Prima Seal - 26/03/2019

There is something enormously satisfying when a training dive with a trainee you give a brief and it all goes to plan, even down to the last detail. Tonight was one such night.

I briefed about the site (Conger Alley), the activities (an assisted ascent), and what we'd be likely to see. Now, I mentioned a seal, not because I thought it would happen but because I wanted him to be prepared if it did.

We entered the water, went down and undertook the drill exactly as planned. Then, once we had reset and checked our air, headed for a wee paddle round the reef.

I was showing him nudibranchs when I felt it - the gentle push and pull of a large animal swimming by. I stopped taking pictures and waited. Then she passed again. I could see my trainee was excited and delighted rather than fearful. However, from then on in I watched him like a hawk to make sure he never went rapidly to the surface.

He emerged buzzing and happy.

Nudi

Firework Anemone

Big Beryl - 05/03/2019

I was had convinced Jester and the Big Easy that Conger Alley would offer us a great location for a night dive. I can't explain why, I just felt it in my bones. The others were doubtful. 

We kitted up and headed in and down to 30m. There was little life about except for a large lobster that disappeared into the silt kicked up by one of my buddies. 

We had hit decompression after some time and started coming back up. It was then that we were joined by Beryl the resident seal. 

Now, I hadn't realised that the Big Easy was little phobic of seals. When he had mentioned it I genuinely thought he was joking. As such it came as surprise when one of my buddies became the tightest of buddies, no more than a couple of inches from me.

We continued up and Jester asked me using hand signals where were the nudibranchs I had promised him. Immediately we found them, all huddled on a rock - a variety of species too. I smugly took a snap and then followed Beryl on little fishing adventure.

As we returned to shore I was feeling satisfied and decided to briefly check for bio-luminescence. It was there. Genuinely, my luck was in. I should have bought a lottery ticket.

Apeks RK3 Test Dive - 15/01/2019

Apeks RK3

Despite sounding a little like a droid from a Star Wars film and also being the actual name of a blaster used by the Galactic Empire, Apeks RK3 are the latest fin offering from Apeks. Designed for the rough and tumble of the US Military, they are based on the pretty standard vented rubber fins popular among military, professional and technical divers.

As a club, Eastwood Divers decided to spend some cash on new fins. We bought three pairs of Scubapro Seawing Novas and three pairs of RK3s (as a starter) to allow members to try different fins before they jump in and spend the best part of £100 on their own purchase. As I happened to be diving with Gusto Leo and the Barrman on the day when the Barrman picked up the fins from the local dive shop I opted to try out the RK3s fresh from the box at Conger Alley.

I'm a Scubapro Seawing Nova user, so this type of fin is a little different for me and I'm predominantly a frog kicker due the silty bottoms I dive in. On my dive I did helicopter turns, some reverse finning, took a few photos and tried frog kicking along with standard flutter kicking. So, here's what I liked and didn't like. 

PROS

• Helicopter turns were very easy, helped by a shorter blade length than I am used to 
• Reverse finning was super easy, which helped reduce silt after stopping to take a photograph 
• The short blade also meant that flutter kicks threw up less silt than a Scubapro Seawing Nova would 
• They seemed pretty robust, and the length was certainly more compact than my existing fins 

CONS

• Frog kicking lacked power compared to my Seawings 
• Seawings are super easy to put on, RK3s aren't bad, but they certainly aren't as easily donned and doffed. 

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

• We've bought the standard RK3. As a regular shore diver I was pleased to see they float. It means you can walk in wast deep, let go of a fin put one and then easily grab the other. If you want a heavier, negatively buoyant fin consider shelling out a little extra wedge and buying the RK3 HD. 
• Apeks also have a very generous instructor discount 

Am I going to buy a pair for myself? Well, mibbe but that doesn't mean I'm a convert, it just means I can see the advantages of them for different dives. Let's be honest every gentleman spy / scuba diver should have more than one tuxedo or pair of fins . :)

Oh, and as for the dive, it turned out to be thoroughly decent...

Carronella Pellucida 

Sepiola Atlantica 

Firework Anemone 

Facelina Bostoniensis 

Bloody Henry 

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.

