After a quick detour to pick up my computer we set of, to be met with the annoying question of should I fill up the fuel or will it last?? I decided to be safe and that is where the problems began. After filling up, only 30 minutes behind schedule we went to set of to fin that the car would not start!! After a couple of hours of trying to bump start it and waiting for the AA after all else failed we decided to call off the days diving.

Wednesday came around (the first Wednesday of the month) and last minute organising a few of us arranged to go for a night dive that evening, so left of work on time to rush home to get my kit ready. After arriving at Stoney Cove the morning rain had disappeared and was a nice evening with a beautiful full moon. No need to worry about spring tides at Stoney!! We kitted up and jumped in the water.

A gush of icy water ran down the side of my body, brrrrr! First I thought that my glove had tucked under my seal and was letting in water but after descending deep I realised that I had big hole in my cuff seal. I persevered for about 5 minutes but my left hand side had become numb with the cold, so decided to abort my dive, luckily for my buddies we were diving in a three, normally not the most convenient dive number but this time they continued and I ascended and got out. To find that I could not find the car keys or unzip myself from my drysuit so I stood in the car park for 40 minutes waitng for them to finish there dive.

As usual when you miss out on a dive every one else has a great dive, so I spent the rest of the evening listening to the full run down of the dive, normally I would be interested but this time the green eyed monster and the cold made me uniterested. I now need to take my suit to get repaired. I currently have a membrane suit with latex cuff and neck collar but have been told that I should change to neoprene because they are stronger. I have always had latex seals so do not know different but other than this dive they have always been strong enough and have never had a problems with seals leaking before.

Let me know your thoughts of whether you would choose a neoprene seal or a latex.

The Farne Islands are a group of islands  a few miles of the Northumberland Coast, they are probably best known for being one of the largest Sea Bird Sanctuaries within the British Isles and also for having a large colony of Atlantic or Grey seals.

With the Farne Islands being one of the most dangerous shipping areas within the British Isles, resulting in many wreck dives.  Diving is suitable for all grades/qualifications of divers with lots to see at shallow depths and at deeper.  Although in June we may miss the seals I am hoping that as it is early june that we may just catch them, if you have dived the Farnes Island let us know in the comments below when you went and whether the seals where there.

This will be the first sea dive for some new members of CADSAC so the next few months we will be dusting of our kit and getting as much pratice as possible to make the most of the weekend.

Have you dived the Farne Islands f so let us know your experience below.

Scuba divers are taught to always breathe slowly and deeply during a dive. This is so that the air in your tank will last longer and means more time can be spent underwater but more importantly, deep steady breathing promotes a calm attitude and reduces the risk of a lung-expansion injury. However, this deep slow breathing has other benefits too; it increases lung capacity, strengthens the respiratory system and drains mucous. This in turn helps with the prevention of lung diseases and can actually improve existing ones such as asthma.

The calm, relaxed state produced through deep, slow breathing and through focusing on your underwater environment, reduces stress and balances the nervous system. A relaxed, calm state of mind has been proven to promote a positive attitude and prevent depression.

Deep breathing also means increased oxygen intake and this has numerous benefits too. Increased oxygen levels in the body raises energy levels, stimulates circulation, benefits heart and lung function and improves mental capacities. When there is sufficient oxygen in the body the need for intoxicants and stimulants diminishes.

There is nothing better than the joy of finding yourself on the way to a dive site, full of anticipation for what you’re about to experience under the water, with smiling faces all around you!

Scuba diving can be exhilarating, awe-inspiring, relaxing, calming, rejuvenating, fun and above all good for you! Your time spent underwater can be so fascinating that you become absorbed by the world around you, you relax and your worries just melt away. Diving, done right, really can be good for you!

All you need to do is dive dressed as Santa & either donate yourself or gain sponsorship from friends & colleagues. If you dive with Dive In on this day Dive In will only charge you half the standard entrance fee – you can then donate the other half to the charity (if you so wish).

