Day 5 was
always going to be a little bit special. Today my dive log is turning 300, but
I’m getting a little ahead of myself. First was the Rosalie Muller, a WWII
wreck in deep water (35m+).
Our plan
had been to crank up the PPO2 to 1.6 to enable us to dive around the deck
without our computer playing the greatest hits of Electronic Disco. This
worried me a bit, as did the entry which involved keel hauling ourselves from
stern to bow of our own boat before descending to the wreck.
I’ll be
honest, I don’t really like this kind of dive and I used a lot of air going
down the line. Once on it, despite being at 35m, I calmed and slowed my
breathing, but took a conscious decision to not take photographs as this would
only deplete my air even quicker. We got back to the boat with 40 bar to spare
and without hitting deco. That seemed like a win. What impressed me the most
about the wreck was its eerie completeness. It’s dark and a little unnerving. The Gandalf of the Internet described her
before the dive as, “the lady of the Red Sea – revealing her magnificence one
fin stroke at a time”.
Then there
were 300. At first I thought it would be a poor dive, having dived it the night
before, but it proved itself very worthy with an impressive drift, turtle,
nudibranch and stargazer fish. The Kingmaker, Hell's Kells and Legend Roy made
fine companions. We drifted for over an hour - a clear sign it was decent dive.
Dive 3 of
the day was looking to be a bit of a washout with little to see until it sprang
to life with the presence of an Eagle Ray. They’re such graceful animals, but
sadly I have no footage to share. What was particularly amusing was Hell's Kells dance of victory aimed at Midge and I who never saw it on its first pass. Midge was diving with us because his usual buddy Russ was feigning back pain. The ray, subsequently dubbed 'the Ray of
Victory' was only over-shadowed by accusations that our reluctance to swim back
against the current meant that we SMB'd the 'Zodiac of Shame' - so named by the
chaps of Scuba Leeds who were daft enough to swim against the current and also
missed out on the ray. *chuckles*
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| Pufferfish |
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| Quadricolour Chromodoris |
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| Arabian Picassofish |
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| Turtle |
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| Nudi |
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| Embriated Moray |
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| Blue spotted flatworm |
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