THE SEA BLOB
08 June 2010
Well, we have just come back from a very successful trip to
So, to be precise there were Jim Moroney, President of London No1; Keith, Chairman; Jim Bruce, DO; Alex
Marshall, Training Officer; myself (Alex Soubeyrand), Equipment Officer; –we could not have that trip more official- But thanks 
god! Kate also came along. Kate is a new member of our branch and was very keen to join us after a diving break from lovely
Jim Bruce and I shared a car and the trip West on Friday was the usual how-can-it-be-so-bad completely jammed traffic. It took us from
The scenery underwater was quite similar from dive to dive with rocks and sand bits and the life was also plentiful (Keith actually did had a nightmare one night because of all those big crabs waving at us as we glide from one to an other and not being able to bag any- it is a no take zone you see…): scallops, all sort of crabs, spider crabs so big we could have fed the French for days, sea ursine, octopus the list is endless really. Strangely enough, we did not see that many fish. Now for the big surprise: on the first dive in Martin’s heaven, I noticed something very shiny on an outcrop below. As I got closer I realised it was silver fishing hooks I had spotted and just as I was about to swim away, I saw it: The most tiniest thing ever. I had heard about it and seen a few in books and on line but I never had the chance to see one for real and suddenly there were two right in front of my eyes: Nudibranches! So beautiful, so colorfull (Alex Marshall’s wardrobes seems very pale compare to it) so amazing. And then they were every where. As I said I had never seen one before and on that weekends, well I actually stopped counting after a while. White ones with yellow hair, purple ones, white and orange, blue turquoise, ... It was just fantastic. more pictures to come
Posted byAl at 4:22 PM 0 comments
Just a few words from our last expedition to Teignmouth.
07 May 2010
Morgan and Hannah, Jim Bruce, Wendy, Richard, Keith and I made it to our lovely cottage on a late cold Friday evening. To our surprise, we found the little sea town very quiet for a bank holyday weekend. Apart from the busy dive centre which is conveniently 
located just a few yards from the slipways and mooring pontoon, we were the only group of divers to be seen on those three days.
On Monday the most courageous managed to dive three sites: London Bridge, The wreck of the Bretagne and Parson and Clerk. On Tuesday we dived the Watcombes Caves and due to adverse weather, no one really fancied 8miles being tossed around to reach the Lord Stewart; instead we stopped not too far offshore to the dive site of the Galicia. It was a good alternative (for those who had a chance to dive it!) and being 18msw deep, Richard finally managed to tick all the boxes on his training log book. Well done Richard! Finally on the Monday, the two previous diving days in a 9 degrees sea were felt as we decided to dive only once before heading back home. We went back to the wreck of the Bretagne, and it was a very good way to finish the weekend.
To me the big surprise was the caves in Watcombe; I was pretty anxious that we will not find them but good advices from local divers through Yorkshire Divers and we were spot on. The vis. on site was very good between 4 to 6 meters and there was a lot to see.
Richard and I were buddy on this one. The first cave we found narrowed too much too quickly and we turned it a few meters in. we then found a very inviting large swim through where we met Jim, Hannah and Morgan who were coming the other way. That was quite funny! Coming out of it and gliding gently North we came across another cavern entrance which turned out to be one huge room. Unfortunately, too soon it was time to retrace our way back and it was with much regret that we surfaced. London Bridge was also a good one and the Bretagne a nice wreck in still a good nick with plenty of life.
We didn’t make it to town at all after diving during this trip. I will blame this on two things: the first one is myself who gave early rope off times which means early wake up times and we were so tired by the end of the evening that most of us were in bed by ten! The second one will be Hannah who cooked delicious food in “Gargantuesque” quantity.
Thank very much for all who braved atrocious traffic condition and made it happen.
Pictures from "Top100britishshoredives"
Posted byAl at 9:33 AM 0 comments
BECOME CHOCO MAN with BSAC NB 1 in PLYMOUTH
25 February 2010
Dear BSAC Number One Diving Club members,
First trip of the year is now so close I could almost already hear the bells:
"DING DONG DING DONG it is time to go diving".
if you wish to come with us please contact Chris.
PS if your still debating whereas you want to come or not; have a quick look at last year Easter trip report to Plymouth on this very blog. Let's go diving!
