There were onshore winds though, so there were plenty of jellyfish around....
Showing posts with label diving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diving. Show all posts
May 03, 2007
Red Sea diving
Got back late last night after a week at Marsa Shagra, Egypt, diving and sleeping in tents on the beach.
The diving was fantastic (21 dives in 6 days).
There were onshore winds though, so there were plenty of jellyfish around....
There were onshore winds though, so there were plenty of jellyfish around....
April 08, 2007
January 15, 2007
Our new suits
Diving again on Sunday. The sun was out, and the water was cold. The only thing of interest we saw was a bird that kept down to us when we were about 6m down and 'flying' around us. I've never seen anything like that before, you could see the air trapped around it's feathers making it look like it had quicksilver all over it.
Both dives we mainly concentrated on getting used to the dry suits. It really feels like you are learning to dive all over again, and on the first dive i spent 10mins just trying to sort out my bouyancy, but it is gradually getting better.
December 18, 2006
Wet drysuits
On Saturday we finally went diving in the drysuits. I wasn't sure we were going to make it as we went ice-skating at a 10:00pm session on Friday night, but we managed to get up early, the sun was out, and the weatherman promised there would be temperatures of 10-12 degrees throughout the day.
When we arrived it must have taken us about an hour and a half to actually get in the water.
I thought all our equipment had been correctly adjusted to use with the drysuits, but I was wrong. It's really infuriating when you have to pull every hose off your first stage and put them on the other way around so that all the hoses reach where they are meant to reach. About an hour later we actually got into the drysuits, but then had to put the rest of the kit on. You really feel like an amateur when working with new gear, with my usual kit I reckon I could put it on blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back, but this was totally foreign to me. So many unexpected difficulties - restricted movement due to the thickness and newness of the drysuit; 5mm gloves that are difficult to put on and take off, and are so thick you can't feel what you are doing through them; hoses that need to be attached to the drysuit but end up somewhere behind your head; hoses that just get tangled up and nearly strangle you; fins that don't fit over the drysuit boots; fools that are so preoccupied with what their wife is doing that they neglect to turn their own air on.....
Finally we got into the water for a weight check. Five minutes later we're out of the water to get more weight (that's a total of 28 pounds folks!), trying to avoid the killer swan patrolling the lake. Did you know that swans hiss? Vicious things!
The other vicious thing was the harassment from the locals who thought it hysterical that it had taken us so long to get into the water, only to be out again within minutes.
Back in the water, submerge, float.... Being totally enveloped by water but only feeling it around your face is a very weird sensation, it takes a couple of minutes to get used to. But let me tell you how warm it is.... Not very! I think we both expected it to be to warm in the suits as it is a sealed environment encasing your body, and one would assume that your body would warm this space up even if the surrounding water is 10 degrees. I’m not saying I was cold, I just thought I would be warm. Despite this I think the suits are a great investment, it is just going to take a few dives to get used to them.
When we arrived it must have taken us about an hour and a half to actually get in the water.
I thought all our equipment had been correctly adjusted to use with the drysuits, but I was wrong. It's really infuriating when you have to pull every hose off your first stage and put them on the other way around so that all the hoses reach where they are meant to reach. About an hour later we actually got into the drysuits, but then had to put the rest of the kit on. You really feel like an amateur when working with new gear, with my usual kit I reckon I could put it on blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back, but this was totally foreign to me. So many unexpected difficulties - restricted movement due to the thickness and newness of the drysuit; 5mm gloves that are difficult to put on and take off, and are so thick you can't feel what you are doing through them; hoses that need to be attached to the drysuit but end up somewhere behind your head; hoses that just get tangled up and nearly strangle you; fins that don't fit over the drysuit boots; fools that are so preoccupied with what their wife is doing that they neglect to turn their own air on.....
Finally we got into the water for a weight check. Five minutes later we're out of the water to get more weight (that's a total of 28 pounds folks!), trying to avoid the killer swan patrolling the lake. Did you know that swans hiss? Vicious things!