Murk - 08/05/2017

It is a rare occasion when so many of the Avengers assemble, but tonight was one such night.The Kingmaker (in his new drysuit), the Zookeeper (with shiny new regs), Jester (with his usual bad chat) and me. We had deliberated over sites, but house on the back of a truck had convinced us to stay at Loch Long in what was to be a poor decision.

We kitted up at the roadside next to Conger Alley before splitting into to Red & Gold Squadron. Jester's job was to was to ensure Paul didn't have a drysuit disaster and mine was to make sure the Zookeeper was alright with her new kit.

It seemed simple enough as we slipped into the calm water on a bright sunny evening. However, once we got to 5m the true nature of our dive was revealed as the murk set in. Quickly visibility dropped to around one metre. A distance that was enough for Jester and the Kingmaker to be separated.

Without too many problems the Zookeeper and I successfully navigated the reef even spotting a nice sea lemon en route. 

Other than the banter, it was quite unremarkable.

Dragonette

Sea cucumber

Bloody Henry

Sea Lemon 

Archidoris pseudoargus

Christmas is Cold - 30/12/2016

An acquaintance of mine was once in a band that recorded an alternative Christmas song - Christmas is Cold. Today saw a few of us head up to Loch Long or a festive dip. The plan was to do two dives, but 3c water temperatures meant that Jester, Fast Ed and I decided to call it quits after one dive.

We were diving as a group of 5 but after about 5 minutes we'd already lost one buddy pair in the poor visibility. We returned briefly to the surface to make sure nothing untoward had happened - it hadn't.

So we continued as a 3 down to the bottom of the reef and worked our way back. It was all fairly dull proving that not every dive is a corker.

We surfaced, parked up and headed to the pub for some grub. That was the highlight.

Giant Shark vs Mega Octopus - 18/10/2016

With the Mermaid determined to get a few more twinset dives under her belt before heading up to Scapa for a liveaboard with her teckie other half, we headed to Loch Long and Conger Alley for a couple of day dives.

It was to be two dives defined by two creatures often featured in B-rate horror movies including Giant Shark vs Mega Octopus. However, neither encounter was as one would expect in the world of bad cinema.

The first dive saw us head down to 25m. While en route down the Mermaid was scanning with her torch when I caught a glimpse of the octopus. I was surprised at first, I've never seen one in Scotland during the day. I signalled to Avril and we stopped to watch this deep sea monster before moving on to enjoy the congers, wrasse, lobsters etc.

The journey back was a little eventful with the Mermaid being slightly under weighted. I'd gone down a little overweighted to compensate, which proved to be useful as I held her down on the safety stop. That's what buddies are for.

The second dive saw us go in looking for an illusive firework anemone, but instead turned up a gentle catshark along with the usual reef life.

Great fun.

Just hanging around

Leaving

Smurf

Conger Eel

Catshark

End of the Night - 21/04/2016

With the Announcer requiring an early start and Jester working late (as always), the Zookeeper and I decided to dive twice with each of them at Conger Alley, Loch Long.

We kitted up and headed in, enjoying a dogfish and a few sea lemons as we pottered about. I'dforgotton half of my undersuit, but I really wasn't feeling the cold too much. We surfaced, switched tanks and, like a true wrestling tag team, the Announcer switched out for Jester who was waiting for us when we surfaced.

The second dive, was much the same, if a little deeper. With the exception of the reluctant appearance of a curled octopus. There were no Beryl related surprises to give Jester a scare.

However, the cold was starting to gnaw away at me. I was really feeling it. When I surfaced it was mostly dark, but there was enough ambient light to see the entry/exit. It was the end of the night diving season.

Catshark

Sea cucumber

Butterfish

Yarrell's Blenny

The Dive That Never Happened - 18/03/2016

As we often say, "if you didn't get photograph it never happened", but there are other proofs.

Jester's 199th dive at Conger Alley was memorable without any photographs. I had left my camera at home and Jester's GoPro decided to shut up shop just when things kicked off.

It started well enough - bloody Henry, catshark, firework anemone - then we weren't alone.

Now Jester keeps a reasonable distance underwater - for sake of argument about two metres. However, after Beryl's first pass I felt like I was diving up the aisle arm and arm with my buddy. Jester was like a limpit. Not surprising, everyone's first date with Beryl the Seal is a little fraught.

Of course, with no photographs, it never happened....