Posted byAl at 11:12 AM 2 comments
Labels: Dear all
DIVING IN LANZAROTE
19 November 2009
By Jim Moroney,
Last October I was in Lanzarote for ten days. I spent the first few days in Puerto del Carmen old Town.
Eight dives with Safari Diving based
on a sandy beach, from where all the other operators on the Island come to dive. The beach is sheltered & currents are no problem. It takes a little getting used to, as does the water temp of about 24C, this is the Atlantic after all!
The Dive centre supplies all kit if required, it is owned by an English couple with guides of several nationalities all speak good English.
Most of the dives are out of the small sheltered bay with a sandy bottom. It is more a family beach rather than a long strand type.
As you get out about 25mtrs
the bottom drops away, the local Grouper
pops up & greets you, “just more divers” & goes about his daily business, his name is Felix. All the fish & there are many, are relaxed with the divers, they swim past unimpressed, but not afraid so they can be very close indeed. Striped bream & Green lizard fish are plentiful. Also Sting Rays one about 2m wide, two Angle sharks, Octopus & Trumpet fish there was always something to see.
There are Reefs, overhanging ledges & a swim through arch. All a short swim from the bay. They also have a boat which goes out from the harbour wall just next to the Centre. You kit up & walk around the corner to the boat, booties or flip flops are required as the pavement is tarmac & gets very hot in the heat of the day.
The boat is open, when on board you sit on a bench; the trip to the site can be 5 or 10 mins. It just goes along the coast a short way & drops divers in on some wrecks or near the harbour wall. The Viz was great while I was there.
It does not travel out far from the coast as it gets deep very quickly & beyond hobby diving limits. The staff were attentive & professional with pre dive briefings. They of course do training for both BSAC & PADI..
Check out their web site www.safaridiving.com I have attached some photos you may find interesting. There is at least one weeks diving whatever your 
diving qualification. They use 5 mm suits & supply 12 or 15l tanks. Nitrox is available but as most dives
Are out from the beach & return the profile is gentle. One of my dives was 62mins to 21mtrs.
The final dive of the trip had a 2 wrecks, Angle shark in the sand & swimming + a ray flying past it was brill.
Would I go back you bet I would.
The Lanzarote used to be regarded as a cheap destination, not so now
thanks to the euro rate, hopefully it will improve.
Posted byAl at 9:40 AM 0 comments
Labels: Y
Isle of Skye
28 September 2009
A few pictures from a very successfull trip all the way up to Skye...
Can you spot a monkey?
Isn 't this a bunch of happy divers or what?
Our President monster hunting...
Posted byAl at 2:53 PM 0 comments
More Scapa Flow photos....
26 June 2009
Posted byJim Bruce at 9:50 PM 0 comments
Wreck of MFV James Barrie. And a diver with a torch.
Posted byJim Bruce at 6:51 PM 0 comments
The bow of the James Barrie.
Posted byJim Bruce at 7:14 PM 0 comments
Scapa Flow Orkney Islands
19 June 2009
We had a fantastic week on-board the Valkyrie and did some excellent diving in the flow. Big sun and blue sky for the first 4 days and then some showers (well yes it is Scotland after all). We met very interesting divers and had a smashing time. Highly recommended.
http://mv-valkyrie.co.uk/
I am not a Scapa virgin any more! Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaa
Chris and Jim peeping.
Pictures courtesy of David alias Pies
Posted byAl at 3:31 PM 0 comments
Labels: scapa flow, scotland, valkyrie
Anglesey Part II
29 May 2009
Anglesey, not really one of the usual suspects for UK diving, and therefore one that appealed as my very first trip with BSAC.
Weather-wise, it wasn’t a promising start when I joined the six club stalwarts on a chilly, grey and windy campsite on Saturday morning. It got less promising as we realised that we’d missed high water, and the sensible chance to launch the RIB.
The first day’s diving ended up being a re-visit of the Trearddur Bay shore dive that was explored during the first Anglesey trip a couple of weeks ago. Keith managed to lose a fin but still outswim Jim and Alex, Raf discovered the extraordinary buoyant properties of wearing all the clothes you’ve brought for the weekend under a drysuit, and George and Vanya spent some quality time fondling dogfish. Welcome to BSAC and Welsh diving!
Fuelled by an excellent stew made by George, and hungry for a dive that could offer more than 3 metres of ebbing seawater, we revisited the same site for a night dive.