Back in the water, submerge, float.... Being totally enveloped by water but only feeling it around your face is a very weird sensation, it takes a couple of minutes to get used to. But let me tell you how warm it is.... Not very! I think we both expected it to be to warm in the suits as it is a sealed environment encasing your body, and one would assume that your body would warm this space up even if the surrounding water is 10 degrees. I’m not saying I was cold, I just thought I would be warm. Despite this I think the suits are a great investment, it is just going to take a few dives to get used to them.
December 12, 2006
Dry.......not only in name
No, we still haven't dived in the drysuits. It's been either runny noses or a few drinks followed by a curry at 10:30pm that have stopped us from diving. The closest the suits have come to water is when steam escapes the shower in the morning. If you look closely below you can even se that one suit still has a tag on it!
I don't know why Sarah worries so much about having a curry and diving the next day - what happens in a drysuit usually stays in a drysuit.....
I don't know why Sarah worries so much about having a curry and diving the next day - what happens in a drysuit usually stays in a drysuit.....
October 31, 2006
Fisherman's revenge
Now i'll be the first one to admit that when i'm going diving and i notice fisherman fishing near by, i always keep a look out for their bait - a few hard tugs usually convinces them they have a big one on the line. But i will definitely be keeping clear of a fisherman's crab and lobster pots.
October 28, 2006
Nah nah na na nah!
I've got my drysuit!!!!
The other good news is that despite the screen on my laptop being so damaged that you can now only see vertical lines, I figured out a way to access all my files - but don't worry Chan, i'm not becoming a nerd. After many failed attempts to get it working and frantic calls to computer repair shops (the cost of a new screen is almost the cost of a new computer!) , Sarah pointed out that i may be able to connect the laptop to another screen. Duh i said to her, of course i've thought of that (not)...... So I sit here now with the laptop in front of me, twisting my head around to the right to see the other computer's screen.
Back in action!
The other good news is that despite the screen on my laptop being so damaged that you can now only see vertical lines, I figured out a way to access all my files - but don't worry Chan, i'm not becoming a nerd. After many failed attempts to get it working and frantic calls to computer repair shops (the cost of a new screen is almost the cost of a new computer!) , Sarah pointed out that i may be able to connect the laptop to another screen. Duh i said to her, of course i've thought of that (not)...... So I sit here now with the laptop in front of me, twisting my head around to the right to see the other computer's screen.
Back in action!
October 15, 2006
Bring on winter!
Why the sudden desire for winter to come on? Has the sudden cooler weather numbed my senses as well as my fingers? Has all the pollution and the black stuff that ends up in your nostrils when you ride the tube finally made it's way to my brain? Or am i simply becoming a pom? Luckily none of the above (despite what i say in the last line of this post)!
Sarah and i now own dry suits!!!
Notice i said 'own' not 'have'. We went to the Birmingham Dive Show on the weekend which meant a 2.5hr drive each way. Lots and lots of diving stuff on offer, everything you can think of, including drysuits. We had been contemplating buying them for a while as they are rather expensive and had decided now was the time to buy them if we were ever going to get them. After a bit of pre-dive show research i was tending towards o'three drysuits, so we found their stand and got fitted out. Sarah's suit needs a bit of altering to fit in those long legs, and mine needs bigger boots, so we will be off on another 2hr drive to their shop in two weeks to (hopefully) pick up my suit, and so Sarah can have her first fitting. I decided against a P valve. With any luck we'll soon be diving in cold english waters, in foul english weather, while we're toasty warm and dry!
Also at the show we ran into some old friends - Martin and Andrea (Sarah and i met them in the Maldives) looking for new gear, and Suzanne (Gary and i met her and her husband diving in Egypt) working at the Oonasdivers stand. Many months ago Suzanne had submitted some of my photos for the Oonasdivers website to feature on the picture of the day page - (Jun 14-17 & 22). Now the new Oonasdivers brochure and one of their bookmarks also have my pics! Finally published, and not paid a cent!!! To make up for it, Suz slipped about 50 bookmarks into Sarah's bag, so i now have xmas presents for everyone. Below is the photo they used.
Thank god i started working before the dive show, or there is no way we could have justified spending so much money. The temp work looks like it may become a permanent job - i now have a work e-mail address, am on the internal phonelist, have my own magnetic key for the office, and know how eveyone takes their tea. As long as no one applies internally for the job it should be mine. And for those who want to know exactly what i'm doing, my job title is Human Resource Administrator. You'll all have to wait for a photo of me in a suit, but i did manage to get a photo of the people in my office.