The Bleak Mid Winter - 06/12/2015

At the time of year the UK is festooned with images of wintry snowscapes and robin red breasts bobbing about looking for berries. However, for those of us who live here life is actually quite different. Snow, except on higher ground, is rare. It rains a lot. It's cold just above 0c, but the dampness and the wind make it feel a lot colder. 

Sunday's weather lured Jester and I into a false sense of security. We decided at the last minute to make a dash for the lochs. By the time we got there it was dark and, intermittently, a little drizzly. 

We had chosen to dive Conger Alley knowing that the visibility would be hit or miss and more likely miss after three weeks of almost continuous rain. Undeterred, we kitted up and headed in. 

The water was cold and murky at the surface but we thought it would improve with depth. To some extent we were right. The visibility opened up to around 3-4m. However, the temperature, even at 30m, never rose above 7c. By the end of our 66 minutes I was really feeling it.

The obvious highlight was a sighting of the Smurfs.

Despite being the author of a relatively dull diving blog, I challenged Grant to summarise his Go Pro footage into 60 seconds of footage. This is his attempt.

Sea lemon

Smurfs

Smurf

Bloody Henry

Sleeping Wrasse

Devonshire Cup Coral

Scorpionfish

The 1st of Octopus - 01/10/2015

September ended with glorious weather, blood moons and lunar eclipses. October began no less spectacularly, from a scuba perspective. The Zookeeper and I headed to La Ruelle de Conger for a cheeky night dive. The skies were clear and the autumnal air was crisp. Ideal for diving in my opinion.

I was test driving my new Oceanic OCI in Scottish water for the first time and also a new Mares Eos 12RZ torch.

As we stood at the waters' edge looking out onto the moonlit darkness buddy checking, the Zookeeper asked the universe for a gift. Quite specifically, an octopus just hanging about in the open. We've seen one before here, twice, but its pretty uncommon and even more so to see them out in the open. However, one can ask!

We headed down, the Zookeeper didn't have her camera and I'd poorly fitted my Sealife  into the case so only three buttons were working. It wasn't going to be a photographic masterclass.

As we hit the reef at around 20m we spotted some of the usual life, dragonettes, the ubiquitous congers. Then as we swam over some rocks the Zookeepers torch went mental. I looked up and saw it. There, bold as brass, was a curled octopus sitting on top of a rock just chilling in the autumnal darkness,

As I mentioned previously my camera wasn't fully functioning. The problems I had were:

1. I couldn't switch off the flash
2. I couldn't change the focus settings
3. I could only switch from basic photography to video.

With this in mind I switched to video mode and began filming our little pal.

After the encounter we Hi-5'd before bobbing back slowly to the surface. We surfaced to discover the Milky Way glowing in the night sky and extraordinarily dense bioluminescence. We played in it for a few moments before declaring it the dive of the year thus far.

As for the kit, it all worked admirably. I love the variable beam of the Mares torch.

A Return to Form - 02/05/2015

I start this blog with an apology. The month of April saw me do a few dives but they were pretty unvaried. Sorry. Despite May having a bland scuba beginning it will reach a crescendo of excellence. So, stay tuned in and true to the faith!

Anyway, back to today's 'adventure'! Today with a rare Saturday morning off, I headed with some regulars (The Announcer, Jester, Cptn Al, Didier, and a Lawyer). Myself and the Announcer teamed up to as a buddy pair and plopped into the cool waters of Conger Alley, Loch Long for a quick dip before I returned to Glasgow to take in the unique brand of football that is Partick Thistle.

It started badly and improved drastically. The visibility was initially poor and The Announcer was having trouble with her regulator. Once sorted, we swung over to the other side of the reef where the visibilitity increased from 2m to around 6m. 

We pottered around for three quarters of an hour. It was all very pleasant with a nice array of life and to top the day off Partick Thistle won 3-0.

Conger 1

Sea Cucumber 

Bloody Henry

Sea Lemon

Ballan Wrasse

Conger 2

The Flasher of Conger Alley - 26/04/2014

So Bridget is still getting used to her new dry suit. Today we headed up to the head of Loch Lobg to Conger Alley for a wee Sunday afternoon dive. 

We had seen Captain Al dekitting at nearby Twin Piers and knew the visibility in the bay was decent.