Dive In have set up a web page where people can donate directly & have some sponsorship forms available from Gildenburgh Water.

Gildenburgh Water
Eastrea Road
Whittlesey
PE7 2AR

Phone: 01733 351288

The donations website is HERE

Please let as many people know about this event as you can – THANKYOU

email Dive In for more details – or
call them on 01733 351288

Dive Fest is the UK’s biggest diving festival and takes place at Pentewan Sands Holiday Park near St Austell. With its private beach, new beach bar, state of the art Seahorse Centre with indoor pools and seaview restaurant, the park is the perfect place to hold the event. Onsite dive centre Sal Diving will be on hand to provide diving support and you can either bring your own RIB and dive from Pentewan, go hardboat diving from nearby Mevagissey or shore dive at some of the nearby sites. A large marquee is erected near the beach and there are bands and entertainment throughout the weekend, as well as photography competitions, treasure hunts and for non-divers the chance to go try-diving.

This year there will be a special Suunto Saturday with food, fancy dress, bonfire and bands. Oonasdivers will be providing the kids with the chance to enter a special competition and diving action man Andy Torbet returns with some new activities, more of which will be announced soon. Rebecca Coales of OMdiver joins us for the first time to offer festival-goers the chance to join a yoga session with a view to helping your breathing and buoyancy underwater.

A special early bookers’ discount is available only until the 31 December 2011, so don’t delay book your tickets now at www.divefest.co.uk

After an early start, which turned out to be not so early as it was going to get, we set of to our first dive site, Poseidon’s Garden. This was a nice shallow dive to make sure everyone was comfortable with there dive gear etc.
Poseidon Garden – this dive is on a large coral block in the lagoon behind the main reef. There is a very large coral garden next to the reef consisting of huge table corals and brain corals. Between and on the corals, clams of many sizes and colors can be seen, plus large numbers of masked puffer fish. Large shoals of banner fish and butterfly fish can always be seen here. This dive is also often done as a drift so that more of the coral formations can be visited.
I could not get over how clear the water was, if all the dives were going to be like that it was going to be a great dive trip.

Next we moved on to Shaab Mahmoud (small crack) this was nice dive in a large shallow lagoon whcih we stayed for the afternoon dive and then an evening dive. My first night dive in the sea, it was amazing, I think that I was more worried doing my first night dive in Stoney Cove than I was in the middle of the red sea. After a couple of beers I slept on the deck fulfilled in completing a most exhilirating day.

A new day started at 4.30 am and we all slugishly moved around the boat trying to get caffeine to wake us up and as much water in ourselves to rehydrate ourselves, after a briefing from our dive guide we arrived at Shark reef/ Yolanda Reef. This dive started along a coral wall with a drop down to 100+ meters, the coral was fantastic, along the reef came to a coral garden with a multitude of marine life. Further round we came to the Yolanda Wreck, a wreck that made this reef its final resting place in the 70′s. Its cargo of British standard toilets, bath tubs and pipe tubes remain on and forever as part of the shallow reef.

The afternoon brought us to the infamous SS Thistlegorm wreck, Sunk by German bomber planes in World War Two, SS Thistlegorm has lain at the bottom of the sea for over sixty years. Located in the Straits of Gubal, Northern Red Sea this famous vessel has been the subject of much activity and drama during its two lives as both a seagoing merchant ship and as a world-class diving site. Because of the size of the wreck we split it into sections with multiple dives over two days, including a not so popular night dive, (not sure if not popular by such an eventful day and a forth dive was too much or thought of swimming a wreck at night).

We Then Head to Shag Rock to the Kingston, the wreck of the Kingston lies on the eastern side of the southern of two large pieces of reef which are known as Shag Rock. Shag Rock is the name of the southern reef; however in the absence of a name for the northern piece these two are often grouped as Shag Rock, part of the much larger reef system – Sha’ab Ali. Incidentally Shag Rock gets its name from the cormorants or “shags” which used to perch on an old light frame which was visible in the early 1990′s on the southern reef. At very low tide these birds can still be seen sitting atop protruding bits of reef.

