of experience; I've had my first Red Sea trip which was brilliant (although I still prefer Scapa Flow!); I've been in some uncomfortable situations, which perversely have made me even more addicted to being underwater!

The beginning of the year started well with lots of inland dives which boosted my confidence, but then I took a couple of steps back loosing confidence with the early sea dives and Dartmouth trip. But I recovered from this and went on to have some excellent dives in the Farnes with some fantastic seal encounters.

My underwater photography skills have followed a similar pattern - I was doing OK until I lost my camera on the St Dunstan early in the season. Getting a new camera was like starting all over again - particularly as I got a lens and a strobe at the same time. I was disappointed with most of this years images, but I've learnt a lot more about photography and hope to improve next year.

I had hoped to do over 80 dives this year, but getting Manflu just before Christmas meant cancelling a dive on the 28rd - I'm over the worst of it now, but I'm still getting the odd coughing fit!

I've set some targets for the year ahead - I hope to complete the Instructor Foundation Course, Dive Planning SDC, VHF Radio Course and get stuck into Advanced Diver training. In December I completed the Nautical Archaeology Society Foundation Course and so I hope to set up a club project in the next few months.

The highlight of 2009 is likely to be the Norway dive trip - I booked my flights today.

Apart from diving - like everyone there's uncertainty at work; my dog Charlie continues to be a delight; I've rekindled a past hobby, Amateur Radio and I'm re-learning Morse Code; Herself continues to put up with it all:-)

Stoney Cove training day

2008-11-29T16:20:00.002Z

There of us went to Stoney Cove today so Neil could finish his Advanced Diver training - I was the 'body' for him to carry out a controlled buoyant lift(CBL) and various rescue skills.

In the afternoon we had a cold but relaxing dive with great vis. to the hydrobox at 36m...

Red Sea Liveaboard

2008-11-20T13:38:00.019Z

In the early hours of the 6th November twenty of us from Wantage Dive Club made our way to Gatwick to catch our five hour flight to Egypt for our Red Sea diving trip on the MY Whirlwind. The journey seemed to take ages, and Sharm El Sheikh airport was an experience; followed by 'on the bus, off the bus' for checking of visa stamps. We eventually boarded the Whirlwind, and immediately found that she lived up to her reputation as one of the best liveaboards on the Red Sea. We had a general briefing from our dive guides and kit check before dinner.

Day one started with a check out dive on the Seven Pinnacles so we could do weight checks and the guides could check us out make sure we were competent divers. The marine life was amazing - on every dive we saw clown fish(Nemo), crocodile fish, lion fish, scorpion fish, and stone fish. Breakfast was followed by a dive on the Chrisola K, lunch by a dive on the Giannis D, and our first night dive was on Abu Nuhas reef before dinner. We soon got into a routine of dive, eat, sleep, and that went on for four dives a day for five days and then two dives on day six, with day seven spent in a hotel degassing for the flight home. I did all 22 dives and used nitrox as a breathing gas all week. It didn't make me feel any different, but I probably would have been more tired just breathing air.

Each day brought different wrecks and reefs and exhilarating dives. Our deepest dive was the Rosalie Moller at 40m, and shallowest Laguna at 8m.

The diving was every bit as good as we anticipated: lots of marine life, excellent vis, and relaxed and interesting dives. My favourite dives were the Barge, both day and night dives, and the Thislegorm night dive. The barge because of the Moray eels, and the Thistlegorm because it was a really relaxed dive an the colours in our torch light were so vivid. There were numerous moments to remember throughout the week - watching a stone fish walk along the bottom on its fins; the holds of the Thistlegorm with their WWII cargo; seeing the keel of the 30m deep Dunraven wreck from the Surface; the large moray eels; my first night dive; seeing my first pair of clown fish; seeing my first crocodile fish and stone fish, and many more.

But, there was a slight downside - the diving operation throughout the Red Sea seems hugely commercialised. On some dive sites there were 6 boats or more and up to 100 divers in the water. The diving skills ranged from Advanced to novice - we occasionally saw dive guides with their alternate air source hooked up to a novice trailing behind. And it was really disappointing to hear that one group were holding down a turtle so it could be videoed underwater!

My only regrets are that my photos didn't come out better and I didn't get to wear my mankini. Would I go to the Red Sea on Whirlwind again? Definitely! Was it better than Scapa Flow? Almost, but not quite:-) I'm now thinking about my next major diving trip, Norway on the Jane R next July...

Plymouth second time around...

2008-10-20T18:30:00.004+01:00

The Plymouth trip was excellent this time - the vis was great, at least 10m. On Saturday we dived Hands Deep reef, and in the afternoon the wreck of the James Eagan Layne. Andy and I camped at Venn Farm, but joined the others for an Italian meal at the Barbican on Saturday night.

On Sunday I was Dive Marshall as the final part of my Dive Leader training, I did a briefing on the Scylla, but we were blown out and had to do a more sheltered reef dive. It was still a great dive although the sea was getting up to a 5/6. During my briefing Amanda innocently mentioned the shot and said: "It's difficult going down on big buoys", which raised a few sniggers!

For me the weekend turned into one of the best trips of the year...

Vobster not West Bay…

2008-10-04T20:25:00.003+01:00

We were due to go to West Bay this weekend, but it was blown out, so we went to Vobster instead.

Earlier in the year Andy, Steve, and I had our first trip to Vobster (not Portland) – it was snowing. We dived as a three with Steve leading. On the first dive we checked out some of the main attractions such as the boat, wheelhouse, tunnel and cement works. We had an enjoyable and uneventful dive in reasonable vis. On the second dive our intention was to follow the wall around to the submerged trees but we became disorientated / narc'ed as we encountered the trees in the weird light and lost our bearings. This led to a bonding session on the surface! And this particular dive became a bit of a nemesis – we all wanted to do the same dive again in the same three to discover what went wrong.

As West Bay was cancelled we had the ideal opportunity to do the same Vobster dive again. Andy was diving in his newly purchased semi-dry and we were half expecting a couple of lumps to appear in his neck at some point during the dive as his testicles sought refuge from the cold! But he kept insisting he was warm enough.