I was pleasantly surprised by the colour and variety of life with blue lobsters, crabs, anemones, flat fish and a big compass jelly fish making appearances; there was even relatively decent visibility (perhaps I’ve done too many training dives in Wraysbury and Stoney Cove??). George didn’t hesitate to correct me on my opinion – apparently it was a sh*t dive, and it was all Keith’s fault!
A cold and noisy night later (the BSAC No1 snoring choir was accompanied by the rhythmic thud of our neighbour’s favourite club anthems), and we were ready for Day Two.
Last-minute planning with a dive guide that unhelpfully promised ‘dangerous currents’ and ‘extremely dangerous currents’ for almost every site meant that we got out to the first boat dive site, the wreck of the Angloman by Skerries lighthouse, 15 minutes too late.
With confusing surface currents, growing swell and ‘very dangerous overfalls’ (that helpful dive guide again…), Keith called off the dive and we trundled round the corner into the Skerries lagoon.
A surfacing diver on a smaller boat gave his summary of his underwater experience as ‘crap’ (obviously he and George attended the same lecture on dive site description). He wasn’t wrong. With poor visibility and nothing to see, it was a quick in-and-out. Above surface the colonies of arctic terns and puffins nesting on the rocks made the boat trip just about worthwhile.
Raf capitalised on his powerboat licence with a rollercoaster ride back to Holyhead harbour, and we regrouped for a second attempt on the Angloman at the afternoon low water slack. This time we got down. At ten metres we were fishing around for our torches. At the bottom of the shot line, 24 metres, it felt like we’d descended into a very black hell, with added silt. Alex and I didn’t find the wreck, but made our way around a course of rocks that loomed from the murk just before we swam into them.
It was the kind of dive that you’re sometimes grateful for – you’d never choose it, but it certainly makes you pay attention to your gear, your buddy and your air! And I came out feeling like I’d got some good experience of poor conditions. And, when the rock faces did loom in front of us they revealed thriving colonies of sponges, crustaceans and numerous jelly fish.
Group consensus meant we didn’t attempt a third dive, on the wreck of the Harold. It was likely that this site would suffer ‘very dangerous and strong currents that are dangerous and strong’ (the guide book) and terrible visibility that we’d experienced at the Angloman. We wrapped up for the day and headed ‘home’ to the tents.
I pretty much doubled my repertoire of knots over an evening curry, although after an hour I think Keith was just saying words and tying things up (a Turk’s Head on a Bight, anyone??).
Day Three and we were back to the south western coast of the island, in search of better vis and some easily accessible sites.
Beautiful sunshine quickly turned to a thick grey sea mist, but we headed out nonetheless to the wreck of the Missouri, in 12 metres. The visibility was good, Jim’s internal metal detector meant that navigating from one part of the wreck to the next was child’s play, and again, the marine life was pretty decent.
The core four, Keith, Jim, George and Vanya stuck around for the Tuesday, but the threat of more unsettled weather threw the chance of diving into question.
I really enjoyed the weekend – thanks for the welcome to the club! I even got to drive the boat, play at rescuing man-overboard buoys, and then real man-overboard jetskiiers! It was a real pleasure to dive with such experienced buddies – I’m hopeful that one day I too will be able to gracefully hover at three metres with an empty tank…
Two things to heed for next time – don’t dive Anglesey on a Spring Tide. And if you do, allow plenty of time to formulate plans A, B, C, and D, and then a contingency plan for when none of those are feasible. And advance knowledge of the slack times and dive times – in such a tidal area dive planning over the cornflakes is never going to work out too well. Otherwise you’ll find yourself on a beach with the RIB on the trailer, watching the sea recede into the distance…
I’m looking forward to the next trip – and a chance to use my new-found boat handling skills and knot-tying. Unless it’s a clove hitch of course, which is actually not a knot at all.
Posted byAl at 9:46 AM 0 comments
Labels: anglesey, boat, boat-handling, may
ANGLESEY Part 1
05 May 2009
Trip report by Alex Soubeyrand
Or how BSAC number one jumped in the
This first May bank holiday weekend saw a few irreductibles from our beloved
This first invasion of the island is in fact only an avant gout of things to come, as Diving Officer Jim and Chairman Keith have now gathered enough information to launch a total assault from Percy Too; Assault planned during the second May bank holiday weekend.