At the site, I'd forgotten that not everyone has acclimatised to getting changed at the road side. B was a little bemused by the number of cars passing as she changed. I made a recommendation to maybe consider more modest attire for the next dive. :)

We went in and headed down. I was kind of hoping for a seal, but with life at a premium I'll settle for a lot of edible crabs, a conger eel, a large ballan wrasse  and a safe, trouble free dive. I never really took many photographs, instead I chose to keep a careful eye on my buddy.

The visibility was a patchy 4-8m,

B celebrates a trouble free dive

Planning Is Everything, Plans Are Nothing - 06/11/2014

I think it was Eisenhower who once said "plans are nothing, planning is everything". It is a saying that has stuck with me for some time. Today was one of those days when it really came home to roost. The original had been for the Zookeeper and I to do a deep dive at Conger Alley, then a shallower fun dive with Clan Mcletchie (of the Frocktasia Blog notoriety) at Twin Piers. Well, personal circumstances scratched Clan Mcletchie off the plan, then weather warnings and torrential rain dampened our desire to do two dives.

In the end we still headed to Conger Alley, Loch Long to do our deep dive, but as we began our dive our plans were to change again as an ominous shadow passed through the furthest reaches of our torch beams. It seemed a large seal (possibly Beryl) was going to be buzzing us for the duration of the dive. 

Instead, our plans changed again. The deep dive went out the window and we were going to watch out for the seal as it used our torches to hunt. Of course, her presence meant there was little life to photograph.

The seal had a number of near passes including one through the legs of the Zookeeper. The video below is the only footage I managed to get. After a while she left us to enjoy the remainder of dive at which point some of the other life emerged including:

• Conger eels
• Lobster
• Edible crabs
• Wrasse

Turns out Eisenhower was right.

Edible Crab

Peek-a-boo Conger

Plumose Anemone

Wrasse

It's Bisque-ness Time - 08/08/2014

Last night we saw loads of lobsters in Loch Long - enough to make a bisque, if you're that way inclined. Today, we decided to go to Conger Alley and Twin Piers hoping to see more and enjoy the current good visibility at that end of the loch.

Our cast today included Cpt Al, the Announcer, the Zookeeper and Gill.I.Am. Gill had only dived Conger Alley once before (with me and in poor visibility) and had never done Twin Piers. I promised her a conger eel, something she had never seen. So, today was going to be a day of firsts for her.

Encountering Cpt Al on the motorway we all arrived on site at the same time. Kitting up the four of us headed into the water. Initially, the visibility was pretty good (6m), then we dipped below a halocline and the visibility rocketed to something in excess of 10m.

As we went down there were visible signs of seal activity (unexplained silt clouds), but no signs of the seal itself. Immediately, as we hit the reef we encountered our first conger eel of the day. It was a little camera shy, but we managed to coax it out. :)

As we continued the dive Gill and I found a massive lobster. At the same time I heard the rattle of the Zookeeper's rattle, she too had found a lobster round the other side of the same rock. 

Approaching the surface there were loads wrasse and pollock all swimming about. It felt like we were in a fish tank. I know, that's not possible in Loch Long. Is it?

After the dive we surfaced to find the Announcer nonchalantly drinking tea on the surface. So we dekitted and headed down to Twin Piers. Cpt Al was feeling tired and decided not to do a second dive but very sacrificially gave us the pleasure of his company as we BBQd up some rolls & sausage and burgers. He's very giving that way. Nothing to do with the prospect of a roll & sausage. Nope, nothing at all. :D

Gazebo & BBQ fun

BBQ done and gazebo down, we substitute Cpt Al for the Announcer and headed in to Twin Piers. Now, I've said before Gill.I.Am likes to see stuff that's been sunk. I thought she'd like the myriad of wreckage that can be spotted on this site. So we went in and headed down to the remnants of the barge where we spotted a rather nice scorpion fish.

We had a nice swim around the reef, finding more congers etc., before heading back. As we emerged from the water after 54 minute Gill had broken her dive duration record. Not bad for a girl who told me a few months ago she didn't like dives longer than 30 minutes.

Gill during safety stop

Scorpionfish

Happy Conger

Here I dive amidst the flowers, only counting life's sunny hours

The Zookeeper

Starfish