From the surface the vis looked incredible you could see some trainees on the 9m platform and the water looked crystal clear. This time we checked the compass on the surface so we always knew the direction of the wall. At around twenty metres we hit a thermocline with a sharp drop in temperature and the vis deteriorated rapidly to dark and silty at 28m! We followed the wall around to the trees and kept our bearings this time. It was still a slightly disconcerting experience, as the poor vis and silt on the trees made it seem like a scene from the ‘Lord of the Rings’. But we were all happy that we had a more successful dive than last time.

After a surface interval we did our second dive where we toured the usual attractions – boat, wheelhouse, car, tunnel, etc. Andy still hadn’t acquired any lumps in his neck and was really pleased with the performance of his semi-dry. He positively skipped through the tunnel, kicking the silt as he went! Steve stuck his head in the aircraft fuselage and pulled out a Roly look-alike, much to our amusement (you can hear Andy laughing underwater on the video!

Another two dives logged and my 50th dive of 2008 completed. Buddy threes are difficult to dive in poor vis, but Andy, Steve, and I are always happy to dive with each other...

Farnes Dive Trip 2008

2008-09-20T19:31:00.011+01:00

Last year the Farnes dive trip was one of the best trips of the year second only to Scapa Flow. This year the vis wasn't as good, and we were blow out because of the weather for one day, but the trip was even better than last year!

It's the seals that make the Farnes - they're playful and interact with divers - biting fins, nibbling at hoods, arms, legs, etc. It's like playing with a large dog underwater - an amazing experience. Last year they were a little timid - just nibbling fins and swimming off, but this year they stayed with us for several minutes at a time and were all over us.

We went with Sovereign Diving again, half of us camping at Springhill farm and the other half B & B. It rained hard one night, but we still had a great time.

I managed to get my first octopus photo which was another highlight. And I used the video function on my compact camera which worked well with the seals.

On the day we were blown out we went sightseeing to Holy Island and then on to the Deep Blue dive shop in Whitley Bay.

Farnes 2008, an exceptional dive...

2008-09-16T19:51:00.001+01:00

Stoney Cove

2008-09-06T20:14:00.001+01:00

We went to Stoney Cove today - it was so packed that they closed the entrance and we had to park in the road, it was the busiest I've ever seen it. We did a couple of dives out to the Stanegarth.

As we exited from the second dive we witnessed a diver having a heart attack. He was resusitated by the Stoney staff who were extremely proffessional and did all they could, but sadly he died a couple of days later in hospital.

The 'Not the Scillies' dive trip!

2008-08-16T09:06:00.015+01:00

We didn't get to the Scillies as the weather was too bad for our boat MV Maureen of Dart to make the 16 hour sea crossing and for us to dive at the other end - the boat would have made it, but we wouldn't have been able to dive when we got there as there was a 4-5m swell! We certainly had an eventful week in a variety of sea conditions diving South Devon instead.

The first dive was on the Picton Castle, a 39m deep wreck off Dartmouth. All went well, we had an enjoyable dive and did all our stops, but my dive buddy got into difficulty on the surface after losing feeling in her legs. She was transfered to the Torbay lifeboat and airlifted to Poole chamber with a suspected bend. Thankfully she was OK and rejoined us the next day after spending 7 hours in the hyperbaric chamber with another diver. The incident was filmed from the lifeboat by a BBC cameraman for the 'Seaside Rescue' series.

Fifteen minutes before our incident the Coastguard helicopter had picked up the other diver from a different boat - he was paralysed after having equipment failure during a 60m rebreather dive - he also fully recovered after the chamber. Tragically a couple of days later a 14 year old boy went missing in the same area while diving with his father at Berry Head.

We were understandably shaken by these events, but the camaraderie within the group was fantastic and kept us all going. On the next dive following our incident I was spooked halfway down the shot and aborted the dive after doing a safety stop, but I went on to confront my demons and completed the remaining dives on the trip without a problem.

There were some good days diving! We saw a huge orange lobster on the Galicia wreck, it must have been a metre long with claws the size of dinner plates, but the visibility was too bad to get a decent photo! And taking my first cuttlefish picture on Tinsley Reef off of Start Point was another high.

We couldn't dive on Wednesday as the conditions were too rough, but by Thursday morning the seas had calmed and we had two excellent wreck dives on the Newholm and the Maine with 8m visibility. I got to take my first photos of Tompot Blennys, although I missed out on the elusive smiley face shot.

It's hard to describe the atmosphere on the boat to anyone who isn't a club diver - there's a steady stream of practical jokes and leg-pulling, revolving around a sort of institutionalised schedule of meal times and ritualised routines of table laying and clearing, tea and coffee making, preparing for dives, etc. The food on our boat was excellent - cooked for the twelve of us in a tiny galley by Penny the skipper's wife. We had a roast dinner every evening as well as cooked breakfast and lunch each day.

The 'Not the Scillies' dive trip was certainly one hell of an experience with a great bunch of people. And we're already planning a trip where we hope to actually make it to the Scillies in 2010..

Dive Leader training at Cromhall...

2008-07-19T19:47:00.000+01:00

I'm starting to get through my Dive Leader training - today we went to Cromhall an inland quarry in Gloucestershire where Steve and I did our Rescue skills. This consisted of a controlled buoyant lift from 15m, a 50m tow with rescue breaths, removal of kit and basic life support.

The tow was tiring, but it all seemed to go OK. Steve and I then had a 57 minute dive looking at lots of weed and newts...

West Bay again...

2008-07-13T18:01:00.002+01:00

We seem to be hitting West Bay a lot this year, but it was worth it with another great dive on the Baygitano. Roly took some cat food and sardines to feed the congers but it disintegrated before we got close enough. So he resorted to enticing them out with his bare hand!

Despite the great photo opportunity, I messed up with my camera again and forgot to remove and replace the 'wet' wide-angle lens - this type of lens relies on a layer of clear water. If you don't put it on under water you get air bubbles which show up as blotches on the image - this is exactly what happened to me. I also used the Inon D2000 strobe for the first time and found it needed a lot of manual adjustment.

My plan for the Scilles is to go back to basics and start by getting used to the basic camera before introducing external lens and strobe.

The second dive was another good one along saw tooth ledges.

West Bay

2008-06-18T19:12:00.002+01:00

We had some great dives out of West Bay last weekend - I took some really good pictures of Blennies (The smiley face shots I've always wanted) I would have posted them here but I lost my camera at the end of the second dive!! The lanyard just slipped off my arm. It has taught me a lesson, from now on I will have my new camera clipped on with a separate lanyard at all times.

