A scuba diving blog

This has got to be one of the best dives this year!. We dived the SS Castle Eden Wednesday evening with perfect slack (neaps I think). Having got my mask clip all fixed up (Thanks Liam) I was good to go and we set off from Portstewart. Took about 35mins to get there. Everyone was scanning the water for any sign of basking sharks as there had been a pod (is that the correct collective noun?) spotted in the area recently. It was actually filmed and should be televised on TV this winter.

The dive was great, marine life unbelievable. As usual I have a wee video treat for you all its the eigth one in the list. Apologies in advance for the Darth Vader sound track! there are few more photos of the dive and afterwards while waiting for the two deadly deco divers! usual place, click the image above to be taken through to my flickr.

Its quite a big wreck, but with viz surpassing 25m we were able to take quiet a lot in, travelling form the boilers to the bow and back again. The last time I dived the wreck was with John Liddiard earlier in the year, or rather he was diving it at the same time as me from the same boat! He managed to sketch the entire wreck on one dive, fair enough he was on a rebreather and stayed on the wreck for an extra 10-15 mins, but it was good going.

The fact that I had the camera and the sheer enjoyment of the dive and great conditions resulted in me losing track of the shot line, hence the free ascent and surface swim. Still they say “every day is a learning day”

Another experience well worth an entry. Dive bombing Cormorrants Guillimots and/or Razorbills off the North Wall of Rathlin. This is a more familiar one, happening most dives around this site. On the safety stop the dive on the bubbles, mistaking them for fish activity. They get down to 10 metres and more and spend quite a while whizzing around, very gracefully. So for all you ‘land lubbers’ who wonder what the birds do when they dive into the water and then don’t come up again for ages. Heres the answer. There is also a wee video here.
Another thing just occured to me, the bird you see come up isn’t always the one you watched go down. It is like gridlock underwater!

First time I’ve seen one in the waters around here, so it has to be recorded. It was off the North Wall of Rathlin , East of the Arches but before the mini amphitheatres at around 20 metres, right out in the open. Didn’t like the torch being shone on him, well you wouldn’t would you?. Probably the first human he had ever encountered. Very graceful swimming

Well I make it out to be a big thing, no doubt they are very common, but in my 3 years diving its the first I’ve seen here.

This shot and others where taken last summer on the north wall of Rathlin Island. It is a fantastic dive incorporating underwater arches at 25m and 35m. I have a short video of the arches available at www.waveneyavenue.co.uk. Follow the link to watch videos, then hold mouse over the images to see the locations before clicking on one to watch it.

• Site Name: The Arches
• Location: North west side of Rathlin (will try to get GPS)
• Depth and profile: 20m to 100m+!, Start at 10m work down to 35m then gradually ascend wall to 20m back on to shelf for end of dive and saftety stops.
• Points of Interest: the arches them selves and of course the abundance of live, including diving birds, lots of shoaling fish
• Reasons why I like it: Usually good visability, and the chance to dive in the “deep blue”
• Stories: blocked drysuit dump, nearly casued run away ascent, A wet chest saved the day..lol!
• Things I have found: Wide variety or marine and avian life, diving birds is a highlight!
• Tips: Follow the contour of the underwater ridge to arrive right on the arches, coming from the east. Must be good weather to avoid mental underwater currents, going all directions. Stay close to the wall, there are up and down currents.Occaisonally lobster pots and lines to look out for but the exception rather than the rule

So basically I am going to start a series of posts if you like asking all you computer literate divers out there in the abyss what your favourite dive sites are. In this particular post I am looking for worldwide dive sites only. Anywhere around the world. Please add your favourites giving:

• Name of site
• Location (GPS if you know it)
• Depth,Profile,Points of interest
• Reasons why you like it
• Maybe stories about exciting or eventful dives you have had
• Things you have found
• Any tips you may have about anything, finding the site, best time to dive, best route to take, things to look out for. etc.

If I get a decent list I will write them all up as specific posts which hopefully will act as resources for all us divers.

Slightly off topic, but hey why not expand the content scope. Feel free to add your favourite dive sites from anywhere in the world. I will create a new category for this and add a post to get it started, but until then this is a shot taken while cavern diving in Dos Ojos Cenote , Mexico November 2005

As you can see the visability is incredable, truely like diving in a glass of water. It should be noted that Cenotes often have haloclines were the salt and fresh water mix causing a kind of underwater mirage effect that you might find in a desert ( you know the one like a shimmering just above the surface)

I have uploaded a wee video here

Not unlike the great white whale himself, whale sightings for me are a rare occurance and so I thought I would document this one. While homing in on our dive site on Sunday last, The SS Castle Eden (soon to become one of my favourite wrecks!) I noticed in the distance a large plume of water. At first I thought it was spray from a wave hitting n exposed rock, but on closer examination there were none and the spray did not reoccur. A few seconds later I noticed the whale breach the water. I felt pins and needles in my spine. I have been hoping for such an encounter now for years. Unfortunately it was very far away over 500 metres so we had no chance of getting ther before the whale dived.