On a bitter-cold Friday evening we arrived one after another at Tyn Rhos camping site, having cursed the M1 the M6 and the A55 along the way. First on the crime scene was David, followed closely by Andy; Keith and I arrived a few hours later and Jim and Chris finally made it just before midnight. A few minutes of tent-wrestling later and we were all happy to have made it at all before sunrise the following day, and were talking about the weekend to come around a few cans of our favourite brew: Isn’t life wonderful?
The plan for Saturday was for Chris and Jim to reach the dive centre in Holyhead to get some training in twinset diving. The rest of us will spend our time trying to explore the many local shore diving possibilities. Unfortunately that weekend, high tide was a little bit on the early and late sides of the day. Fortunately the weather was very good (well at least on Sat and Sun) and after a lot of kelly-kettle-boiled-tea fuelled brainstorming we were all kitted up for what would be my first shore dive ever. We were to dive the site also known as the Ghost House, named in reference to the grim grey huge Mansion house looking down the beach (aren’t all houses in Wales grim and grey?). It was a nice little dive. Perfect for Andy to try is brand new dry suit and David is brand old one. David is a new addition to our platoon, having served for many years in difficult and technical diving conditions. Maybe most of you will have met him through Chris at one of our club’s social Tuesday evening. As an outsider, he fitted to our small group like a glove, and was admitted as one of us straight away. We did not see much life on that dive and spent it most doing exercises; however, when going through some deco simulation drills, I suddenly noticed dancing right in front of my mask the most fantastic little tiny creature I had yet seen: not bigger than a chestnut, almost invisible and 
absolutely extraordinary. I have now found out that it was in fact a Ctenophore and watching this tiny creature was a great way to finish the dive.
The second dive that day saw Andy and I again teamed up with Keith as a support cover. We drove just 2 minutes from the camp site and kit up along the little beach just opposite Diving Services. The idea was to dive along some rock formation that sheltered the beach. This dive was actually very good with a lot to see: crabs, lobsters, prawns, pipe fish, dog fish etc. Unfortunately on this occasion the surges were too much for us once we passed the sheltered part and we had to turn the dive. However we returned the day after with Jim and Chris with a vengeance and were luckier with the weather. We managed to complete the circuit and had a cracking dive just before supper.
By that time I had started to really enjoy the idea of short diving: just ride along the coast line, find a nice spot or beach, stop, kit up and dive. Simple! Isn’t life wonderful!
Monday, the last day, never came. It was obvious that two sunny days in a row was too much for Britannia and a rubbish one had to follow. So we packed up our tent and stuff and left. The weather was so miserable that David was very tempted not to bother with is old leaky tent at all but to leave it there as it was on the camp site. The idea was received with great enthusiasm especially from Chris who suggested running over it with a car first… And so Chris, Jim, Keith and I said goodbye to David (Andy having left the day before not willing to spend one more night in his under suit –sorry Andy ;-)-).
This is when Chris suggested spending some time at the Gwledig Padarn Parc (Padarn Country Park) in the village of Llanberis on our way back towards the civilisation, where:”… we could certainly get some breakfast and maybe also get some training done at the Vivian Diving Centre and quarries...”. I was not too thrilled about that one as I was still drenched from the earlier tent removal business, still cold from a freezing night in an inadequate sleeping bag and we still had at least 6 hours driving ahead. Oh yes, and the rain was still falling pretty heavy. I believe Jim was 
thinking exactly the same way and Keith was adamant he would not get any wetter today. However, once at the site some of Chris’s craziness must have washed off and stained on Jim and I as we decided finally to give it a go. It has to be say that the place is stunning: access is through a little arch where the small quarries is locked and surrender by high dark slate cliffs which suck the already poor daylight and transform it unto some sort of unreal atmosphere. “Being a slate quarry means clean, clear water with very little sediment.” says the web site and also kept repeating the friendly chap at the dive centre. Well we were in for a chock, as exceptionally clear the water is indeed. Everything was still and quiet. It was like to be at a secret ceremony:”… and so after a few minutes of self-underwater-harm the Golden Yoyo is at unanimity given to… –drums- …Chris and Alex! And the Silver one goes to… -again drums-Jim!...” Jim's acceptance speech went something like that:”… apart from poor techniques I like to thanks the exceptional visibility which makes neutral buoyancy impossible and also inadequate weighting adjustment from sea to fresh water, also...” Too soon it was time for me to wave good bye to the pair of them as I was then low on air.
It was again a very enjoyable weekend spent with London Number One and I had a wicked time!