The last dive of the weekend was on the Baygitano and it was one of the best dives of the year - the Congers were huge, and I've yet to get some pictures of them (image above taken by Neil)...

BSAC Wreck Appreciation Course

2008-06-02T18:17:00.016+01:00

I've just completed the BSAC Wreck Appreciation Course at Portland in Dorset. This particular course was jointly run by BSAC and the Nautical Archaeology Society. It was great to get a different perspective on diving - 'diving with a purpose' is a slogan that NAS use. And it was a chance to learn from the instructors and a varied group of experienced divers.

The two day course started with a theory lesson on wreck diving techniques before getting straight into the first dive - a wreck orientation on the Cragside. Until recently this interesting wreck had been labelled the unknown coaster, but previous work by NAS and Millenium Divers Dorset has given it a name. Our group missed the intended wreck and ended up on the bow of the Spaniard which is very close to the Cragside - it was still a good dive as the vis was the best I've seen in Portland at around 4-5 metres at the end of the dive.

I had my first experience of a diver lift and it was brilliant! You just step on and get hauled up to the boat - no need to take any kit off. We dived with Scimitar Diving on Cutlass.

We were back in the classroom after lunch for theory lessons on wreck location, and ship construction and layout. In the course review we all agreed that ship construction was one of the most important parts of the course. I would have liked to see more detail in this section, with perhaps information on warships, submarines, etc. But it has wet my appetite to find out more, and source a good reference book and glossary of nautical terms.

We continued the day with a theory lesson on wrecks and marine life, before some dry practical training on distance lines, DSMBs, and kit configuration. By looking at fellow students' kit I learnt that the Kent Tooling ratchet wreck reel is gloriously over-engineering piece of kit that I've got to own. And the Suunto SK7 compass on a retractable line seems useful. Another good idea is to mark 6m and 9m safety stops on DSMB lines.

Day two started with a theory lesson on wreck laws and simple site recording, before a dry practical run through of site recording in the car park. The highlight of the course was the second dive. Having things to do underwater such as laying out tapes, measuring, drawing on slates, etc, gave a whole new perspective to diving. We also had the chance to tour the wreck taking photos although I spent too much time trying to set ISO and white balance at the expense of composition. I did manage a short video which doesn't seem to have come out bad for a compact camera.

After the dive we had the chance to make a scale drawing of a section of the wreck using the baseline and offset measurements we had taken on the dive. I'm really glad I did the course, and I intend to get involved with NAS training and projects in the future...

HMS M2 historic footage

2008-05-13T18:36:00.002+01:00

Plymouth Diving Trip...

2008-05-11T10:38:00.004+01:00

Over the Bank Holiday last weekend Wantage Dive Club went to Plymouth. The weather was fine, and the conditions reasonable, although the current was running fast on occasions, with a 2-3m swell. These conditions make me apprehensive and I seemed to have a regression in my diving confidence. I felt seasick for some of the time in the RIB, despite taking stugeron, but the tablets did prevent me from actually being sick.

Because of the varying sea state there were last minute changes to dive locations and we didn't get to dive the two main wrecks off of Plymouth - the James Egan Lane, and the Scylla. But we did get to dive the Eddystone Rock which was a good dive.

I got some bad headaches on some of the dives, which could be down to my breathing technique, and possibly skip breathing. I found this interesting article, which suggests a diaphragm breathing method that I will try next time.

On a positive note, I managed to deploy my DSMB on every dive - even the Eddystone where it was like being inside a washing machine towards the end. Overall the weekend was well worth doing for the experience and to notch up more dives. I look forward to the next trip when we will hopefully get the chance to dive some wrecks...

A trip to Saas Fee...

2008-04-22T19:51:00.015+01:00

I wouldn't normally choose Switzerland as a holiday destination (it's landlocked, so not much diving!) but my brother, herself, and I decided to visit my 19 year old niece Tanya, who is working out there as an aupair. I'm glad we went as Switzerland is a great country - the people are friendly, the food is good, and the scenery is stunning. The only down side is that the cost of living seems quite expensive.

We went to Saas Fee a premier ski and snowboard resort. We started with a two hour car journey to Gatwick, a one hour EasyJet flight to Geneva, three hours on a train to Visp, and one hour on a bus to Saas Fee. The travelling wasn't too bad as everything seems to run on time. There were 'incidents' though - my brother was asked which one of us he was at check-in he gave his surname (we all have the same surname!), he then trundled off on his own to the back of the plane thinking his check-in number was his seat number, and then he dropped a case on the back of my foot causing my shoe to fly off and nearly end up on the track as we got on the train!

When we arrived at our hotel, herself took the top off her deodorant and it exploded in the bathroom after becoming pressurised during the flight - the bathroom wall and mirror were covered! I opened the balcony door and thought it had come off its hinges, but it was meant to open both ways.

Saas Fee is a car free village - the only transport are 'electros' - small electric buggies. The atmosphere was noticeably clean and fresh, and it was so quiet - it was a really relaxing place to be. The Swiss seem very tolerant - dogs are allowed in all the shops even food shops and cafés. And smoking is allowed in pubs and restaurants which pleased herself.

Our trip was only four days so we decided not to do any skiing or snowboarding this time. The first day's sightseeing was to the village of Zermatt an alpine village at the base of the Matterhorn. I particularly wanted to see the Matterhorn - one of the most famous mountains in the World, and it was well worth it. Incidents today included getting on the right train, going in the wrong direction (Tanya's fault)! And my brother tripping up every curb in Zermatt. And Tanya dropping her plate on the floor, but catching her lunch in her lap! In the evening we listened to a live group at the Hotel Dom, while Tanya got drunk as it was her birthday:-)

Day three took us up the Saas Fee mountain range via two cable cars, and then the Alpine metro - a strange sort of underground train running at 45 degrees taking us to the highest revolving restaurant in the World. We also visited an ice grotto carved into the glacier 8m under the ice. In the afternoon we watched a snowboarding competition hosted by my neice's employer, featuring World champion Shaun White. Tanya was a little worse for wear with a hangover - it wasn't helped by me letting a few off in the confined space of the gondola on the way up the mountain; she had to run to the toilets at the top to be sick:-)

On the final day it was some last minute present shopping - Charlie got some pizzles (dried bulls' penises) and everyone else a Swiss Army knife:-)

Portland weekend...

