Check That Suit! What Suit? Gimp Suit! -

Today was a dive of a different kind for me. I was diving with someone I met on my recent liveaboard - Bridget. So named for her propensity to explete and working in PR.

The outing started comically with Bridget attracting, what seemed to me to be, the amorous advances of a socially awkward diver as we kitted up. It was painful to watch.

Bridget was testing out a new neoprene, as she calls it, gimp suit. It marked a move from someone diving in a hired trilaminate suit to a neoprene suit. It was also her first dive in the postmodern tropical waters of Loch Long at Twin Piers. 

Today I added a little extra weight to my set up after an experience with the Zookeeper trying out a new drysuit at this very site a year ago. So, when we went into the water and she couldn't get down I slipped an extra few kilo's into her BCD which had her sinking in no time.

The visibility to 15m was surprisingly good (5-6m), but deteriorated rapidly below that depth.

We made our way round the piers, past the old truck (8m), through the wrecked barge (15m) and onto the reef. En route I'd picked up a clappy-doo for sacrificial purposes to lure out the big conger eel. It went down a treat. :) Much to the delight of Bridget who'd never seen a conger eel in her previous Scottish dives. 

On the way back, Bridget was clearly still getting use to the new drysuit and it seemed to me was struggling to get the air out. I held her down for the safety stop and as we got a few metres from the shore let her go gently. As she rose the valve was automatically purging excess air.

I've been fortunate and had the same drysuit as when I did my drysuit speciality, more than three years ago. I can imagine a new suit can take some time to get used to. I mean, I don't even like diving with a different torch. I am, though, a creature of routine and habit.

On the basis that this was more of a check dive I never really took any pictures.

Conger eel

Plumose anemone