That's My Little Octopussy - 31/12/2014

In 1983 Roger Moore made one of the worst Bond movies ever. However, it did spawn one of the most memorable lines ever. A line that runs through my mind sometimes when I dive.

James Bond: [looking at the tattoo on Magda's back] What is that?

Magda: That's my little octopussy.

Indeed, "that's my little octopussy". I've seen octopus' on four occasions. Twice in Scotland and once in Egypt and once the other day at Black Rock in Aqaba. On each occasion I have spectacularly failed to photograph them. Either because I've been too slow to realise what I'm looking at or too incompetent with a camera. 

Today Gill.I.Am was beginning a PADI Deep Speciality with one of the owners Isaac of Aqaba's Anchor. I was diving initially with one of the DMTs nicknamed Woody. We had a nice dive zooming around Rainbow Reef and the Cedar Pride. However, I'd be lying if I said that my heart was ever racing. You know the way it does when you see something really neat underwater. Don't get me wrong I still had fun, but it wasn't that exciting.

When I came back to the shore and Gill mentioned that she'd had a nice encounter with a Giant Moray I was a somewhat jealous, although I like to think I never let it show. I mean doesn't everyone punch their dive pals in the face after a dive? *joke*

So when we went in for the second dive I was now diving as part of a three with Gill and Isaac. They were doing skills while I was pottering about looking for anything. Then at 30m I saw a rock move. "Nope, that's not a rock it's a stonefish. No! That's not a stonefish it's an octopus!" I thought,  In one motion I swept up my camera with my right hand, rattled my shaker with my left and drew Isaac and Gill over. 

It was a whopper! Changing colour, receding into it's hole, I thought it was going to disappear from view, but then it paused to look at me, it took pity and let me take a picture. "My little octopussy" I thought.

It's New Years Eve (or Hogmanay as we call it Scotland), if diving in 2015 starts as well as it ended I'll be happy. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS, HAPPY NEW YEAR.

My little octopussy

Wacko-paco

Woody

Anemone fish

Bicolour Parrotfish

Swimming through

Air in the hold

Starry puffer

Glassfish (or Red Sea dwarf sweeper)

Gill.I.Am and the wreck

Return to Cable Reef and Cedar Pride - 30/12/2014

I've dived both Cable Reef and the Cedar Pride before. However, I've only dived Cable Reef at night and the Cedar Pride is big enough to have a lot more to explore than I saw the first time.

Cable Reef was up first and it delivered some nice nudibranch's, a red bubble anemone, a grey moray and a few different types of pufferfish. It was cool to see a reef I'd only dived at night during the day. Especially, the cable section (an area where large electrical cables run from Jordan across to Taba in Egypt. This is also a coral nusery where environmentalists are regrowing different types of Red Sea coral.

The return to Cedar Pride was even better, with a Panther Torpedo Ray, a huge Napoleonfish, a wee visit inside the bridge of the wreck and a swim under of the wreck.

Grey Moray

Four Colour Chromodoris

Masked Puffer behind Grape Coral

Diadem Sea Urchin, Red Anemone and Red Sea Anemone fish

Panther Torpedo Ray

Big Napoleonfish

Big Napoleonfish (2)

All's Quiet on the Western Front - 29/12/2014

I must confess, I fled the UK on Boxing Day for sunnier climes. I flew first to Istanbul, Turkey before skipping over to Aqaba, Jordon. Regular readers will know I had a few dives here earlier in the year, but I felt I had some unfinished business with the area in terms of diving. And, let's be honest who wouldn't swap Scottish winter for the mild weather of the Middle East? So, here I am.

Today we dived two new sites (to us) in the area:

• First Bay (including the Eel Garden)
• Black Rock

North Bay 1&2 was, for us, a drift dive that took us through a site called the Eel Garden. It was nice and comprised Gill.I.Am's deepest ever dive (30m) and her first proper drift dive. I think she enjoyed both aspects.

For me the highlights were the corals. In Scotland, Hugh MacDiarmid once penned the following verse in regard to the white rose commonly found in the country. *clears throat*

The rose of all the world is not for me.

I want for my part

Only the little white rose of Scotland

That smells sharp and sweet—and breaks the heart.

How true! However, the corals of Aqaba must run it pretty close. I'll let the few decent pictures I took do most of the talking, but the second dive at Black Rock (recently featured in Diver magazine) it was just myself and Abood the DM who went in. We went to 40m, but a quarter twist and a drop of the wrist saw me clock 40.4m my deepest ever dive. :)

Lettuce Coral

Starry Puffer

Cornetfish

Worm

Coral

Coral

Coral

Diving For Dollars - 07/12/2014

I remember watching The Running Man and recall the film featuring a TV show called Climbing for Dollars. The premise of the game show was somewhat distopian to say the least. However, yesterday TDFKAMF and I headed out to the A-Frames to try and find a few lost items. 

• a macro lens for TDFKAMFF's camera
• my missing torch
• 2kg of shot weight lost by the dive school that were there

In essence we were diving for dollars!