2008-04-15T18:56:00.004+01:00

We had another Portland diving experience at the weekend - the diving was OK for Portland, a bit cold and poor vis on Saturday. But Sunday was better, and any diving is good diving:-) We saw dozens of spider crabs, and thousands of Slipper Limpets. I was fascinated by the Slipper limpets - they completely cover the sea bed in places. Their life cycle is peculiar. They start life as males and eventually change into females, living in a distinctive group of six or so shells attached on top of each other.

For this trip a few of us camped at Sea Barn farm with a spectacular view of Chesil Beach, and then went to the Cove Inn in Portland for an evening meal.

Diving with a club is a holistic experience - it's not just about the diving (we were only under water for around two hours this weekend). It's the company, the banter, being on / by the sea, and sharing a common interest with people from different walks of life who we wouldn't normally come across...

BSAC Lifesaver Course...

2008-04-06T14:51:00.004+01:00

We've been training for the BSAC Lifesaver Course using the latest Basic Life Support Guidelines for several weeks now, our hard work will be put to the test on Wednesday when we have the first practical exam. The individual elements are quite straightforward, but when you put them all together it's a lot to do in an hour.

And there's the simulated rescue-breathing, which the examiners like to make as realistic as possible. This means we have to clamp our mouth around our casualty's nose and make a seal. It has to be a proper seal as they get you to dunk the casualty's head under the water and if they start coughing and spluttering you have to do it again. It's been hard to overcome my reluctance to do this - there's something not quite right about clamping your mouth over a big hairy nose with stubble under it:-)

I've learnt a lot on the course, but I'll be glad when the assessment is out of the way...

Stoney Cove again...

2008-03-30T14:35:00.007+01:00

Another trip to Stoney on Saturday making it four consecutive weekends of diving. We had a talk on buoyancy control at the dive club on Friday and it was good to get back to basics by doing a weight check and thinking about ways to improve buoyancy.

I've now ditched the small emergency cylinder from my jacket as no one else in the club seems to use them, and I dropped another kilogram of weight. I'm also diving on my jacket rather than suit which takes some getting used to. Stoney is a great place to practise basic skills - I'm getting more confident with navigation as we always seem to arrive at what I'm aiming for. And I succesfully deployed my DSMB at the end of the dive.

There are more underwater attractions at Stoney than are shown on the site map - the dive site directory website has a good overview map and guide, useful for dive planning. And there's a printer friendly bearing list from divepro...

Man's best friend...

2008-03-25T17:50:00.001Z

A dog is truly a man's best friend.

If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.

Put your dog and your wife in the boot of the car for an hour.

When you open the boot, who is really happy to see you?

Portland / Vobster for Easter...

2008-03-24T07:19:00.004Z

Wantage Dive Club usually start the season with a trip to Portland at Easter - this year things were slightly different. We arrived at Castletown beach on Friday with clear skys and the sun shining, but the wind gusting at 50 knots churning everything up. And that was inside the breakwater.

We decided to launch the RIB and try to dive a landing craft just outside the breakwater where the sea was calmer. Three of us went in, but we aborted the dive after eight minutes as the visibility was less than a metre. Strangely, despite the poor visibility the dive was still enjoyable because it was so bright and warm.

The RIB was recovered and we spent the afternoon sight-seeing around Portland. By Friday night conditions hadn't improved so we decided to abandon diving at Portland and move inland to Vobster on Saturday. We stayed the night at the Hotel Aqua and drove up to Vobster in the morning.

The strange weather continued on Saturday - one minute the sun was shining, the next it was snowing.

For the first dive we moved around the attractions such as the boat, tunnel, aircraft and cars all round 20m. And for the second we went deeper following the wall until we came across some submerged trees at around 30m. We lost the wall and became disorientated so we came up. All diving is good experience and various lessons were learnt. I didn't use my underwater camera over the weekend because of the conditions.

As I approach my one hundredth dive I'm looking forward to the next Portland trip in April when we will hopefully get some sea diving done...

Horsea Island

2008-03-16T20:05:00.004Z

We had a couple of dives at Horsea Island on Saturday - it seemed colder than Stoney and the visibility wasn't as good. But it was another chance to practise underwater photography and changing camera settings underwater. I also tried out my new INON wideangle lens, but there wasn't that much to take pictures of apart from a few crabs and small fast moving fish...

Stoney Cove March...

2008-03-09T19:54:00.005Z

We had another couple of good dives at Stoney Cove today. This time I put into practise what we had been taught at the Cameras Underwater presentation - manual white balance and high ISO using available light and no flash. It was encouraging to see the colours become more natural without a green hue, and it was quite straightforward to set the white balance at different depths using a slate on my arm. I'm looking forward to using a wide-angle lens next time and working on composition...

London Dive Show...

2008-03-08T20:15:00.005Z

I went to the London Dive Show today, by road - I usually go by train, but by road was cheaper and took about the same time. Dive shows are more enjoyable when you go specifically to buy something and get a show discount so I bought a new wide-angle lens for my underwater camera system:-)

I saw a lot of things that I want, but can't afford like a rebreather, a new O'Three dry suit, and the Veecam particularly caught my eye. It's a ruggedized video camera system, the type you sometimes see the Police using - a small camera can be attached to a mask, helmet or headstrap and is connected via a cable to a small hand held unit with a display. It's all solid state and can be used underwater to 100m...

Cameras Underwater...

2008-02-16T07:43:00.006Z

We had a great interest lecture at Wantage Dive Club last night from Cameras Underwater the leading UK underwater photography supplier. I knew it was going to be a good talk as soon as I walked in and saw they were preparing the presentation on a 'proper' computer - a Mac.

They showed us a series of stunning photos that you would have thought had been taken on a Nikon D3 or similar setup costing around £10,000.00, but they were all actually taken on Canon or Fuji compacts complete with housings costing under £300.00.

The talk covered the following:

Pictures matter, not pixels - you don't need the latest top of the range camera to get good results.
Get to know your camera on dry land so it's easier to change settings underwater.
Get Close!
White Balance - turn off flash / adjust at each depth.
ISO - make full use of natural light by increasing sensitivity.
Exposure compensation - use when shooting into light or to allow manipulation in Photoshop.
Natural light.
Internal flash vs external strobe - external helps to reduce backscatter.
Get Close!
Wide angle/fisheye lens.
Macro.
Composition - rule of thirds; plan shots; be patient.
Adobe Photoshop - tutorials at Focus-in-depth.
Get Close!

