Mind the Gap - 28/12/2018

The gap between Christmas and New Year is a sacred time when divers who:

a: wish to off gas excess turkey & trimmings
b: are full of festive cheer
c: climbing the walls with boredom

...can all get together and have a wee dive.

We had a fairly meaty group of six divers who all went in and out safely. There is little to say about it. Other than in his excitement to show me a pipefish, the trainee I took in unleashed a tsunami of silt that obscured half the loch. :)

Deepest Night - 05/12/2018

I'm not depth junkie, although those who only ever dive to 20m say that I am. Meanwhile those who dive regularly below 50m just laugh at the absurdity that I might be. However, I do enjoy taking people deeper than they've gone before, especially at night. They seem to be thrilled at the end of the night. So when I took StewPatz and Freeflow Bob for a 31m night dive at the A-Frames I was quite tickled.

It almost never happened when one of our divers, I shan't say 'Stew', forgot fins and his weightbelt, but somehow we cobbled together enough weight and a spare pair of fins from nowhere.

We kitted up and headed spotting some cracking life:

• a snake blennie
• a cuttlefish
• deeplet anemones
• firework anemones
• nudibranchs

We emerged, delighted with out hall and two divers thrilled that they'd done more than 31m at night.

Charitable Outreach - 10/11/2017

It is a well known (or ken't if you're from Falkirk) fact that beneath my gruff exterior I'm a charitable chap. As members of my club know ,I've taken the step of introducing as many people as possible to diving at night. People appreciate it, not everyone enjoys the dark as I do. On this occasion I took Walker Texas Ranger and Andy G out to Finnart for another dive in the dark. 

We were running late. A phenomenon that happens a lot with diving. We quickly kitted up and got into the water for a potter around.

The viz was decent as we plodded from frame to frame. We passed a nice pipefish, a few cuttlefish and a number of the usual suspects.

It was another success, and pleasantly uneventful!

Back on the surface Gill.I.Am loaded up the trailer and headed to Firkin Point, Loch Lomond to camp overnight.

Twin Set & Pearls - 24/06/2017

It's no secret that since the start of the year I have put a concerted effort into getting 'more qualified' as part of a push to get myself ready for some more ambitious dives. My plan at the start of the year was to:

1. Finish the ScotSAC Master Diver Qualification
2. Do ScotSAC Deep Rescue
3. Do ScotSAC Deep Diving (50m)
4. Do BSAC Accelerated Decompression Procedures

With number 1 complete and 2 & 3 organised for July and October respectively, 4 had been cancelled for June. As such, I had a little window for some training. So with just seven twin set dives under my belt I decided to do the PADI Twin Set  Distinctive Speciality Course with an instructor friend - Lifeboatman Ken.  If you're interested in learning more about the course you can click here, but if you're in Scotland and interested in doing it message me and I'll pass your details onto Lifeboatman Ken.

When I arrived Lifeboatman Ken was waiting along with a few familiar faces who had decided on the same location for a Saturday morning.

It's been a few years since I've done a PADI qualification and to be honest I forgot the repetition of many of the skills one must demonstrate, Skills, that personally, I'd just take for granted - maintain control of your buoyancy, perform a safety stop, etc. Other skills included practicing going along on your side, sharing air..... but not shutdown drills - which to be honest I would of expected as part of the course.

As such, the real value of the course was just spending one on one time with a guy who has over 1,000 twin set dives. That's where the true pearls of wisdom are.

So what did I pick up? Well...

• where to put my reel & SMP that bests secures my long hose
• good tips for equipment doffing and donning in the water
• better ways to set up my regulators 
• more experience of diving with the twins

Well, that's another card for the folder. Next up for me in terms of training? ScotSAC Deep Rescue in July, but before that, time for something fluffier in warmer waters.

Sunday Drive - 29/01/2017

I had decided to take Gill.I.Am's fancy jeep for a Sunday drive and a trip to the A-Frames. Gill.I.Am even came too, but not to dive, just to feast in Costa and join us for a late lunch at the Malt & Myre. It fell, therefore, on Jester and I to do the actual diving.

At the sight we met some old friends who advised us that the visibility was a bit rubbish. Undeterred we headed in. Jester's camera failed almost instantly so we just spent an hour pottering about going from frame to frame.