Anyway the dive went ahead, itself a triumph ,well at least for those of us who found her, myself, John and Kevin. Heavy underwater swell made our progress slow but fortunately we spotted the wreck off to the right of the "snail trail" left by the anchor and enjoyed a fanstastic dive.

The whale was spotted by the skipper again just after we ascended about 300m directly south of our position towards shore, noone else saw it though. Well I know they are there and so does he!

I’ll start the ball rolling with the Bluepool. Remember if you want to write about a divesite leave a comment under the appropriate title, if there is enough interest I will even give access to add your own posts. Oh get me! Anyway I digress. The bluepool is a very versatile divesite useful for both training dives and for certified divers. If you need to try out new kit or a camera or maybe you have been out of the water for a while, then look no father than the blue pool. I have included a few pdf documents for your use.

• Divesite Map of Bluepool Portrush
• Emergency Assistance plan for Bluepool Portrush

Feel free to download them and keep with you or use for a dive brief of the site if you are a visiting dive group. if you need tanks filled nip over to Aquaholics in portstewart and Richard will sort you out. He can also organise orientation dives if you like with a divemaster or instructor.

So basically I am going to start a series of posts if you like asking all you computer literate divers out there in the abyss what your favourite dive sites are. In this particular post I am looking for scenic dives only. Anywhere around the irish coastline will be fine but in particular I am looking for those around the antrim coastline. Please add your favourites giving:

• Name of site
• Location (GPS if you know it)
• Depth,Profile,Points of interest
• Reasons why you like it
• Maybe stories about exciting or eventful dives you have had
• Things you have found
• Any tips you may have about anything, finding the site, best time to dive, best route to take, things to look out for. etc.

If I get a decent list I will write them all up as specific posts which hopefully will act as resources for all us divers.

So basically I am going to start a series of posts if you like asking all you computer literate divers out there in the abyss what your favourite dive sites are. In this particular post I am looking for drift dives only. Anywhere around the irish coastline will be fine but in particular I am looking for those around the antrim coastline. Please add your favourites giving:

• Name of site
• Location (GPS if you know it)
• Depth,Profile,Points of interest
• Reasons why you like it
• Maybe stories about exciting or eventful dives you have had
• Things you have found
• Any tips you may have about anything, finding the site, best time to dive, best route to take, things to look out for. etc.

If I get a decent list I will write them all up as specific posts which hopefully will act as resources for all us divers.

So basically I am going to start a series of posts, if you like, asking all you computer literate divers out there in the abyss what your favourite dive sites are. In this particular post I am looking for wreck dives only. Anywhere around the irish coastline will be fine but in particular I am looking for those around the antrim coastline. Please add your favourites giving:

• Name of site
• Location (GPS if you know it)
• Depth,Profile,Points of interest
• Reasons why you like it
• Maybe stories about exciting or eventful dives you have had
• Things you have found
• Any tips you may have about anything, finding the site, best time to dive, best route to take, things to look out for. etc.

If I get a decent list I will write them all up as specific posts which hopefully will act as resources for all us divers.

So basically I am going to start a series of posts if you like asking all you computer literate divers out there in the abyss what your favourite dive sites are. In this particular post I am looking for shore dives only. Anywhere around the irish coastline will be fine but in particular I am looking for those around the antrim coastline. Please add your favourites giving:

• Name of site
• Location (GPS if you know it)
• Depth,Profile,Points of interest
• Reasons why you like it
• Maybe stories about exciting or eventful dives you have had
• Things you have found
• Any tips you may have about anything, finding the site, best time to dive, best route to take, things to look out for. etc.

If I get a decent list I will write them all up as specific posts which hopefully will act as resources for all us divers.

Remember to make sure your first dive back is an easy one, not too strenuous and not too deep. Be sure to break your gear in after being stored for a few months. Dry suit values can get quite sticky and may need to be lubricated. No doubt many of us have been in the awful situation of having a free flow into our suit, quickly followed by a rather damp chest! Well take my advice it can all be avoided by regular maintenance and checking and particularly following a period of non use. Don’t forget now.