It's all photography theory that I was aware of but reluctant to put into practice underwater. This one hour talk has changed my perception of underwater photography - I no longer need to upgrade my camera as I intended to - I just need to get familiar with the one I have and perhaps buy a wideangle / fisheye lens. And be more confident in changing setting underwater...

First dive of 2008: Stoney Cove

2008-02-02T21:52:00.000Z

I had a couple of good dives at the National Dive centre Stoney Cove in Leicestershire today. Only six of us went from Wantage Dive Club as others were put off by last night's weather reports of snow and low temperatures. But it turned out to be a mainly sunny day with a water temperature of 7 degrees.

The site was fairly quiet and we even managed to park in the bottom car park for the second dive. I was buddied with Andy and I led both dives, while the other four were involved with Neil's Advanced diver assessments. For the first dive we swam out to the Stanegarth tug marker buoy, descended the line, and then made our way back to the pier via the landrover, and the Viscount aircraft cockpit. On the second dive we went looking for the pike under the pub archways, and the Nautilus submarine.

It was great to get diving again early in th season...

Diving in Scapa Flow

2007-10-22T14:21:00.001+01:00

At 9 o'clock on the morning of Friday 12th October David and I started our journey to the northern tip of Scotland. Twelve hours and 660 miles later we had reached our B+B for the night - Creag-Na-Mara (run by a couple who had moved up from Swindon). The journey up was uneventful, and although it was a long way to drive, the anticipation of the week ahead kept us going.

On Saturday we had a quick look around John o'Groats before catching the ferry from Gills Bay. I was surprised to find that the famous signpost to Lands End is owned by a photographer and is only put up to take souvenir photos of tourists!

We chose the Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope ferry rather than the direct ferry from Scrabster to Stromness as it allowed us to spend most of Saturday sightseeing on Orkney as we drove the 30 miles up to Stromness. Our route took us over the Churchill barriers, stopping at various places such as: The Orkney Wine Company (I chose the Black Portent); The Italian Chapel built by WWII prisoners of war; St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall; HMS Royal Oak memorial garden in Scapa (a sobering and reflective experience); and The Ring of Brodgar ancient monument.

The Orkney's have a wealth of historical and interesting places to visit - I recommend the Orkney Guide Book by Charles Tait for further information.

After the days sightseeing we eventually arrived in Stromness harbour and found our boat - MV Invincible. Our crew for the week were skipper Ian and his wife Fiona. Ian is an accomplished technical diver responsible for finding U297, and he's also passionate about Scapa Flow and its maritime history. There were eight of us from Wantage Dive Club, and Mark and Sarah from Guildford BSAC. We met up at the Ferry Inn Stromness for our evening meal; and were back on the boat in time to watch England win the rugby semi-final.

The MV Invincible is the largest dive boat in Stromness, but the cabins were compact and storage space limited. This was my first liveaboard and I had brought far too much kit. Although the cabins were quite small there was plenty of space in the lounge / bar area, and on the shelter deck for dive kit, and overall the boat was really well laid out as a dive boat.

On Sunday we were woken up at 7.30am with Ian's distinctive footsteps clomping across the deck, the diesel generator starting and then the steady thump of the main engine which seemed to shake the whole boat, even rattling the optics in the bar - this was our wake up call for the next five mornings. There was something strangely reassuring about the steady thump and vibration of the main engine.

We had an hour and a half to get ready for our first dive. I was slightly apprehensive as I was the least experienced diver in the group having only logged 75 dives at the start of the trip and it didn't help that my regulator mouthpiece split as we were about to do buddy checks, but Mike had a spare and the problem was soon sorted. Our very first dive was SMS Brummer one of the WWI German light cruisers scuttled in 1919. As we descended the shot I was thinking about buoyancy control, air consumption, unclipping and switching my torch on, etc., and then after about 20m I started to see the outline of a ship that had been on the sea bed for 88 years - and the reality that I was diving the German Fleet in Scapa Flow started to sink in. It was an awe-inspiring experience that became more and more poignant as the week progressed. We swam from the shot towards the stern and managed to see the stern gun and the range finding equipment. The dive lasted 34 minutes at a depth of 32m, and then it was back onboard for one of Fiona's cooked breakfasts minus black pudding. A two-hour surface interval gave enough time to eat, rest, tweak kit and prepare for the next dive - one of the blockships the Gobernador Bories.

While the German Fleet has the provenance of the scuttled WWI warships and the kudos associated with diving them, the blockships were also exhilarating dives in their own right. Mike and I explored inside the wreck before swimming against the current to reach the impressive prop, which I managed to get a couple of photos of, making it another great dive. We spent 42 minutes at 16m, before returning to the boat for a rest, shower and change.

Sunday afternoon was spent doing more sightseeing - Olivia, David and I went for a walk along Waulkmill Beach looking at sea birds and taking in the scenery, and then we went on to walk up to Wideford Hill Cairn with spectacular views of Scapa Flow. In the evening we had a meal in the Stromness Hotel before attending a talk from 'Dive Scapa Flow' author, technical diver and wreck finder Rod McDonald in the Royal Hotel.

On Monday we had our wakeup call and then an hour and a half to prepare for a second WWI German cruiser - Cöln II. I woke up feeling a bit rough as I had been trying to keep manflu at bay, but a double squirt of Vicks Sinex up each nostril left my nose reasonably clear. I managed to get down to the wreck with David waiting patiently for my ears to clear at 10m, before we continued to 30m for 34 minutes. My ears gurgled and popped throughout the dive, but I spent the rest of the week without any further problems.

Another cooked breakfast this time minus haggis, and then a surface interval. The afternoon dive was again a block ship - the Doyle. Amazing visibility and another interesting wreck, by now I was feeling more and more comfortable in the water with my basic skills improving as each dive progressed - we did 42 minutes at 16m.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around Stromness, and then watching a Shrek DVD before going on to the Royal Hotel for an evening meal.

