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Diving/snorkeling in Cornwall

4K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  NeilP 
#1 ·
Hi all, I have some plans gelling for a trip to the U.K. this summer, and thought I might describe them here in case you might have any advice, suggestions, warnings, etc.

My wife, son and I have booked a cottage just outside Penzance in Cornwall for the first week of August. Since we will be going on to London and Paris, I don't want to drag my entire scuba kit along. My thought was to pack my 7mm wetsuit (which keeps me comfortable at water temperatures down to ~13 C), mask, snorkel, gloves/boots and fins. In addition I'd bring along my Olympus 5050/PT-015, one external strobe and lenses.

Since we like to keep our family schedule relatively loose and not take up too much time with extended scuba outings, I reckon that most of my time in the water would be in the form of snorkeling or relatively shallow freediving from beaches. It sounds as though we're only 2-3 miles from Lamorna Cove, which I understand is a popular training spot. I see that Diver magazine had a piece in one of the issues last fall itled "The Top 10 U.K. Ultra-Shallow Shore Dives." Besides Lamorna Cove, their list also included Porthkerris at the Lizard in Cornwall. I thought I'd rent a weightbelt for the week to facilitate freediving descents (I've trained with Performance Freediving, but prefer puttering around in the shallows at depths of perhaps 5-8 meters).

A lot of people have told me not to have too high of expectations of vis, but since it can range anywhere from 6 inches to 25 feet on Southern California shore dives, we're not too easy to shock.

For one morning of our visit, I was thinking of signing up with one of the scuba operators for something like a two-dive boat outing. Although I dive a backplate/wing at home, I understand that chances are slim to nonexistent of finding such a kit to rent there, so I'll have to reach back in my mind five years to refamiliarize myself with a jacket BC and short-hose reg. :) However, I didn't want to get into a whole lot of scuba, because as noted on these family trips my wife and son don't like me going off on my own for too long at a stretch. I should also mention that I'd be looking only at dives within recreational limits -- no deco.

Here are some questions I'm mulling:

-- Any suggestions for other shore spots in the area apart from those mentioned above that might be promising for snorkel/shallow freedive with camera?

-- Any recommendations on photo-friendly scuba operators thereabouts? I've heard some comments (not photo-related) about an outfit in Penzance.

-- Given limitations on vis, should I leave my wide-angle at home and concentrate on macro?

-- Any other general thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any input!

Frank in Los Angeles
 
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#2 ·
Hi Frank.

Frank O said:
-- Any suggestions for other shore spots in the area apart from those mentioned above that might be promising for snorkel/shallow freedive with camera?
Lamorna Cove is nice, but might also want to think about Prussia Cove, between Praa sands and Penzance. There is even a shallow wreck there.

If you are in Penzance, St Ives is only about 8 miles away and there is some good snorkelling around the headland. Alot of seals are around here too.

Frank O said:
-- Any recommendations on photo-friendly scuba operators thereabouts? I've heard some comments (not photo-related) about an outfit in Penzance.
The operator in Penzance is called 'Undersea Adventures' or something like that. They are ok, no complaints, but I don't use then too much anyway!
Dive St Ives is another option, so is Dive Action at Mullion.

Frank O said:
-- Given limitations on vis, should I leave my wide-angle at home and concentrate on macro?
Nope, I would bring both along as some days, when there is no swell and the sunlight is shining through, can be spectacular. It doesn't happen all the time but sometimes.

Frank O said:
-- Any other general thoughts?
Yeah - you will not need a 7mm suit for snorkelling in the summer unless you really feel the cold. Water temp will be about 14-15 degrees on the surface and I only use a 5mm for surfing in the winter in about 8 degrees!

Whatever you decide to do I'm sure you will have a great time!

-NEIL
 
#3 ·
Hi Neil, thanks much for the suggestions -- I appreciate them.

Epic said:
Yeah - you will not need a 7mm suit for snorkelling in the summer unless you really feel the cold. Water temp will be about 14-15 degrees on the surface and I only use a 5mm for surfing in the winter in about 8 degrees!
My thinking here was, what's the minimal amount of gear to pack that would give me the most options? For snorkeling I'd probably be comfortable in a 3mm wetsuit or no wetsuit, but if I end up doing some scuba I imagine I'll want more exposure protection. On the other hand, bringing a drysuit seemed like overkill if I'd only be doing a couple of scuba dives. So the 7mm wetsuit was a compromise to try to cover as many bases as possible temperature-wise.
 
#5 · (Edited)
"100 Best Dives in Cornwall"
That sounds like a book I want, many thanks. Not available on amazon.com ... 4-6-week delivery time quoted on amazon.co.uk (just for U.K. delivery, not counting international shipping) ... so I emailed BSAC's online store to see if they can ship internationally to a non-member. Thanks again, sounds like a good resource.

--

P.S. Incidentally, Tim, I noticed from your Digigreen forum via the link in your signature that you're planning to house a D70. You should have a great time. I have a D70 in an Ikelite housing (larger than others, but the price was right, and I'm a long-time Ike customer). I've been having a good time practicing my macro chops here at Catalina Island with the D70 and a 105mm. Here are a couple of my better shots (bandwidth warning - file sizes ~200K each):

Spanish shawl nudibranch

Treefish

However, in the interest of packing light, on my Cornwall trip I'll be bring my Oly 5050.
 
#7 ·
Well, Ike housings definitely run toward the larger side, so the housed D70 with two strobes is much bigger than the 5050 in an Oly PT-015 housing. I have a friend with a Canon Rebel in an Aquatica housing, and mine looks like a lurking giant next to it. I wouldn't try to drag it up and down in the water column doing freediving. On the other hand, on a scuba dive once I'm in the water with the D70 I don't notice any issue.

Speaking of bravery (or foolishness), I took the D70 on a night beach dive a couple of months ago -- while entering the water a sneaker wave came out of nowhere and knocked me on my back. Held on tight to the camera, although one fin was sacrificed to the sea gods. Since then I've reserved the D70 for boat diving.
 
#8 ·
Frank O said:
Since then I've reserved the D70 for boat diving.
That's proabably not a bad idea. It's an issue for me tho as most of the diving around Ireland is from RIBs so lots of bouncing diving gear. Not sure this is compatible with delicate camera kit. Still I've give it a go once the opportunity arrives and the insurance is sorted.
 
#9 ·
Speaking of books, is there a species identification guide that would be helpful to have for Cornwall? I have one European book ("Il libro completo dei pesci dei mari europei" -- amusingly an Italian translation of Lythgoe's "Fishes of the Sea, The Coastal Waters of the British Isles, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean"). But if there are any handy references that are well-liked, that would be interesting to investigate.
 
#10 ·
Frank O said:
Hi Neil, thanks much for the suggestions -- I appreciate them.


My thinking here was, what's the minimal amount of gear to pack that would give me the most options? For snorkeling I'd probably be comfortable in a 3mm wetsuit or no wetsuit, but if I end up doing some scuba I imagine I'll want more exposure protection. On the other hand, bringing a drysuit seemed like overkill if I'd only be doing a couple of scuba dives. So the 7mm wetsuit was a compromise to try to cover as many bases as possible temperature-wise.
True.
You could get away with a 5mm, but for the weight, a 7mm is a good choice I guess. :D
 
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