where no Jay has gone before

[Captain Deco]

Right. Got the padi AOW ticket. All my kit bought and paid for. Enough training dives to want to go and do all this in the sea, for real at last. Defective Oceanic Atom replaced with a brand new one. New sexy dive logs bought and on way in the post. Everything ready and polished and ready to go.

Money ready. Tomorrow I am going to book my first dive trip. Only a little one as well......off to St. Abbs for a 2 day dive trip with the excellent chaps from 2dive4. I am both nervous and excited.......This is going to be the first trip I have ever gone on, and is hopefully the prelude to one trip a month to all the cool sites like Farne Islands, scapa etc.

No doubt my excited whooping will grace this board upon my most triumphant return.

[dry suit diver]

Have a good one ,dive safe and a full report will be expected upon your return.

[Paul Oliver]

Sounds very good, i anticipate you will get briney addiction immediately

Enjoy

[Mark Davies]

Isn't it just great to see that enthusiasm for a first sea dive? Takes you right back!

Jay, I hope it will be everything you imagined it would be. Have a great time.

[angleseydiver]

[Captain Deco]

Well......I am back, and I have to say it was a fantastic trip. only a two day visit, with 5 dives completed, but wow......what a great dive trip.

So: Got in the dive van in Essex with my new buddies at silly a.m. on Tuesday, and drove all the way to St. Abbs, where we offloaded after a smooth journey and got ready for the 1st days diving. We were on a cool little boat called the Selkie with a skipper called Peter Gibson (very friendly guy, who knew all the best spots!!). Went out for the 1st dive, and I was crapping myself, as this was the 1st real sea dive, the 1st boat dive....the 1st everything really. Rolled off the boat and went and checked out something called "Tyler's tunnel". Saw loads of life....starfish, dead men's fingers, sea urchins. To be honest I really did not expect to see so much life in the North Sea.....I thought the only things there were war wrecks and murk. Visibility wasn't great for the whole trip, never more than 5-8 metres really, but it was great. Anyway, after a pootle about, staring agog at the sights (fantastic overhangs, beautiful green sea, kelp forests etc) we came up, got back on the Selkie, and went back to wait for the 2nd dive. Dive 2 was on Cathedral rock, and we descended down to the bottom where there is that tunnel like entrance which we went through.......God....I felt like I was in a James Bond movie!!. Saw my first Wrasse....( I believe I was told they were ballan Wrasse) as well as crabs and zillions of starfish. The sun had just come out as we descended so although the water was a bit murky, it was nice and bright. Checked out the interior of the rock and then went through some nearby gullies which was cool as hell. We came up with enough air for a short boat trip to a nearby crevice complex called Wuddy Rocks and we used up the last bit just going through these awesome crevices and cracks. it made me realise what I had got into diving for. I am more interested in wreck diving, but saw none, and was amazed by how beautiful the undersea world really is. After checking out a crab fight and the crevices, we surface to pack up for the day. As a bonus, once we had all got back on the boat, there was a seal sunbathing on the rocks which we checked out too. Top notch!!

Day 2 was choppy and overcast and our first dive was on Black Carr, which was unbelievable. 20m, clear sea, vis to about 5-7 metres, and just gobsmacking amounts of starfish, urchins, dead men's fingers, brittlestars.....but no wolf-fish (bummer!!). Saw a crab as big as a house, and a lobster too, which made my day. A great dive, with some pics taken too......I looked like my eyes are going bulge out of my head. when I get them sent to me, it will become my avatar, so you can see how much of a freak I looked!! We returned to port for the interval, and made our last dive on West Hurker where there were some nice ledges, crabs and life as mentioned before. Had a bouyancy lesson when I crashed into a load of stuff, so I found a bunch of things I need to practice practice practice!!! Completed the dive after pootling around the gullies there and surface to exit. The weather had got a little silly by then, and on our return we were lucky enough to see a porpoise in the distance, doing it's thing.......PERFECT!!

Loaded up and drove back home, wishing I was so rich i could just dive. Right......more overtime so i can go on more trips!!

All in all, a fabulous trip with some great new buddies. Thanks to Dean, Stuart, Claire and Steve for an awesome trip, and the 1st of very many!!

[Clare Gledhill]

Glad you had a good time

Hope it's the first of many many more

Visibility wasn't great for the whole trip, never more than 5-8 metres really, but it was great.

Urm.... you haven't been to the South Coast yet have you

XXX

[Captain Deco]

Originally Posted by Gledders

Urm.... you haven't been to the South Coast yet have you

XXX

Nope.......I am going to do the Scylla and james Egan lane in September, and am hoping to jack up a few 1 day missions if I can arrange it with someone who knows where to go.

I have become obsessed by diving. And it's great.