Thank you Keith for organising the trip, it was well worth it!
Posted byAl at 5:04 PM 0 comments
Labels: anglesey, may, shore diving
My first time as the Dive Marshal
01 May 2009
Trip report by Alex Soubeyrand
This Easter Diving Holidays was my first time in the driving seat of one of our club trips. Not any trip I might add, but our traditional Plymouth Easter bank holidays diving trip. A BSAC London No.1 tradition which can be traced back to the origin of the club itself when, according to Keith, the said club had so many numbers (400!) and boats that they had to run 6 to 12 waves a day, with 2 to 3 dive Marshals and many more Assistants. There were air divers, oxygen divers, snorkelers and even hard hat divers! Well, we certainly didn't become the Number One diving club out of nothing...
I had already been on the trip two years running and had a good idea of what to expect. No matter how well you have prepared and planned your trip, it will, in the end come down to the weather (which is true for most trips). Two years ago the weather was good, last year it was horrible.
For the past two weeks prior to the trip, I started to surf the Met Office's website like a maniac. D-Day minus one and the forecast was awful, I was so disappointed. Prediction for the weekend was strong South/South West wind. You can't get any worse. Well, after all, the weather was in fact... fantastic! I mean really really good. Sunshine, flat sea and everything, almost no wind... perfect!
1. Good weather (pretty obvious)
2. Good Assistant to the DM: I have to admit that I had a smashing assistant who really put all her heart and both feet in it and helped a lot. Thank you Wendy, the weekend went through like a charm.
3. Finally, I had a good bunch of happy divers, ready to help and to wake up every day with a smile, at dawn.
In the end we did seven waves plus in-between short sorties to the Breakwater for training purposes; not bad. OK, a little bit weaker than the 3 to 4 dives a day plus night hard boat diving initially planned but...
I wish to welcome Andy, who for his first trip with the club proved himself a real Loup de Mer with an impressive 30 minutes dive in very cold water wearing a wet suit (plus a pair of shorts!) so thin that even Chris and Keith looked incredulous. I suspect this was only a stratagem to get a warm double cuddle from Wendy and Megan.
I also wish to welcome James who also showed what he was made of, by being on most waves, diving or not.
Thank you all for coming along.
Al.
PS: recipe for a good trip continued:
4. Always a good idea to have someone as knowledgeable as Keith to proofread any decisions...
Posted byAl at 10:11 AM 0 comments
Labels: plymouth, trip report
Wapping Police Station Visit
28 March 2009
Saturday saw several members of London Branch, past and present, enjoying a visit (planned!) to Wapping Police Station (the home of the Met's Marine Policing Unit).
A curry in Brick Lane rounded off a very pleasant day. Many thanks to Jim Moroney for organising this.
Posted byUnknown at 12:00 PM 0 comments
Last minute trip to Wraysbury
07 December 2008
Photos by Joe Hesketh
A few photos from Wraysbury last Sunday where seven of London Branch stood around in the cold and then went for lunch. Two even got in the water!
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Posted byUnknown at 11:59 AM 0 comments
Cave Diving In Cozumel
11 September 2008
Trip report by Alex Soubeyrand
Cozumel—the island of swallows in Mexico—is world famous for being the favourite diving spot to a late red-hat-wearing French scuba diver. It has it all: beautiful reefs, high speed drifts and big colourful exotic fish.
It is less known as a place for cave diving, however this tiny and friendly island makes for a nice alternative to the Yucatan mainland. It has about 18 known caves and many more are waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately most of those caves are difficult to access and sherpas as well as path-cutting through the jungle are a necessity. Fortunately a few are easily accessible and like most of the cenotes in the Yucatan, they have no current and are pretty shallow all the way through.
One man who knows the island and its cave systems inside out is German Yanez Mendoza. German was my instructor in overhead diving and he became a very good friend. He has been an active explorer and cave discoverer for many years both on the island and on the mainland. Apart from spending most of his time underwater teaching cave and technical diving, he also teaches Ecology at the University of Cozumel and participates in many scientific researches. I hadn't seen him for a year when he picked me up from my hotel a few weeks ago and I was really happy to shake his hand.