By Tuesday we had an established routine: up and watch the stunning sunrise with a cup of coffee, prepare to dive, first dive, breakfast (for the rest of the week with spam rather than black pudding or haggis, which everyone seemed to like!) surface interval, second dive, shower, and back to Stromness harbour mid afternoon to do whatever we wanted. Tuesday's first dive was our first battleship - Kronprinz Wilhelm, which we dived for 31 minutes at 30m. The sheer size of the battleships make them impressive as the hulls come into view in the murky pale green light broken by an occasional diver's torch. The wrecks are covered in marine life - dead men's fingers, sea anemones, sea squirts, cuckoo wrasse, cod, ling, and the occasional nudibranch.

I was slightly disappointed with the quality of my photos during the trip, as it's difficult to do the wrecks justice. Flash can only be used close up otherwise you get back-scatter, and the low ambient light means that even with a sensitivity rating of ISO 1600 there's the danger of blurred images through camera shake due to too slow a shutter speed. I'm trying to refine my technique though and hope to improve for next time. It was useful to talk to Mark about photography as he's a professional cameraman - he recommended a book on the basics, which I intend to get: Understanding Exposure. I've put all my photos from the trip in a Flickr Scapa set.

Tuesday's afternoon dive was the F2 and YC21 barge. The F2 was a WWII German escort ship and YC21 a wooden salvage barge that sank with her. They make an interesting dive, as the guns from the F2 are clearly visible inside the barge. I led the dive with David as my buddy, but I didn't feel confident as my DSMB didn't fill properly - I used my Auto-air bcd regulator which started to play up, but it did manage to last out the week. It was still a great dive and we reached 18m for 47 minutes.

On Wednesday we had a choice of dives, either UB116 a WWI submarine at 30m or a deeper 42m fishing vessel the James Barrie. Neil and I chose UB116 and had a great dive; we saw a fair sized conger through the plates with its mouth wide open (but I didn't take my camera on this dive!). Everyone else was kitted up for two hours waiting for the tide to go slack to do the James Barrie - eventually the James Barrie was abandoned and we went back to UB116 so everyone could do the sub. For the second dive we all did the Karlsruhe II another great dive where I managed to get some photos of the guns, we spent 33 minutes at 24m. The bulb fell out of my main torch, but I managed to take it apart and repair it after the dive and it worked OK for the rest of the week.

Wednesday afternoon we watched the Casino Royale DVD, flinching at the knotted rope scene, before another meal at the Stromness Hotel.

On Thursday I was buddied with Glenn and we had two great dives. First another of the Battleships the Markgraf, we stayed at 32m level with the hull, and swam from the shot line to the stern reaching the impressive rudders (again I didn't take my camera!). The second dive was the Tabarka another open blockship with the dive carried out in various levels inside the ship - very light with great visibility and lots to see - we dived for 37 minutes at 15m. My drysuit hose became detached during the dive, but I re-attached it without a problem. There was a surreal moment inside he wreck when a lone rebreather diver from another boat glided past in a perfectly horizontal position with his side slung 7lt emergency cylinder, and no bubbles. We only saw other divers on two occasions - David got stood on twice by divers coming down the shot line of the Doyle.

The Surface Interval on Thursday was spent at the Lyness Visitor Centre - a museum dedicated to Scapa Flow's maritime history. It was fascinating to explore Scapa's history and learn that 40,000 service people were stationed in Scapa in its heyday. Thursday night we watched Shrek II before Graham cooked a meal in the galley for all of us - a beef stew with various spices and vegetables, one of the best meals of the trip.

Friday was the last day of diving - kitting up and buddy checks had become like clockwork, buoyancy control and movement in the water effortless due to the number of dives we had completed. Our third German battleship was the König, again we swam to the stern and back along the hull which was bristling with marine life, ascending back up the shotline. Our dive was 33 minutes at 32m. We surfaced to find out that Mark had proposed to Sarah on the dive via a dive slate.

The last dive of the trip and one of the best was Dresden II where we explored the bow and name shield described by Rod McDonald in his lecture - in a dive of 30 minutes at 28m. I took some photos of the shield and one of Olivia having a PADI Divemaster moment as she hovered in the water.

Friday afternoon was spent packing kit, a last walk around Stromness to pick up our newly embroidered 'Scapa Flow Diver' sweat shirts, getting ready for the journey home, and a last meal in the Stromness Hotel. David and I were catching the early ferry from St Margaret's Hope on Saturday morning. The journey home was straightforward although more tiring than the journey up. We reminisced over the trip and agreed we definitely wanted to come back. Around twelve hours of driving and I was home in time to watch the second half of the England Rugby final. My dog Charlie was ecstatic that I was home and didn't leave my side all night. Herself was pleased as well, but she didn't lick me every few minutes:-)

As a group we had completed 117 dives without incident. While there wasn't much sunshine the weather and conditions seemed perfect for diving. Within the group there were a few equipment problems such as a neck seal, cuff seal, 1st stage, and cylinder valve, but all were repaired overnight by the local dive shop ScapaScuba who had everything back on the boat before we set off at 7.30am each morning. The only other problem was a blocked toilet - rectified by Neil, Mike, and Ian the skipper after some discussion.

The diving was understandably brilliant and has increased my confidence and experience in a drysuit, but I will also take away other memories from the trip. I have a better understanding of Scapa Flow's maritime history, particularly the moving stories of HMS Royal Oak, and HMS Hampshire. And also Orkney as a place has a great character with its distinctive terrain and coastline, and rich heritage. I hope to return to the Orkneys and dive Scapa Flow again...

Things to remember for next time:
take less personal kit, and have it better organised;
take a camera on every dive;
take a camera tripod;
keep a journal and write it up everyday;
write up my dive logbook after every dive;
put together a dive kit spares box;
take some phonecards as my mobile didn't have a signal;

Sad news...

2007-10-21T18:12:00.000+01:00

Hilma Miles died while on holiday in the Himalayas. I did several Open University courses with Hilma and she always had a huge influence on the courses we took together. We became friends during the first presentations of TT280 and U316. I will always remember Hilma for the poem on her resume, which became one of my favourites:

He tells her that the Earth is flat -
He knows the facts and that is that.
In altercations fierce and long
She tries her best to prove him wrong.
But he has learned to argue well.
Her arguments he calls unsound.
He often asks her not to yell.
She cannot win. He stands his ground.

The planet goes on being round.

(Wendy Cope)

Diving at Stoney Cove #2

2007-09-24T18:40:00.000+01:00

I had my second day of diving at Stoney Cove on Sunday, and it was a far more enjoyable experience than the first time I went.

