Pony Trials - 21/02/2015

Jester has been hinting for ages that he quite fancies having a pony - not the equine variety. I have a pony that I only tend to take with me when I'm doing deeper dives or I'm diving with pretty inexperienced divers. To salve his disappointment about missing out at diving the Council Yard on Thursday I offered to go diving with him on Sunday and let him ride my pony.

We were joined by the Frigophobe, who is just learning about diving in coldwater.

I won't lie, it was cold from the off and without too much life. We worked our way down to around 30m before heading back.The way back saw Jester spot a couple of nudibranchs (all too small for decent photographs) and me a fine sunstar.

On the surface we voted 2 to 1 to can a second dive due to the cold. Instead we went to the pub for lunch. A dive and a lunch in the heat sounds like a win/win to me.

As for the pony, apart from the initial weight of putting it on I think Jester was quite comfortable in it. I can see him buying one soon.

Sunstar

Limacia Clavigera

Jester warms the Frigophobe

When Life Gives You Sea Lemons... - 18/02/2016

So, as the old saying goes, when life gives you sea lemons make sea lemonade! Or something like that. 

Tonights diving adventure was held at the Council Yard, Loch Fyne. This site is actually a little bereft of life, but every time I've dived it it has thrown up a couple of nice things. This time, with the Zookeeper, was no different.

The dive started badly with the zookeeper, switching undersuits and was hopelessly buoyant. We decided discretion was the better part of valor and she headed back to the car for some extra weight. Eventually after about 10-15 minutes in the cold surface water we went down. 

We followed the edge of the reef out into the middle of the loch, where at about 30m it ends. At this point I shone my torch a little deeper and spotted the firework anemone. It was the first point in the dive when I thought , 'yeah, I'll take a picture of that'.

As I said, the reef is a little lifeless, but I always seem to get decent visibility here and I quite enjoy some navigational challenges. 

At 31m and a couple of minutes from deco we turned and headed back up to the shallows. It was on route here when I spotted my first ever Sea Lemon. I've seen them before, but always spotted by someone else. My first solo spot for the sea slug win!

When we got to the surface Jester was there, but Neither the Zookeeper or I could face a second dive in the cold. I offered my apologies and we went to the pub where, by way of apology, I bought the chips.

Firework Anemone

Sea lemon

Cushion star

Sunsets & Cold Sweats - 10/02/2015

This blog could very well be called 'Cold & Colder' or 'Between a Cold & a Cold Place', but enough of that musing!

A continual procession of winter storms have stifled my willingness to dive of late. In fact, I've watched with glee as friends have headed out only to be put off by the weather - does no one look at the weather forecast these days? However, earlier this week I noticed that the weather, whilst cold, was to be dry and wind free. It was our chance. the Zookeeper , Jester and a new friend as yet un-named joined me.

We drove up through heavy rain, sleet and even snow and snow covered roads as we crossed over the Rest & Be Thankful. Then as we arrived in the twilight gloom the clouds parted and the sun set over calm waters.

We kitted up and headed down. I was armed with my UV torch and was curious to discover what would fluoresce. As such photography was at a minimum.

As we hit the water it was cold. I was glad I'd worn my 2mm Waterproof Ice Hood. I do get a gentle ribbing for this, but seriously, it's freaking cold out there! We passed into warmer waters at around 4m.

The Zookeeper and I bottomed out around 20m before meeting Jester and his buddy on the reef. He signalled that he saw a dogfish at 22m and so we headed down to investigate. We never found it, but what we did find was another thermocline. It was cold down there. We were caught in the sweet spot between two thermoclines.

Now, at this point I was sure I could hear whale noises, but closer investigation revealed it was the Zookeeper moaning with cold into her reg. It was pretty chilly (5c). We headed slowly up, with both of us chilling all the time shivering enough to put ourselves into a cold sweat at the thought of how cold it was! :)

We came out to find the others on the surface dekitting. We chatted about the cold, but at least it was dry and clear and the milky way was resplendent.

So what fluoresced? Well.....

• Nothern sunstar
• Prawns
• Short clawed squat lobsters
• Ballan wrasse

Setting Sun

Setting Sun

Northern sunstar