Left to right are Mark, Karen, Sarah, Laura (guarding the doughnuts) and Stephane. They're all great people who are very friendly and have really helped me find my feet. Karen is a shining beacon of knowledge who must be getting sick of my constant stream of questions, so i try and ensure her tea cup is constantly filled. Oh yeah, i've stopped drinking coffee through the week and now drink tea!
Sarah and i now own dry suits!!!
Notice i said 'own' not 'have'. We went to the Birmingham Dive Show on the weekend which meant a 2.5hr drive each way. Lots and lots of diving stuff on offer, everything you can think of, including drysuits. We had been contemplating buying them for a while as they are rather expensive and had decided now was the time to buy them if we were ever going to get them. After a bit of pre-dive show research i was tending towards o'three drysuits, so we found their stand and got fitted out. Sarah's suit needs a bit of altering to fit in those long legs, and mine needs bigger boots, so we will be off on another 2hr drive to their shop in two weeks to (hopefully) pick up my suit, and so Sarah can have her first fitting. I decided against a P valve. With any luck we'll soon be diving in cold english waters, in foul english weather, while we're toasty warm and dry!
Also at the show we ran into some old friends - Martin and Andrea (Sarah and i met them in the Maldives) looking for new gear, and Suzanne (Gary and i met her and her husband diving in Egypt) working at the Oonasdivers stand. Many months ago Suzanne had submitted some of my photos for the Oonasdivers website to feature on the picture of the day page - (Jun 14-17 & 22). Now the new Oonasdivers brochure and one of their bookmarks also have my pics! Finally published, and not paid a cent!!! To make up for it, Suz slipped about 50 bookmarks into Sarah's bag, so i now have xmas presents for everyone. Below is the photo they used.
Left to right are Mark, Karen, Sarah, Laura (guarding the doughnuts) and Stephane. They're all great people who are very friendly and have really helped me find my feet. Karen is a shining beacon of knowledge who must be getting sick of my constant stream of questions, so i try and ensure her tea cup is constantly filled. Oh yeah, i've stopped drinking coffee through the week and now drink tea!
September 12, 2006
Another Dive!
On the weekend we managed to go diving again! We headed for Wraysbury Lake, a lake created by the builders of the M25 quarrying materials to build the nearby motorway. What they left behind was a beautiful lake, ideal for anyone desperate for a dive.....
.......as long as you ignore the 2m visibility, the lack of wildlife, and the roar of planes leaving Heathrow. Paul was supposed to be joining us, but had to pull out at the last minute - which means he really only missed out on cleaning his gear!
It wasn't that bad really - the sun was shining, the water was warm, and there is a kiosk where you can get a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea as soon as you get out of the water. There were lots of other divers about (stirring up the mud botttom) and plenty of students learning to dive. We ran into one of the guys who did his divemaster course in Manly (Mike?), who is now instructing. We had photos on the camera of a map and coordinates of the various things in the lake, but it was way to difficult to swap between photos and keep an eye on the compass, so it was a bit of aimless wandering for us. I completetly missed the boat shown below until Sarah pointed out a grey shape about 3m to the left of us - I think next time we will write down the co-ordinates on a slate and make a plan before we submerge. Most of the time the only way you could tell if you were near the bottom was by spotting the stones in the mud.
But will we go back? It's close to home, would be a good place to practice navigation, no cleaning salt off your gear after diving, and you get more depth than sitting in the bathtub, so i say yes.
.......as long as you ignore the 2m visibility, the lack of wildlife, and the roar of planes leaving Heathrow. Paul was supposed to be joining us, but had to pull out at the last minute - which means he really only missed out on cleaning his gear!