The first dive was only a dip down to 20 metres while I acted as a casualty for a Dive Leader assessment. On the second dive we made it to the deep Hydro box at around 35 metres. It was quite dark, but I managed to try out my new Treble Light torch in preparation for Scapa Flow. I felt far more relaxed than my first trip to Stoney...

My first year of UK diving...

2007-09-15T09:17:00.000+01:00

I joined Wantage Dive Club - my local BSAC club, one year ago as a PADI crossover, and I've just renewed my membership. Diving in the UK can evoke feelings of "what am I doing this for - it's expensive, cold, potentially dangerous, and I can't see more than a few inches in front of me?" to feelings of immense exhilaration as you float effortlessly in an alien environment, and when the visibility allows, see the huge variety of UK marine life.

I like the club atmosphere, and the chance to go diving with the same group of people. In my first year with the club I've come to know some of the good and bad aspects of UK diving - it's certainly different to the warm waters of Malta where I learnt to dive. There are some lows but the highs seem to more than compensate.

My first club trip wasn't diving, but a boat handling weekend at Portland where we all had a go at coxing the two club RIBs - it was great to see what the boats could do, and experience some fairly rough conditions. I didn't get to dive for the first six months although we did do a Rescue Management Course at West Oxfordshire Sailing club.

As an individual and PADI crossover I'm impatient and used to fast track training, but I soon realised with BSAC and UK diving you need to build up experience of different conditions as well doing the training. I overcame my initial frustration to try and get ahead, and I'm continuing to build my confidence and experience.

Portland at Easter was my first go in a dry suit in open water, and my introduction to the BSAC way of diving. At West Bay I had my first taste of seasickness, an indescribable experience that I don't wish to repeat, but I now seem to have found my sea legs, ...and Stugeron.

My second trip to West Bay was a turning point - I got to see what UK diving was all about with an excellent dive on the Baygitano, where I saw some huge congers. I then had a minor set back on my first trip to Stoney Cove with equipment problems and feeling uncomfortable, which led me to abort the dive.

The highlight of the year for me was the four-day trip to the Farne Islands, which I hope to repeat next year. It was great to have my first seal encounter, and to look down and see inquisitive seals following us about.

I've done 20 club dives in the past year, but now that I'm starting to get used to my kit and the BSAC way of diving, I'm hoping to concentrate on my Dive Leader qualification and do more dives in the year ahead. The greatly anticipated club trip to Scapa Flow is only a few weeks away...

Divesigns...

2007-08-10T16:33:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking of marking my Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) for a while with permanent marker pen. But these reflective signs from Divesigns.com seem a much better idea...

Bio seals for drysuits.

2007-08-10T16:26:00.000+01:00

Apollo Bio seals seem like a great ideal to prevent latex allergies or leaks when wearing a drysuit. Neck and wrist seals are available...

Diving the Farne Islands

2007-08-07T18:49:00.000+01:00

The Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast is an exceptional dive location, which has changed my perception of UK diving. Until now I have only dived off the Dorset coast where the visibility has been poor this year and there wasn't that much to see. But the Farnes was excellent with lots of marine life including seals.

My first seal encounter was brilliant - I felt something tugging my leg and looked down to see a grey seal nibbling my fin. It made three passes and then posed for a picture.

I went with Wantage Dive Club who had organised a hard boat and accommodation with Sovereign Diving based in Seahouses - a picturesque seaside village.

We did 8 dives over four days including scenic and wreck dives - a wreck called the Somali (a 6809-ton steamship bombed and sunk in 1941) was particularly good. Overall the trip has improved my diving confidence and I'm really looking forward to Scapa Flow later in the year.

I've put my photos on Flickr, and Steve has more on his website...

Dive sites:
1. The Knivestone
2. North Hares
3. The Longstone
4. SS Coryton
5. SS Abessinia
6. Gun Rocks
7. SS Somali
8. The Hopper

Diving in West Bay # 2

2007-07-22T18:54:00.000+01:00

I spent the weekend diving in West Bay Dorset with Wantage Dive Club. It was a much better trip than the one I did earlier in the year where the visibility was bad, and three of us were sea sick. This time the sea was calm and the diving great. On Saturday we dived two wrecks the St Dunstan and the Bagitano.

The St Dunstan was a 30m dive that I was a bit apprehensive about following my experience at Stoney a couple of weeks ago, but all went well and it was an enjoyable dive which helped me regain confidence. In the afternoon we missed the Baygitano and had to come up again as the shot seemed to have come astray. Although on reflection we probably should have stuck with the line for a few more metres on the bottom and we would have found it.

We stayed in bed and breakfast, which turned out to be cheaper than camping. It was a bit of a walk up and down the hill and had limited parking, but it was somewhere to stay.

On Sunday we dived the Baygitano again and it was brilliant - my best UK dive to date, which it made the weekend worthwhile. We saw huge conger eels, lobsters and all sorts of fish. The congers had heads about 10" across and their bodies must have been at least 6' long - they just seemed to stare at us in the torch light...

Diving at Stoney Cove...

2007-07-08T18:31:00.001+01:00

Despite all the hype I'd heard about Stoney Cove being chaotic and really busy, my first visit to the National Dive Centre in Leicestershire was quite enjoyable - particularly the first dive. It is cold and murky in typical UK diving style, but there are things to see, and it's a relaxing place to dive.

My second dive didn't go too well, but that was down to equipment problems rather than the location; which was a shame as I wanted to start some deeper diving in preparation for Scapa Flow later in the year. However, it has taught me a few lessons, such as: get my kit serviced (at one point my pony reg, octopus, and BCD autoair reg were all free-flowing!); sort out my weight; and keep gaining experience to reduce air consumption.

The 180 mile round trip to Stoney is easily achievable in a day, and it's a site I hope to visit again...

Social Networking for Baby Boomers...

2007-06-22T16:35:00.000+01:00

I've looked at social networking sites before such as Bebo and MySpace, and they always seem frequented by people less than half my age. But Facebook is different - the interface is intuitive, it's full of innovative features, and overall the site seems more appealing to my age group. I've signed up, and I'm waiting to be 'poked'.

There are already 1500+ OU students, and Facebook seems to have excellent potential as an elearning application. It also seems streets ahead of the OU's antiquated FirstClass conferencing system...

Reflecting on the OU Blogosphere...