Systema de Paraiso (aka Cenote Aerolito)
Cenote Aerolito is such a wicked cave! It is just off the main road, and a few miles south from St. Miguel. The cave is about 17 km long with a max depth of 25 metres and has been intensively explored. If you are allowed to breathe more than 1/6 of a set of doubles, you will have a great time diving the many, many circuits and jumps of this ever changing system. For instance, the one which leads to the Sulphur River: at the 5th double arrows following the main line there is a short jump to the right. A few frog kicks later and the cave is transformed—at the halocline level the walls are strikingly marked as if painted in white. All the water in contact with this white layer is in permanent state of ebullition and bubbles up. It is absolutely fantastic to witness! At other parts the Halocline stays so thin that the sensation you get swimming from one layer to the other is mesmerising! Beware of the temperature drop though!
As the cave is connected to the sea, there is a slight tide in the cave. At times it is even possible to use it and drift slowly back to the entrance. Or, you could also choose to swim gently along the permanent guide line until you hit the Botanic Pit. Here the cave drops down 10 metres vertically to the next level with a very dramatic effect. The walls change in colours and aspect and the floor looks like it is made from wood shavings.
Another remarkable feature of the cave is its unique fauna: there are massive white caterpillar-like worms crawling on the rocky floor, many star fish and also scallop look-alikes with long thick eyelashes which react to artificial light by jumping around like clockwork jaws. There is so much to see in this cave…
Cenote KM1
The entrance to this cenote is reached after a five minute hike from the main road along a pig trail through the tropical forest. It is imperative to have an early start in order to not fry alive in your dry suit. The visibility in this cave I was told is not so good. To give you an idea, imagine your best UK dive, multiplied the viz quality by 10 and you are still far from it… This cave is part of the Quebrada System. There is a fair bit of navigation to it (Ts, jumps and gaps), however it stays shallow all the way. I recorded a max depth of 9 metres. It is a bit like diving the Swanage Pier, but in a cave system. You can enjoy it for hours…
Cenote Xkan-Ha
If you leave Cozumel's one and only main road at Rancho Buena Vista crossroad and know where you are going, you might notice another smaller path on the left. If you decide to engage on this bumpy track and drive north 5 to 10 minutes, you will then reach a sort of clearing in the middle of nowhere. This clearing is in fact a spiritual place used for Mayan ceremonies. There is a basic block with a series of hammocks, a big hole in the ground to heat volcanic stones and a fantastic ancient Mayan sauna known as a Temascal. The sauna is a small round structure, with low ceiling and a hole in the floor right in the middle to receive the burning hot stones. Once it is ready, participants get in, relax and clean their body and soul. After the ceremony, they can then regain strength by cooling down in the cenote. A few metres away from the Temascal, a wooden path leads to the sinkhole. This place is sensational and I really got spirited away by its atmosphere.
The cenote is not open to divers, however on this occasion we were allowed to dive in as we were to help a group of students from Cozumel University. German would collect water samples and I was given the task to monitor the temperature at different depths.
Because this cenote is deeper than most caves in the area, we quickly accumulated decompression. I spent most of it reflecting about the dive. I have always had difficulties in understanding how a vertical hole could be classified as a cave. To me it seemed to be just another open water site—maybe restricted but open. I could not figure it out. While off-gassing, it was evident that I was wrong: the hole is shaped like a funnel, with its small end at the pool and its wider one at the bottom. So a direct ascent to the surface is not always possible. There is a thick layer of tannic acid at the surface that prevents any daylight to penetrate beneath it. Even at 3 metres below the surface, I could hardly see the outside light. It is a cave environment only with no cavern area. My torch was unable to pick up any walls around me, I realised how disturbing it would be to get lost here. As a safe guard there are two lines set at different depths. Each goes around the circumference and joins the main line.
Unfortunately, all too soon it was time to leave this wonderland and its hidden treasures. I would like to thanks German for the opportunities and the great fun.
Posted byUnknown at 12:59 PM 0 comments
Labels: cave diving, cozumel, mexico, trip report
Freediving in the SETT
18 May 2008
Video by Joe Hesketh
As those of you on the London Branch mailing list probably remember, a few of us recently went to Gosport to the Submarine Escape Training Tower (SETT) to do a weekend’s introduction to freediving course run by deeperblue. From London Branch were Morgan, Hannah, Tobias and myself. For the rest of you, here’s what you missed…
The whole freediving experience was amazingly peaceful and relaxing and I hope I’ve managed to capture some of that in the following short video.
For those who can't view Vimeo, a lower quality version is available here.
