Imported post
Well, all I can say is, I've never had 2 dives blown out and still been well chuffed with a few days diving.
I dived with Blue Water Scuba (Imaginative name, eh?) basically because a friend works for them. Nice bunch, and I'll be back diving with them when funds allow.
I also used 7 fathoms deep dive centre for the Tekkie fun, and credit to Marv for having basically set up a dive centre doing only what he wants to do. Serious diving!
So, basically, it's all about caves now. No more open water. I'm converted. We jumped in with lightning and thunder at the surface, at night, and went for a little pootle. Along we go, and then Adam (my mate working out there) points at a hole about a metre across. Reel tied on, and in we go. My god. Cave diving. The one thing I thought I'd never be able to do, let alone want to. We go in, it tightens a bit, then opens up to a metre and a half, completely horizontal all the way. Loads of other routes as we were swimming, but most on closer inspection were dead-ends. Got to about 40m penetration, and we were at a dead end. Ideal that, as we were down to 2 thirds gas, and we could turn around easily enough. We come out to see the entire landscape underwater being lit up every few seconds by huge flashes of lightning. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen in some time.
Basically, the two other dives were going to be the Francis Kita, in 50m, and the Malakov, in about 40. Both my kind of dive, with the added joy of having trimix going on for the deeper of the two. Everything kitted up, and ready to go. Stages all sorted, twins at the ready, and I get up in the morning to the sounds of the wind howling through the shutters. Not good. Dive got called. Same thing on the Malakov, except without all the preparation and details.
All in all, a good bit of diving, at mates rates, and one of the best dives ever. The guys cater for beginners and everything else, and they do pretty much all their diving from the shore.
So, the point of the story is basically even if you're a complete novice, looking at guys in big twinsets, rummaging around in caves and wrecks and things, give it a couple of years, and you'll be one of them. You never think you will, but you will. I never thought I'd go in a tight cave, especially not at night, but basically there I was. And loving it.
Just to add to the feeling, I read Sheck Exley's book this week too. Great read, and helps you understand a little bit more of what happened in the early days of cave diving, and some of why we do what we do today.
Well, all I can say is, I've never had 2 dives blown out and still been well chuffed with a few days diving.
I dived with Blue Water Scuba (Imaginative name, eh?) basically because a friend works for them. Nice bunch, and I'll be back diving with them when funds allow.
I also used 7 fathoms deep dive centre for the Tekkie fun, and credit to Marv for having basically set up a dive centre doing only what he wants to do. Serious diving!
So, basically, it's all about caves now. No more open water. I'm converted. We jumped in with lightning and thunder at the surface, at night, and went for a little pootle. Along we go, and then Adam (my mate working out there) points at a hole about a metre across. Reel tied on, and in we go. My god. Cave diving. The one thing I thought I'd never be able to do, let alone want to. We go in, it tightens a bit, then opens up to a metre and a half, completely horizontal all the way. Loads of other routes as we were swimming, but most on closer inspection were dead-ends. Got to about 40m penetration, and we were at a dead end. Ideal that, as we were down to 2 thirds gas, and we could turn around easily enough. We come out to see the entire landscape underwater being lit up every few seconds by huge flashes of lightning. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen in some time.
Basically, the two other dives were going to be the Francis Kita, in 50m, and the Malakov, in about 40. Both my kind of dive, with the added joy of having trimix going on for the deeper of the two. Everything kitted up, and ready to go. Stages all sorted, twins at the ready, and I get up in the morning to the sounds of the wind howling through the shutters. Not good. Dive got called. Same thing on the Malakov, except without all the preparation and details.
All in all, a good bit of diving, at mates rates, and one of the best dives ever. The guys cater for beginners and everything else, and they do pretty much all their diving from the shore.
So, the point of the story is basically even if you're a complete novice, looking at guys in big twinsets, rummaging around in caves and wrecks and things, give it a couple of years, and you'll be one of them. You never think you will, but you will. I never thought I'd go in a tight cave, especially not at night, but basically there I was. And loving it.
Just to add to the feeling, I read Sheck Exley's book this week too. Great read, and helps you understand a little bit more of what happened in the early days of cave diving, and some of why we do what we do today.
