matt_yates
Registered
Hi guys just a quick dit about how my diving has developed resulting in me solo diving.
For the last few years I have been diving with a wide range of people who have varying levels of ability from experienced buddies to trainees. Some of my regular buddies are like me, quite content to get into the water and work in a loose buddy style the occasional OK and a quick contents check, others are a lot more communicative and stick with you through the dive like glue.
While diving with the trainees or the less proficient I have had to become more self-reliant, and have enjoyed my diving more and more. The fact that I have had to become more self focused and not reliant on other who may not have the skill or experience to help should I get into trouble has been liberating. This summer has seen me diving in shallow quarries to build up my skills and techniques for getting into the water myself. This last week if have left behind the quarries and progressed into the sea. My first solo dive in the sea was at Swanage pier in the UK. A fantastic site its an old pier in about 6m max of salt water which seems to be a magnet for fish and crabs. I spent a great hour underwater prodding fish and feeding crabs bits of bacon.
A more recent dive was at stackpole quay in wales, another nice shallow site which starts off in a nice little harbour which has a lovely rocky reef just outside the entrance. In early summer the site is famous for the thousands of spider crabs that here to mate. But by this time of year they have all dispersed again.
After kitting up and fighting my way into my wetsuit I walked down the little road and past the familys having BBQ's on the beach and into the water, after wading into waist deep water i put on my fins did a kit check and checked my pony bottle was turned on I started to fin out of the harbour to the reef. This time I had my camera with me and was able to take a few picks
After 45 minutes I decided it was time to leave the water all in I spent an hour underwater. That evening I found a campsite and filled my 10L cylinder from my twin set. The following day I was going to try a different site but decided that I would return to Stackpole, this time I spent 90minutes underwater with a max depth of 6m and used 150bar of gas. These two dives were some of the most relaxed and enjoyable dives I have had to date, with the added bonus there was nobody tugging my fin while I was laying amongst the rocks and seaweed while watching the wildlife go bye.
Here are a few Pics of Shannys and an Edible crab
Matt
For the last few years I have been diving with a wide range of people who have varying levels of ability from experienced buddies to trainees. Some of my regular buddies are like me, quite content to get into the water and work in a loose buddy style the occasional OK and a quick contents check, others are a lot more communicative and stick with you through the dive like glue.
While diving with the trainees or the less proficient I have had to become more self-reliant, and have enjoyed my diving more and more. The fact that I have had to become more self focused and not reliant on other who may not have the skill or experience to help should I get into trouble has been liberating. This summer has seen me diving in shallow quarries to build up my skills and techniques for getting into the water myself. This last week if have left behind the quarries and progressed into the sea. My first solo dive in the sea was at Swanage pier in the UK. A fantastic site its an old pier in about 6m max of salt water which seems to be a magnet for fish and crabs. I spent a great hour underwater prodding fish and feeding crabs bits of bacon.
A more recent dive was at stackpole quay in wales, another nice shallow site which starts off in a nice little harbour which has a lovely rocky reef just outside the entrance. In early summer the site is famous for the thousands of spider crabs that here to mate. But by this time of year they have all dispersed again.
After kitting up and fighting my way into my wetsuit I walked down the little road and past the familys having BBQ's on the beach and into the water, after wading into waist deep water i put on my fins did a kit check and checked my pony bottle was turned on I started to fin out of the harbour to the reef. This time I had my camera with me and was able to take a few picks
After 45 minutes I decided it was time to leave the water all in I spent an hour underwater. That evening I found a campsite and filled my 10L cylinder from my twin set. The following day I was going to try a different site but decided that I would return to Stackpole, this time I spent 90minutes underwater with a max depth of 6m and used 150bar of gas. These two dives were some of the most relaxed and enjoyable dives I have had to date, with the added bonus there was nobody tugging my fin while I was laying amongst the rocks and seaweed while watching the wildlife go bye.
Here are a few Pics of Shannys and an Edible crab
Matt