Posted byUnknown at 2:50 PM 0 comments
Labels: freediving, portsmouth, SETT, video
Christmas Dive 2007
01 April 2008
Photos by Joe Hesketh
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Posted byUnknown at 5:01 PM 0 comments
James Eagan Layne Video
31 March 2008
Video by Joe Hesketh
I finally managed to edit something together from the Plymouth trip and, as promised, put it up on the Web. I don’t think Howard Hall need be worried just yet, but hope everyone enjoys the results.
A lower quality version is also available on YouTube.
Posted byUnknown at 12:21 PM 0 comments
Southern Africa Holiday Highlights
08 January 2008
I'm uneasy about the practice of attracting sharks to divers by feeding them. The main argument against this is that it changes the sharks feeding habits but the process is also very undignified. However I signed up for the shark dive anyway, persuaded by the promise that there was no direct feeding, only 'chumming' (putting blood and oil in the water, not big chewy bits).
A tiger shark and I
Mozambique is becoming a playground for the South Africans. More accurately, for the white Afrikaners, many of whom are based in Johannesburg area. I was in Inhambane which is actually about 1,000 km west of Johannesburg but that doesn't stop the South Africans driving all the way there (or flying their own planes there, in the case of two different blokes I dived with).
The attraction of Mozambique for me was to try and see manta rays and whale sharks. The mantas are fairly common and are in permanent residence, while the whale sharks turn up in the summer to hoover up the plankton.
After a couple of reasonable dives on the house reef we went out to Manta Reef the next day. The South African style of diving is as a large group with everyone on the RIB staying together and led by a divemaster (who has an SMB). This is very restrictive to the free-roaming British diver, especially as every other diver encountered only had PADI OW or AOW. The advantage is that staying together does reduce the risk of divers surfacing away from the boat cover.
Surprisingly our shoal of divers didn't seem to bother the mantas, as one turned up five minutes after we got wet. It looked more like it was flying than swimming, with its huge wings flapping slowly and effortlessly. This propulsion was very effective though, as it moved quickly and with amazing grace. It made several runs, back and forth across the same cleaning station, although for my money it was having dinner, not a wash and scrub up. After awhile it moved to the edges of our visibility and we averted our attention back to the reef. As soon as we did this it was back again, apparently liking the attention.
We managed a second dive on Manta Reef two days later. This time it was even better with two of them gliding together. They were also much bigger—the largest was 5 m. Despite the size they were as graceful as the smaller one and flew together in synchronisation.
Between these amazing dives we stayed on the house reef. This reef had lots to look at but paled in comparison to watching mantas. It rapidly became frustrating that the dive centre was unwilling to go out to the "far reefs", despite being only 20 minutes away on the RIB. A concerted effort by me did see one further success, when they acrimoniously agreed to take me out to Pandane Reef.
Pandane Reef usually has strong currents present and post-dive we guessed the tide was running at 3 knots. I have only done a handful of drift dives before and none of them had a current as strong as this. If the manta dives were like a Sunday afternoon drive in the country, this was like Friday night street racing. We ducked in and out of the current, mostly along the base of a wall. Shoals and individual pelagic 'game' fish (trevally, barracuda, jacks) were whizzing about all over the place. It was alive and you knew bigger true game fish such as marlin and wahoo lived there and couldn't have been far away. A shoal of two dozen devil rays also passed overhead, silhouetted against the surface light.
To finish the dive off we dropped down through a vertical entrance to a large cavern. Inside all was still and a large green turtle was having a kip. By then our no-stop time was almost done but as I tried to leave the cavern a sudden powerful inflow of water not only stopped me in my tracks but forced me down onto the bottom. After a mild panic attack the current fortunately ended as abruptly as it had started and I whizzed out and started the ascent to the RIB.
This was the last dive of 2007 and also the best one of the year. Some more drift dives are now in order I think… Portland Bill on a spring tide anyone?
Posted byUnknown at 11:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: mozambique, photos, trip report
My Life As a Dog
29 November 2007
Trip Report by Alex Soubeyrand
Ivan Petrovch Pavlov was a Russian scientist who brought the world the science of conditioned reflexes. He experimented with dogs, studying the relationship between salivation and digestion. By applying stimuli to the animals using a bell, he was able to make the animals salivate whether they were in the presence of food or not.
From Wikipedia: "The phrase "Pavlov's dog" is often used to describe someone who merely
reacts to a situation rather than use critical thinking."