The visibility wasn't really that bad - at least 4m. I wondered if it was because our old chums were diving with scub-newbs. My suspicions were confirmed as we neared the end of our dive and we passed a group of three of the divers. Two of them, not the dive leader I hasten to add, were kicking up so much silt that I was unsurprised by their initial assessment. I looked at Jester and he was obviously thinking the same thing, as the moment we made eye contact he picked up a handful of silt and threw it in the air. 

I mean, they were terrible - kit dragging, arms flapping, flutter kicks and bouncing along the bottom. I know we've all been there  learning to dive, but it made me wonder why they don't teach frog kicking as a matter of course before divers get in the water.

Still our dive at depths far below the newbs were diving was pretty good as was lunch at the Malt & Myre.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men - 04/07/2014

TDFKAMF and The Beast

TDFKAMF and I had decided we'd go look for Thornback Rays in Loch Fyne. However, the moment we jumped into the car we heard on the wireless (yip, that's what I call a radio) that the road from Loch Long to Loch Fyne was shut because of an accident. Instead we headed for The Caves, Loch Long, followed by a second dive at the A-Frames.

I knew from the night before that the vis was going to be at best 2-4m. Moreover, we could hear fisherman down the banks. So we went and had a chat. They were decent guys prepared to look out for our bubbles. In addition, I offered some free fintell (fish intelligence) about the sea bed and why they snagged their lines. Ebony and Ivory living in perfect harmony.

The Caves has been missing its guide rope through the tunnel for sometime, so after a careful descent we headed down to around 25m. It was TDFKAMF's first time at the site. I think he enjoyed it.

Amongst the usual life were a myriad of moon jellyfish, horseman anemone, bloody henry and the amazing starfish and its shadow. :)

While at the deep end of the dive I spotted a 20m length of rope. It was attached to a weight which TDFKAMF promptly cut as I gathered it up for the return journey. 

Once back at the surface three divers were staggering down through the site to begin their dive. Without my glasses it took me a while to recognise the faces - but the voices and the hair of Gentle Ben alerted me to their identities. Two member for of the Aquatron team and a third mystery lady named Jenny. Presumably, she had been tricked into diving with Gentle Ben by her husband, Polite Mark. :) Some banter and the promise of a rope for their return exit meant we had a laugh as we squeezed past on the rock face. Polite Mark remarked the next day in shop that he thought it strange that I had taken 20m of climbing rope with me on my dive. How was he to know I'd found it underwater?

TDFKAMF and I set to work - still fully kitted - to re-assemble the safety line. Polite Mark remarked that he found very useful on his way back up. Mission accomplished I'd say.

Dekitting quickly in the midgie infested lay-by we headed to the A-Frames for a pretty routine dive during which nothing particularly interesting or remarkable happened. Although I did bump into a piece of wreckage that I found on my first ever dive at the site more than two years ago. I got a little nostalgic.

Moon Jellyfish

Moon jellyfish

The Amazing Starfish and its Shadow

Horseman Anemone

The Gathered Rope

Bloody Henry

The A Team

Re-roping the tunnel

Re-roping the tunnel

Edible Crab

Camo'd Spider Crab

Shore Crab

At last look back

A last Gasp Dive - 07/05/2014

Late in the day, while I was still at work, I got a message from Mr Fallsoveralot asking if I fancied a dive. The weather was tolerable I said yes and asked The Zookeeper (who'd been off work all week) to come along too. With a late departure, we headed to the A-Frames for a cheeky dip.

Once there we found a few divers at the site including Sergeant Chris. I got the impression that one of the guys was quite inexperienced when he told me the visibility was really poor and you couldn't see anything. He had also lost his buddy's and swum back to shore alone. I feared the worst after that encounter but we pressed on. 

Mr Fallsoveralot finally managed to put on his own fins for the first time. As all drysuit divers will tell you, the first time you accomplish that task is an achievement. Moreover, he never fell over once, I'll need a new nickname soon. Well done Grant! 

Diving down we found the visibility to between 2-3m - not great, but not what we'd been led to believe. We had  a really pleasant relaxed dive down to 18m for 47 minutes. Not bad for a last minute decision. I never took many pictures.

Starfish

Mr Fallsoveralot

Mr Fallsoveralot & The Zookeeper

Moody Loch Long (This is an unedited picture)