2007-06-20T16:45:00.000+01:00

An item on the TU120 News feed about blog stats made me think again about the number of OU student bloggers out there. (Interestingly RSS feeds seem to bypass the OU authentication system - I can't get access to the course web site, but Bloglines can read the News page RSS.)

The item points to David Sifry's blog (founder of Technorati the leading blog search engine) and a post on the state of the blogosphere. Around 120,000 blogs created each day - my first reaction was: how many of those are splogs, but the question is answered, only about 7000.

Another blog post that caught my eye was Tony Hirst's look at the OU Search Engine and filtering search results.

Perhaps there are more OU student bloggers out there than the fifty or so I've found so far - Martin Weller seems to think so. Maybe I need to use more selective search terms - something for a displacement activity / TMA avoidance on my next course...

A dogs life...

2007-06-19T15:57:00.000+01:00

Charlie did something really disgusting this morning - he licked my eyeball! It wasn't just a cursory lick either, in a split second I had the full force of his huge slime covered tongue traversing my fully open eye. At one point his tongue actually got under the eyelid! It happened so quickly there was no defence I just had to crawl away and wait for the vision and moisture to return to my right eye. The experience was made even more unpleasant knowing that Charlie had just returned from his morning walk where he uses his tongue to examine all manner of unsavoury objects.

I blame Herself for the incident, after all it's her fault that his tongue and my eyeball were on the same level. Charlie sits on the sofa and I sit on the floor. Ironically, the two conditions I had to being allowed a dog were: no climbing on furniture; and no entry to the bedrooms.

During Charlie's first few months I was always chastised for allowing him on the furniture, but one weekend I was away and came home to find Herself had given up telling him not to get on the sofa, placed his blanket on what was my chair, and he's sat there ever since...

Why do I blog?

2007-06-16T16:47:00.000+01:00

On Friday I took part in some OU research by participating in a phone interview on blogging. I was expecting the questions but they were still difficult to answer when put on the spot. I'm not sure that I'm a typical student or blogger - I found it hard to give coherent replies.

The most difficult question to answer was "Why do I blog?": It's just something that I do, there's no deep and meaningful reason, it just happens. For me blogging was a natural progression from the static web pages which I created to keep a memento of courses such as A300, T280 or U120. But static web pages become dated and are more difficult to manage, so I moved on to the chronological format of a blog.

Another reason for blogging is that I simply enjoy writing and working with web technology (I also store images on Flickr and bookmarks on Del.icio.us, as I'm fascinated with the Web 2.0 concept). This leads on to the question "why write publicly using my real name?": I have personal reasons for wanting to give friends and family I have lost touch with over the years an insight into my life.

I randomly choose when and what to write about as blogging has to compete with numourous other hobbies and pastimes, as well as work and family life.

Blogging is useful but not essential to my OU studies - I blog notes, links and useful course related information. But I'm in a minority of student bloggers. The OU has a major challenge in trying to encourage blogging as a widely used learning tool - unless blogging is made part of the assessment. At present there don't seem to be any undergraduate courses which have a blogging element, now that T180 has ended. And even the post graduate courses with an elearning slant only seem to have produced a handful of bloggers...

T189 Digital Photography...

2007-06-09T20:21:00.000+01:00

I couldn't wait any longer so I've signed up for the October presentation of 'T189 Digital Photography: creating and sharing better images'. It seems I did the right thing in waiting for the second presentation as the pilot has had teething problems as predicted.

There are 1500 students on the first presentation, so I thought it best to sign up now in case they close the October registration early. And it seems that we can use our OUSA Budget Account for short courses now, so I don't have to start paying until October.

I came across this interesting T189 student blog which gives an insight into the course...

My Addiction...

2007-06-05T16:02:00.000+01:00

Just when I thought I was getting over my addiction, they tempt me with something new...

Charlie at six months...

2007-06-02T07:36:00.000+01:00

Charlie is growing up fast, and now weighs 17 kg - he's entering adolescence and is into everything. Like all staffies he has a kooky side to his character captured in this photo. He loves to be chased and to take things that he shouldn't, looking out of the corner of his eyes for any opportunity. And occasionally he likes to run around the house and garden like a mad thing as fast as he can.

Charlie is very loyal and walks off the lead never straying more than a few metres from us, out in the fields. He also loves meeting other dogs and people - his favourite acquaintance is a huge doberman bitch who he meets regularly in the park. He's a lovely dog and a constant source of enjoyment for us all...

Diving in Antigua...

2007-05-19T21:49:00.000+01:00

Diving in Antigua was similar to Barbados, although there were less turtles, but more varied fish and huge lobsters. I dived with Aquanaut diving based at St James, who were really good - each of the dive sites were only a 10 - 20 minute boat ride away, and I managed to do ten dives of around 40 minutes between 12 and 25 metres.

On one dive we were closely followed for the whole dive by a large Remora (sucker fish who attach themselves to sharks) of at least three feet long, who seemed to want to attach itself to one of us. I was expecting its previous host to turn up at any minute...

Just Married...

2007-05-19T21:28:00.000+01:00

After being together for 14 years herself and I have just got married in Antigua. Our Wedding day was made extra special not only by the beach-side Caribbean location, but also by the Antiguan Wedding Officer who performed the marriage ceremony.

We stayed at the Grand Pineapple Beach Resort, where everything was arranged by the wedding coordinator, and the service carried out on a hilltop overlooking the ocean. Family back home were even able to watch us cut the cake via the hotel webcam.

And during our two week stay I also managed to get some diving in...

Speed Awareness Course...

2007-04-27T14:16:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I was caught by a speed camera doing 36mph in a 30mph limit. But the good news is I was offered a speed awareness course in lieu of the three points on my licence.

The three hour course was basic, but well presented by a couple of driving instructors (I was expecting the Police). It was interesting to hear other people's stories of how they were caught - a fireman returning from a call out he travelled to at 70mph was caught doing 35mph on the way back. And someone else was clocked at only 32mph by a fixed camera, which seems a bit strict!

As experienced drivers we all knew what we had done wrong, the dangers and consequences of speeding, etc., but what the course did bring home is the need for me to question my own competence as a driver - I drive 30,000 miles a year and yet my driving skills haven't been checked since I passed my test 25 years ago.

I've decided to look into taking an advanced driving test with the Institute of Advanced Motorists...