Night Dive Before Dawn - 28/09/2018

I'd never dived Brackley Point at night so when the Barrman suggested that the club head there for a training day I was keen to go the night before to experience it in the dark, because, as we all know, diving is always better in the dark. StewPats stepped up to the mark and we took the opportunity to also get down below 31m so that the dive could also count towards his master diver training. 

We kitted up and headed in and down. The slope was much steeper than I remembered, but the visibility was immense- easily 10m.

We pottered about enjoying some nudi's, a scorpionfish and a little cuttlefish before heading up and to the wreckage of the old barge. Upon arrival it became clear that we were surrounded by one of the largest schools of pollock I have ever seen. Hundreds of them, everywhere. The vis was so good that I could soo Leigh on the surface looking out for us with her torch. We were still at 10m. Back on the surface she said she thought we were about to surface.

The following day I took Freeflow Bob in for a wee dive. during which he successfully completed his master diver striptease and also happily pottered down below 31m. The kids grow up so fast these days. 

Climbing the Walls - 23/09/2018

When my local dive shop arranged a Mares Try Dive Day at Caolasnacon I was always going to be on it like sonnet.

I had wanted to try out a few different things - which in the end I didn't, but a number of my club members did. Examples include:

• the Mares goodman torch strap
• the Mares heated vest
• a Mares single tank wing

However, a suit leak on a wee training dive around the wall with a trainee meant that I chose to spend much of the day trying to dry out my suit and undersuit for an evening dive with Mares UK Sales Manager and his buddy.

Jester was accompanying me as we to Kentallan Wall for the first time in darkness. When we went, Jester and I promised very little. "Perhaps some nudibranch's and ray. No guarantees."

However, between the two of us Jester and I knocked it out the park. 

• Thornback ray
• Curled octopus 
• Sepiola Atlantica
• Nudibranch's

Oh, and let's not forget my magnificent navigation. 

Curled Octopus

Thornback Ray

Caolasnacon

Sepiola Atlantica

Northern Sunstar

Nudi

Nudi

Farne Way - 14/09/2017

It’s been a few years since I last dived at the Farnes. Sometimes you forget what it’s like. I mean, you remember the visuals, average diving, seals, the village of Seahouses, but I always forget just how playful and fun loving young seal are.

I was taking young Sarah in for her first taste of seal action. I explained the rule was to always let them come to you.

We did. They came, they posed for photos, they nibbled our fins, they tried to bite our fingers, they played with us. I think 

It genuinely has to be Farne away one of the best places on earth to dive with marine mammals.

Switch Around - 12/08/2018

It’s not everyday when I turn up at a dive site and lend my entir kit to a buddy while I used his. 

We were heading to Anchor Point to help Alex get a little more twinset experience and also enjoy what seemed like my first night dive of the season.

We headed down to 22m spotting a very pleasant little nudibranch before bumping into a dogfish.  Both of us were a little of balance. It’s funny how when using a different BCD you sometimes need to change the angle of dumping air etc..

We came out the water in darkness.

Hull of Kintyre - 08/09/2018

I have friends who consider me a depth junkie. I'm really not, but some of the best dives require deep training and a fair bit of commitment. Some time ago when chatting in the pub I had mentioned that the wreck of the SS Kintyre was one of my dive highlights. The Barrman was enthused. He wanted to dive it there and then. Shiny also decided it was special enough to lure him in for a dive.

I promised to keep my eyes peeled for suitable dates. In the end we plumped for Saturday 8th September. High tide was 12.16pm. As such if we entered the water at around 11.15am  we'd nail the tides. The weather forecast looked promising. It all came together as it had once before for Jester and I the previous year.

I was buddying Shiny, the Barrman was with the Wylie Fox and we were joined by one half of Das McLetchies and his buddy John. 

Shiny is always slow at kitting up. I mean, painfully slow. Although, he'll point  out that it means that he has everything just right. And he did, but it meant that we were last in the water and at the back of the queue.

We never saw the rest of the divers disappear down the pipe. Instead, we made our own way down and onto the wreck. Both qualified beyond recreational limits, we headed for the stern and ended up recording 49m. It was a pretty relaxed affair, but made me realise the best bit of the wreck is 40m on the deck. On the way back up along the famous jobby pipe we met the other divers. I was asked if we'd been to the boat. I signalled the affirmative. The rest, it seems, hadn't found it. I never said much about it the dive - nobody wants to be "that guy".

The Learning Journey - 04/09/2018

I' had agreed to take a branch diver out for a wee dive post work. We headed to the almost proverbial A-Frames for our 20m bimble. My buddy was essentially exploring a whole load of new kit, so it was always going to be a little up and down. 

We swam about for a bit before realising that my buddy was running pretty low and headed out. All in all it wasn't very interesting for me, but my buddy seemed fairly excited by everything.  Apparently, someone has been doodling in the area too.

Once More With Feeling - 02/09/2018

The end of summer is definitely approaching. The sea may  stay warmer for a few weeks and then starts to cool for winter. With that and mind, myself and Jester headed to St Abbs to dive the Glanmire before doing a shallow dive at Skelly's Hole. 

As usual we were diving with Pathfinder. We were diving to plans on the first dive and as a buddy three. We dropped down in great conditions and went in search of the props. On previous vists, the visibility has made navigating the wreck a little more challenging, but today in around 8m the wreck made a lot more sense to me. It was nice to see it more fully too. Definitely worth the last minute decision to go.

We bimbled around for about 34 minutes, going a little deeper than we had originally planned and headed up doing our deco stops on the deeper plan. Simple. 

After a quick surface interval we headed to Skelly's Hole for a few swim-throughs and out over the gullies. We buzzed about for a bit before surfacing and congratulating ourselves on a very decent days diving.

Prop

Anemone

Lobster

Bloody Henry

Anemone