It wasn't that bad really - the sun was shining, the water was warm, and there is a kiosk where you can get a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea as soon as you get out of the water. There were lots of other divers about (stirring up the mud botttom) and plenty of students learning to dive. We ran into one of the guys who did his divemaster course in Manly (Mike?), who is now instructing. We had photos on the camera of a map and coordinates of the various things in the lake, but it was way to difficult to swap between photos and keep an eye on the compass, so it was a bit of aimless wandering for us. I completetly missed the boat shown below until Sarah pointed out a grey shape about 3m to the left of us - I think next time we will write down the co-ordinates on a slate and make a plan before we submerge. Most of the time the only way you could tell if you were near the bottom was by spotting the stones in the mud.
The boat and the rocks and the fish
And we did find some fish! Actually they were everywhere, you just couldn't see them - they would appear out of nowhere, stare at you for a second, then disapear into the gloom. And there was even a first for me in that lake - we viewed insects in the water, thousands of them. Tells you how boring the dive was when you comment on insects in the water....
But will we go back? It's close to home, would be a good place to practice navigation, no cleaning salt off your gear after diving, and you get more depth than sitting in the bathtub, so i say yes.
August 29, 2006
Salt Water
What a weekend! We made it down to Poole shortly after lunch, battling traffic all the way to the coast - the 1.5hr trip ended up taking about 2.5hrs. We had just enough time to head to Poole Park so that Sarah could relive her childhood memories (and get her arse kicked in minigolf) before heading to the beach. Sand and 20 degree salt water, who could ask for more? Unlike an ozzie beach, there were fully clothed families basking in the sunshine...
Next day straight back to the beach, before heading up to Portsmouth to catch up with Jimmi, and another couple of friends from London. Two pubs, lots of lager, and a stop at the local curry house around 10:00pm meant both Sarah and I suffered indigestion throughout the night.
Next day slightly worse for wear, we dragged ourselves out of bed and went diving!!!
Horsea Island Dive Site
Great Vis & Something
Eel & Crab
Shrimp & Jellyfish
Finally in salt water again!
Next day straight back to the beach, before heading up to Portsmouth to catch up with Jimmi, and another couple of friends from London. Two pubs, lots of lager, and a stop at the local curry house around 10:00pm meant both Sarah and I suffered indigestion throughout the night.
Next day slightly worse for wear, we dragged ourselves out of bed and went diving!!!
Horsea Island Dive Site
Great Vis & Something
Eel & Crab
Shrimp & Jellyfish
August 26, 2006
Diving?
Well we decided to get some diving in this weekend, and catch up with Jimmi, who i used to work with, in Portsmouth. Diving in the UK is never easy....
- we left it way too late organising accomodation - I made at least 50 phone calls to find somewhere to sleep about 6 miles from where we want to be staying.
- it turns out despite our diving experience it isn't advisable to jump straight into depths of 20m in UK waters without at least 5 dives to a depth of 10m (cold, currents and poor visibility). Most of the boats were doing dives between 15-30m.
- the one boat that was doing shallow dives was cancelled due to lack of interest, although "we have had 3 calls showing interest today, but can't get the boat anymore".
- it was meant to be sunny this weekend, but we've woken to grey skies.
- Sarah played netball on Thursday night!
The doc doesn't think it's broken, but has suggested there may be ligament damage so it's off to the hand surgeon next Thursday for Sarah.
Despite all this we've found somewhere to dive -
http://www.horseadivecentre.com/index.shtml
It's actually on an army base so you have to get signed in at a check point. Hope we make it through!
Cross your fingers for us........
- we left it way too late organising accomodation - I made at least 50 phone calls to find somewhere to sleep about 6 miles from where we want to be staying.
- it turns out despite our diving experience it isn't advisable to jump straight into depths of 20m in UK waters without at least 5 dives to a depth of 10m (cold, currents and poor visibility). Most of the boats were doing dives between 15-30m.
- the one boat that was doing shallow dives was cancelled due to lack of interest, although "we have had 3 calls showing interest today, but can't get the boat anymore".
- it was meant to be sunny this weekend, but we've woken to grey skies.
- Sarah played netball on Thursday night!
The doc doesn't think it's broken, but has suggested there may be ligament damage so it's off to the hand surgeon next Thursday for Sarah.
Despite all this we've found somewhere to dive -
http://www.horseadivecentre.com/index.shtml
It's actually on an army base so you have to get signed in at a check point. Hope we make it through!
Cross your fingers for us........
August 08, 2006
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