Scuba Diving

[Marineboy]

Do you scuba dive?
I am a British Sub Aqua Club trained diver, into underwater photography, (Nikonos V fan for those in the know). I am looking for dive buddies who are into some seriously good marine bug hunts. Not interested in doing the underwater equivalent of the 4 minute mile around the deepest wreck, I prefer beach dives, stay shallow for the better available light, greater numbers of species and longer dive times. If you are into, or concidering getting into scuba, (go for it, its fantastic!), with a real interest in marine life, then let me know. I dive the south west coasts, especially around Brixham. (Brilliant site for the exotic looking crab Goneplax rhomboides). Do you dive already? Got any good dive site secrets? Any exotic sightings?

[galanthus]

I used to sub aqua dive in our BSAC club quite a long time ago. Most of it was done in Belgium, Holland and Germany as I lived there for a few years. A fantastic way to watch wildlife. I have fond memories of massive pike, copycat cuttlefish, scary night drift dives and almost getting killed twice. Still, I'd love to get back into it some time, however, I'd be lucky to get my ankles into my semi-dry suit lol. West Wales is a fantastic place to get some hours in, fantastic vis and great flora fauna.

[Marineboy]

Problems pulling on your semi dry eh? Get a dry suit, much easier for you! I still swear by my Gul wet suit.
I have drift dived the Menai Straights. Wonderful but no chance to stop off and have a look at anything. More a case of . . . oh that looked interesting......
Ive dived tween here and the Great Barrier Reef drop offs, but I would always rate our waters as some of the best in the world. And with global warming we are getting more unusual exotics all the time. The south coast this last winter saw loads of the Columbus crabs drift over from the sargasso sea, clinging onto their seaweed. We have had big sea turtles and sunfish sighted off the coast. There are now resident trigger fish on some of our offshore reefs too. Lots of exciting things happening. I am looking forward to my next dive. Probably in the spring cos its getting cold for me in my wet suit!
If you are reading this, and think it would be good to give scuba a go, contact your local dive club. There are lots around, and it opens the sea up in ways that rockpooling and TV never could.

[tom00_uk]

theres a fair few of us in the sw that like to look into the gaps in shallow reefs


would like to get into the stop and shot side of things but the cost of a nice cam has put me off so far

[Jim Greenfield]

Hi Marinebuoy - you describe my sort of diving exactly! Could't care less about wrecks or going deep. Quite happy to spend an hour on sand or mud and stay at 5m.... if that is where there are animals, fish, inverts etc to photograph. I never dive without a camera and I always i.d. every subject I photograph.
Unfortunately you live at the wrong end of the country - I lve in N. Yorkshire and dive mainly in Scotland (with the occasional trip to the tropics thrown in - eg Bonaire next month )

Jim Greenfield

[Marineboy]

Hi Jim, we certainly have some of the best diving in the world here in the UK. I was out in Barbados with my youngest lad in June. Only did snorkelling, but swimming with the Hawksbill turtles and fish was brilliant. But UK waters somehow seem to offer more. The unexpected is just a fin stroke away! We have our own native seahorse, and exotic visitors to our shores - sunfish, sea turtles and flying fish too. As I said, just a fin stroke away.
For anyone really interested in marine life, may I suggest going to your local dive club and at least go for a swimming pool try dive session. You might just love it. I was diving in Dorothea quarry, in Wales a while back. There was a big tree that had fallen in. In the branches of this tree was a huge pike, set against the emerald green of the sun on the surface. It was then I decided to get into underwater photography!
Scuba dive, and you will never see water in the same light again. It is a living, breathing thing, there to be explored and enjoyed.