1,646 Days Later - 26/11/2018

It's been over 4 years since I last saw one. I hadn't thought about the fact I hadn't seen one in years, but when I saw it I was relieved.

Myself, Jester and the Big Easy headed out in my packed car to St Catherine's (for my 116th dive there) and curiously enough the Big Easy's first ever Scottish night dive.

We kitted up, with all of us testing out some kind of new toy. I was test driving my new Mares XR Heat Vest. I feel as a gentleman of a certain age I deserved to be able to enjoy the finer things in life.

We headed down, and as I swam towards the site's little speed boat I heard the Big Easy laughing into his rebreather. I turned and saw the flashing of Jester's camera. They had found something, something unusual. I approached. 

I recognised it straight away. I had seen one 1,646 days earlier at a secret site the Zookeeper and I explored - a cuckoo ray. It was a special memory for me, as it would become for both my buddies, who, prior to this dive, had never seen one.

We spent the rest of the time looking for a little cuttlefish which I had told the Big Easy were 99.9% guaranteed. We never found one. 

Oh, and the vest - even on medium heat - was toastie!

Cuckoo Ray

Cushion star

Spiny Squat Lobster and Spider Crab

The Next Generation - 11/11/2018

It's interesting watching the next generation of scuba divers come through the ranks. They are the guys who will be the club instructors in 3-4 years time. I may or may not even be diving.

At Drishaig Reef I took in three different trainees.

• Freeflow Bob (Master Diver Trainee)
• Smyler (Drysuit Diver Trainee)
• Chico (Branch Diver Trainee)

It was genuinely fascinating watching them all psyche themselves up for things that I now don't even think about, but 8 years ago would of caused nerves. It dawned on me - no one likes being assessed. The one plus they all have is that they all had me as an instructor. 😁

First up was Ol' Freeflow who needed a 30m assisted ascent assessed. He'd failed one and passed one before. It should of been pretty straightforward..... and it was. Afterwards we chatted about ascent rates and how it's better to be slower than too fast.

Then I moved onto drysuit skills with Smyler. He's a PADI AOW diver with limited experience and no drysuit experience. Like Freeflow, it all went exceptionally well except for a wee wobble just before we did a safety stop. I held him down, righted him and then proceeded.

Finally, it was Chico time! I was taking him in for his second dive. We went down to 9m and finned about, turned and came back up slowly. He too had a wee wobble at 4m, but I was expecting it. 

All in I emerged kind of proud of myself. Three training dives, three passes. What's more, they all loved it. That was a win. 

Chico on his 2nd dive

We may have misread the tide

 

The Only Way Is Up - 03/11/2018

So there are two guys in my club, I like them both and I'm desperate to get both of them through their ScotSAC Master Diver Award. We had managed to secure a date when they both could have a go at rescue lifts and also perhaps a 30m ascent.

The weather forecast had predicted that we'd be battered by the tail end of a hurricane that had caused havoc on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. However, by the time it came to us it was just a bit cold an miserable - miserable enough to deter most others from diving.

We headed to Conger Alley where aside from two other club members we had the place to ourselves. We kitted up and headed down for 30m assisted ascent. It never went well. In the first instance we struggled to get the depth, then when we did the area was super silty. We began only for one person to start suffering from a dark narc. It wasn't worth it so we simply headed back. I'm glad I took a compass heading as I led them back through the flat silt.

Our second dive was going to be two 15m rescue lifts. We had time for one go each. Both of them succeeded in delivering an excellent lifts but failed to stop for the required safety stop.

Afterwards we chatted about the computer data. I tried to put a positive spin on it for the guys but I was disappointed for them, because I know they can do it.

Return to Normal - 29/10/2018

Me photographing the cuttlefish below.

After training dives, a trip overseas and a wee break. I returned to my normal night diving routine with Jester as a barely tolerable buddy. We kitted up wondering where exactly the loch was. As it was, it turned out it was low tide and I mean Barry White low tide.

We meandered down planning to dive to the small speedboat then to the bottom of the reef (taking advantage of the shallower depths) and back up. It was a pretty

Everything went to plan with loads of cuttlefish, pipefish, gurnards, scorpion fish and only a small amount deco that was worked off before we even got to the ceiling.

It was thoroughly pleasant way to spend 62 minutes, an experience only added to by the glow of the Milky Way above us as we emerged from the water.

Short Spinned Sea Scorpion

The cuttlefish I was photographing

Greater Pipefish

Gurnard

Dive With The Devil - 07/10/2018

After my experiences earlier in the year at Scapa Flow I was definitely sure that I wanted to continue my diver education and look at accelerated decompression. Now, technical diving isn't for everyone, but continually working to improve your experience and your skills is.

For that reason I never found it too hard to find a buddy to enjoy me on the IANTD Advanced Recreational Trimix Course. On this occasion, it was Alex that stepped up to the plate.

There are a number of benefits to both accelerated decompression and trimix. These include:

• Reduced narcosis at depth (T)
• Less time in the water getting cold (AD)

My original plan had been a to do an accelerated deco course (I was already qualified to 50m), but our instructor looked at out experiences as divers and suggested the trimix course - which also covered accelerated deco. That meant that Alex and I would be playing with voodoo and the devil!

We spent one day at Prestonhill Quarry and a second at a pretty weather beaten Slates doing drills, planning dives on trimix and 50% O2. 

It was overall a great learning experience and I'm not ashamed to say that Alex was better than me at almost every skill except for one. However, it was a great experience to share with such a fine young buddy. Henceforth, known as the Devil's Buddy.

My congratulatory post final dive handshake

Devil divers

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