The Kingston is a very old wreck, built in the early 1870′s and you will often here her referred to as the Sara H, or Sarah H. This label actually came about in the absence of correct identification in the late 1980′s, early 1990′s. One of the largest safari boats I used to see in this area in the early 90′s was a dark blue vessel by the name of “Sea Surveyor”. On board was a Dive Guide, Sarah Hillel and so the wreck was named after her. This was our fantastic encounter a very hungry turtle.

We headed top our next big wreck, the Rosalie Moller, The Rosalie Moller sank in the 1940′s with a cargo of Welsh coal, which is all that can be seen in the holds except for in the engine room. It was hit by a bomb on the starboard side, leaving some damage. Penetration is possible as the gaps are large, but is not necessary as the interesting parts of the wreck are visible from the outside. Because this was a deeper dive 35 meters to the deck it was a shorter dive.

Then on to Shaab Abu Nuhas Reef an area prone to ship wrecks, either mistakes or arguably insurance jobs. Sha’ab Abu Nuhas is a large triangular shaped reef. With four main wrecks. The reef is located just a little bit north of Shadwan Island and the area is covered with shipwrecks. The rough north side can make moorings impossible and the big unpredictable currents have been known to dislocate divers. Here we dived the Chrisoulis K, a Greek freighter ship carry tiles, in August 1981, and the Giannis D which sank in 1983, split in half down the middle.

A few more reef dives ion the area and then the head back to Hurghada, stopping at Dolphin reef, we were told that dolphins were rarely seen there though. That evening we saw some dolphins in the distance and the following morning dive a family of over 6 dolphins swam through our group, a great way to end the trip, I would post photos of the dolphins but in my exceitemnet I managed to turn my camera off and sat there filming not realising.

Back to Hurgahada and our final dive on the wreck of the Minesweeper, (El Mina). The El Mina was bombed by the Israelis in 1969 in Hurghada bay, but still has a sister ship afloat nearby. The wreck lies on its side and there are a lot of small holes to peer into and penetration is possible, although tight, through a significant amount of the wreck. Sea urchins are abundant on the wreck and a ray hovered around.

Back to Hurghada and a night in a hotel before heading back. This was my first dive trip to the Red Sea but definately not my last. Thanks to John (mungo) For organising such a great trip.

Check out the photo gallery of some of our photos from the trip, some courtesy of Rob McKenzie here.

So if you are around Corby on Saturday 9th July look out for us, the parade will begin around midday. We will be the ones dry in our dry suits!

The procession will head off at 1pm, going along Sower Leys Road, Gainsborough Road, Oakley Road, Elizabeth Street and Cottingham Road to the new venue of West Glebe Park for the afternoon’s entertainment.

If you cannot make it on Saturday to see us on the float and would like to join us on our Free Try dive come along to Corby Swimming pool at 8.30 and join us for a dip and see what scuba diving is like, one of our most experienced divers will be there to meet you and give you all the relevant information.

For more information about our try dive click here.

Check our photo gallery to see what our float end up looking like.

The dates are still to be confirmed but keep checking back here.

The FREE try dive will be held at Corby Olympic sized swimming pool which has a retracting floor so it suits divers of all levels. If you would like more information contact us through our contact form, telephone 07949 698640, or pop in to our club house on Monday evenings. (not bank holiday Monday’s – we will probably be diving on the coast or in a local quarry!!).

If you can’t wait for our Try dive contact and we will arrange a dive in advance to give you a taster of what it is like and you too could be dancing underwater.

Over four weeks presenter and BSAC scuba diver Paul Rose, marine biologist Tooni Mahto and archaeologist Frank Pope reveal that the seas around Britain are as every bit as colourful and extraordinary as the oceans around the world.

From seals, dolphins and basking sharks to reefs, wrecks, fascinating history and curious night-time predators – our small island is home to a vast array of underwater treasures just waiting to be discovered.

*transmission date could be subject to change