The trip to the Red Sea was fantastic: good diving, excellent weather, excellent food, good atmosphere… as far as I am concerned, it was a success.
The introduction above about the Russian scientist comes from the common practice by live aboard guides and crew to signal their customers that it is time to dive or time to eat. They do so by ringing a bell. The same kind as last order bells used in pubs. I can tell you that Pavlov was right, as after only a couple of days the bell absolutely took over my behaviour and dictated my life. For the rest of the trip it was either time for diving or time for eating.
On Monday 29 at 06:22 it was time for diving and the dive was taking place on the Rosalie Moeller. The Rosalie Moeller lays upright at a maximum depth of 53 metres where she reaches the sea bed, with her upper deck at a depth of 35 metres.
I was to buddy with Jim on this dive and it would also be the first time we have dived together since I joined the club. We dropped down the shot line and after five minutes, we were hovering on the upper deck. The visibility was alright, like on a good British dive and after exchanging OK signals, Jim signalled towards the stern. We followed on the port side, swam pass some kind of cabins and dropped down one level through a large opening to an agreed maximum depth of 38 metres.
We continued our dive with a short swim through and regained the upper deck a few yard from the stern. Before turning back towards the shot line Jim started to wrestle with an abandoned line. We swam back on the starboard side, passed the shot line, swam some more toward the bow and then agreed that time was up. And so up we went on the shot line decompressing for some time before it started to rain divers.
This was a short, no fuss dive, and still, it remains one of my favourite. I am not exactly sure why. Maybe it is because it was so early in the morning and we were the only group of divers on the wreck. It seemed that Jim and I were the only divers on the stern side. All was silent and still, but for thousands of resident glass fish.
I must also mention a few words about our last night at Sharm El Sheikh. We were dumped in a not very nice all-inclusive resort specialised in holidays for Italians and Russians. As non all-inclusive, non Russian and non Italian, we were kind of outcasts to the staff and had to fight our way for just about everything: food, taxis, rooms, drinkable water… It was a cold shower after six relaxing days.
Maybe I am exaggerating a bit and the situation was not that bad. I believe I was to some extent affected by the "The Beach Syndrome". Let me explain: at one point in the film The Beach, the hero, after having spent time cut from the world on a paradisiacal island, gets back to touristy mainland Thailand. He observes with terror how awful life in society seems: loud music, strong flashing lights, horrendous traffic, noisy-shouty-drunk young adults and pollution. Add to this cheesy buildings and this is actually a good description of Sharm town.
To cut a long story short, after dinner we wanted to get to the Camel Bar in downtown Sharm. As you would expect, we had to bargain for a cab with the guys at the reception. Thanks to an inflexible George, the price dropped from 180 Egyptian pounds to 50. This is a very important detail: for the way back to the hotel, we found someone that asked straight away for 50. We should have known better but we just agreed: I quote George: "You know what my friend? I will give you 50!" and we got into an old blue Peugeot.
The engine was turned off and after two minutes of waiting that turned into five minutes which then turned into ten we understood that our young driver was actually waiting for one of his mate to bring "benzene" (petrol) to the car as the tank was empty. Why we didn't at that point jump out of the car, I am not quite sure—maybe the few shots at the end of a beer-drinking session helped. When the mate appeared with a five litre container of the precious liquid but no funnel and the two of them improvised with a rolled up magazine our impatience turned into laughter. We also started to notice other things about that car: the seat belts clips were bolted on the side windows? The rear mirror was hanging like a swing in a park! And it was starting to smell so bad of petrol inside that even George abstained of smoking.
After a few attempts to pump the petrol to the engine, the car finally started up and off we went. We were heading in the wrong direction though, so when we mentioned it to the driver he answered in broken English a response that we did not get at first. What we understood straight away though, is that, the same way we are advised to in English buses, it is not recommended to speak to the driver. Ahmed—our driver—would speak back to you and he kept on talking without looking where he was going, at full speed. Keith, who was sitting in the front seat, kept on saying, "Don't ask him any questions!".
To say that we were scared would be lying (once again, the few shots at the end of a beer drinking session helped) but certainly there was some anxiety within our nervous laughs. We got home eventually saint et sauf after a few more stops at local petrol stations.
Thanks to Richard and Morgan for having organised the trip.
Posted byUnknown at 12:13 PM 0 comments
Labels: photos, red sea, trip report
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