Diving at night isn't for everyone. The imagination is a powerful thing and in the darkness people's imaginations often run riot out running even the most reasoned of minds. However, my own love it compels me time and again to introduce it to more people for the first time.
Tonight it was the turn of Freeflow Bob to experience diving in the dark for the first time. I couldn't tell if he was excited about night diving specifically or not.
On the way up I explained a few basic principles of night diving:
- Use a couple of lights to create an entry line for ease of navigating back to the shore - I rarely do this :)
- Dive the site in daylight before diving it at night - I've skipped this a few times too :)
- Don't turn off your torch underwater in case it doesn't go back on - I've experienced this first hand :)
- Carry a spare torch - top tip- I always do this
- Always, always do a buddy check. The incident pit can get so much deeper faster in the dark!
We were all set.
We kitted up and buddy checked at the car before entering the water. We dropped into fairly pleasant, clear, Finnart water. We went down to the big frame before spending the rest of the time looking amongst the wreckage for life.
We saw:
- Catsharks
- Nudibranchs
- Lobsters
- Wrasse
- Cod
Pretty much everything you'd expect to see. However, it was at the end of the dive when I revealed my favourite night diving feature. Encouraging the others to cover the light from their torches we blackened the sea bed then began moving our spare hands in the dark. Lighting up the sea with bioluminescence. If you haven't seen it before I recommend diving at night for that reason.
I think Ol' Freeflow may have discovered a taste for it.
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