So as to make this all a more honest read I'll reveal now that we found nothing. Nada! Not a thing! Zilch! However, we never had an untimely demise like the participant in Climbing for Dollars.

We did however have a nice 56 minute dive around the big frame and the wreckage. I saw nothing of any great excitement, but the whole experience was pleasurable enough if a little cold. When I say cold I mean freaking freezing! I've no idea how the thermometers on my dive computers work, but I can assure you they are not accurate.

TDFKAMF was trying out a strobe and video light set up from Sealife and we both agreed the best bit was the video light. It all once again made me think I need to get a Sea Dragon 2000.

Wee fish

Sea loch anemone

Celtic feather star

Black Torch Down - 04/11/2014

When Soul II Soul released Back to Life I'm not entirely sure they were singing about diving from an Egyptian live-aboard then returning to Scotland to dive in the cool winter waters. However, that is the reality that faced the Zookeeper and I tonight.

My regular Mares Abyss Navy  reg is in for servicing so I nabbed my wife's regulator and subbed on the 2nd stage of my pony (she has a fitted mouth piece). Of course, this meant ditching the pony and rebalancing my weight. All just a lot of hassle.

Diving at the A-Frames, I suggested a different dive at this site to the Zookeeper, Out usual plan is to dive north on to the big frame head down to the deeper frame before coming back along the other frames. However, today we were diving down to the big frame before heading off to the right where we'd hopefully find some conger eels, cuttlefish and lobster amongst the wreckage.

As we reached the big frame, I realised I'd droppped my backup torch, a Subgear SP30. This was not good news as my Mares EOS is rechargable and only had about 50 minutes of life on the current charge. We spent the rest of the dive retracing steps to find it until the juice ran out of my main torch. This was to no avail. Here's hoping one of my pals can find in the coming weeks. A case of Black Torch Down.

I reckon the dive has cost me about £1.50 for every minute we stayed down. However, I realised in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter, as on the way home a BMW driver nearly smashed into me in a fit of aggression with another driver. If it hadn't of been for my evasive action I'd have lost more than a torch.

Quite literally chillin'

Sea squirts

Macropodia rostrata

Keep on Truking - 28/11/2014

On Friday night I went down to Aquatron, the local dive shop, for a social evening. The entertainment was provided by Rod MacDonald. Rod is a legendary Scottish wreck diver and author of a number of books. His latest book is an exploration of the wrecks of Truk (or Chuuk) Lagoon, in the Federated Sates of Micronesia. 

It's a bit pricey at £30 for the hardback, but the blow was cushioned when I won the raffle - a bottle of Old Puteney Single Malt - probably worth about £30 in and of itself. :)

The evening consisted of a talk then a Q&A session on diving Truk. It was part history lesson part diving guide. I enjoyed it. I'd never heard of the place until very recently, but apparently it was the Japanese equivalent of Pearl Harbor. Basically,the Americans issued a WWII smack down to to the Japanese naval fleet that was mostly based in the area.

The wrecks look fascinating and beautiful.

Rod signed my book and even wrote a poignant message.

Day 6 - Time To Say Goodbye Part 2 - 23/11/2014

And then, just like that, it was time to say goodbye or as they say in Italian, "Con te Partiro".

I left Snapdragon, taking a couple of photo's as an aide-memoir in the event I'm ever asked to board her again and I can remember to say no. We got a taxi to a crap hotel and then a taxi to Naama Bay where the Horse Whisperer made me buy a "Son of Poseidon" tshirt and we spent the night drinking over priced cocktails at the Camel Bar.

So here is my final ratings:

The boat is poor and while I'd liveabaord again I've reached a point in life where I don't need to slum it on a budget boat. A few hundred £ more could of bought me a more pleasurable living experience, However, as I said in the first run of posts it's the people you meet and the banter and diving that make the trip. Also, Cards Against Humanity.

Accommodation	**
Toilets	*
Food	****
Crew	****
Dive deck	***
Diving	****
Banter	*****
Overall	****

I think I've made pals (they may all be glad to see the back of me). Below are some of the characters mentioned throughout the blog.

MY Snapdragon

Horse Whisperer

The Zookeeper

Al-Chemist

Karim

The Buddy Pair "Derola"

Sergeant Chris & The Smooth Criminal

Bridget

The Lawman

The Horse Whisperer

Seanathon

Seanathon

The Lawman & Bridget Putting Up Smoke Signals

The Smooth Criminal

Seargeant Chris

Al-Chemist

Day 6 - Time To Say Goodbye Part 1 - 23/11/2014

The final day on the boat was provided us with two dives. The first at Jackson Reef and the second at Ras Umm Sid.

Jackson Reef delivered a very pleasant red anemone without much excitement. By way of contrast, Ras Umm Sid (one of the fluffiest dives) gave us a free swimming conger and a turtle as well as underwater high jinks.

Al-chemist demonstrated his underwater BCD surfing technique while I rode the Lawman as though he were Seabiscuit. It was a fitting final dive.

Riding Seabiscuit by Vivianne

Red Anemone

Giant Trevally

Spanish Dancer Eggs

Moray

Turtle & Bubble

Turtle