Name: Nick
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Rescue Diver To Divemaster
March 14th, 2010Well Its been about a week or so since I have signed up for the Divemaster course with Shorncliffe dive centre in the snow swept South East of England.
First off this is the first step on the professional scuba courses and professionalism is of paramount, so after paying my course fees! it was a new drysuit neck seal, new set of regs, crew pack so not an inconsiderable sum, but necessary to start on my journey.
Week one: Friday the fifth, all day from 10.30am in the classroom with Chris my instructor and fellow Divemaster trainee Paul we went through every knowledge review that we had home studied the previous week into great detail, we were then thrown in at the deep end and asked to prepare a dive site map and present a dive briefing to four other instructors, a quick visit to the toilet and ten to 15 minutes later, calm had been restored and my legs had stopped shaking, but I had a sense of achievement and the de-brief was nothing but constructive and informative,
4:30pm Student would be arriving soon for a pool session so out of the classroom and get everything prepared for the van to take the equipment to the pool Phew !
Paul and I were briefed on what we would be doing and it was a skill circuit of every skill you have ever done and more from Giant stride entry to controlled emergency swimming ascent, all done to demonstration quality and all marked on a scale of 1-5 with the onus put on improving all the time . One hour 16 minutes later were out of the water both my calves had cramped and were refusing to loosen , but no let up yet de kit, put everything back onto the van back to dive shop unload and debrief . I got home about 9:45pm exhausted but let me tell you fully fulfilled in what we had all achieved in a long day.
So in summary It was everything and more I had hoped for and I am looking forward to tomorrow 11/02/10 another long day in the classroom this time Physics, Physiology and Equipment, Happy days, next instalment soon.
Nick
Popularity: 4% [?]
Wreck Diving in Grenada: The Bianca ‘C’
November 11th, 2009Hello again my Scuba Jedi Friends. One of the most exciting dives of my life was on the Bianca C a mile of the coast off the Caribbean island of Grenada. Sitting upright at a maximum depth of 50 metres, this 600 meter long ship never fails to impress, and is listed as one of the top ten warm water wreck dives by many authorities and magazines.
The Bianca C has had a chequered life and has actually sunk twice, once whilst being towed incomplete from the southern coast of France under the name of Merechal Petain to Port de Bouc near Marseilles in June 1944 where she was torpedoed by the Germans in August.
When the hull was raised she was renamed La marseillaise and towed to La Toulon and then returned to La Ciotat and refitted as a Cruise ship.
When completed she sailed to Yokohama . In 1957 given the name of Arosa Sky after being sold to Panamas Arosa line, refitted and became the company’s flag ship after two years the company was forced to sell her to Costa line a company known as Linea C, and the ship was renamed the Bianca C, and refurbished again its main route being from Italy to Venezuela with stops in the Caribbean.
On Sunday October 22nd 1961 the Bianca C was docked of Grenada when an explosion occured in the engine room, one crew man died immeadiately and eight others were injured. whilst 700 passengers and crew scrambled to abandon ship.
The Bianca C was in the main achorage and if sunk would block the harbour of St Georges Grenada a call was put out to HMS Londonderry and she arrived two days later a crew boarded the Bianca C to attach tow lines to tow her out of the harbour, six hours of towing and the tow lines burnt the Bianca C was only three miles from St Georges when many people watching from the cliffes saw the Bianca C sink in 50 metres of water about a mile of the tourist beach of Grande Anse.
In the 1970’s a Trinidadian company salvaged the the propellors and sold them for Scrap !!!
In the 90’s the rear third of the ship has broken off but this does not deteriate from the awsome sight as you descend down to her.
THE TITANIC OF THE CARIBBEAN THE BIANCA ‘C’
The Dive on the Bianca C is a challenging one.
I remember the dive briefing saying we might see bull sharks and myself and one other diver looking at each other with a slight concern.
We were so lucky to have her all to ourselves! (just three of us in total). We descended down on to her stern and swam quickly along her as we wanted to see all of her in one go but only really had 15-20 mins – No decompression time.
The sight as you descend and she come into view at about thirty meters is awe inspiting anda feeling I will never forget (makes the hairs on the back of my head stand up just writing this).
We swam along and went into the swimming pool and rubbed away the silt to reveal the pool tiles that was a strange feeling further along to the funnels and still swimming fast we came to the bow. Now, all I can say is: “you have to see it for yourself” . It was amazing!
A quick look at each others computers we were all about 3 minutes away from a decompression stop so a slow ascent and a swim into the blue to come to a wreef to ponder over for a few minutes and long 3 minute safety stop we surfaced with a feeling of seeing one of the worlds wonders.
I layed in bed that night with an over whelming feeling of the enormity of the ship and what modern scuba has done to bring these treasures of the sea into view for those who choose to take it up.
Next day my fellow diver and I bumped into each other and we both agreed that the Bianca C was at that point the most awe inspiring dive of our lives.
This is a great resource about the history of the Bianca C
If you can visit Grenada I know you wont be dissapointed, just let me know when your going so I can come too,
Safe diving everyone
Until Next time
Nick
Popularity: 2% [?]
Why not Drysuit Diving…
October 24th, 2009
Why Dry Suit?
Why Not!!
I have spent many happy dives in a 3mm Shorty and never thought I would ever Dive in a cold country, But I started to realize what a waste it was not to dive in my own country and miss all those weeks waiting to go to sunny Climates.
So December 2007 the 13th to be exact I did my PADI Dry suit Specialty and dived in a lake in a dry suit, water temperature 4 degrees Fahrenheit, the visibility was stunning and the crispness of the water could be felt on your face, chilly hands but hey I was diving and a new world of diving opened up to me.
So what makes me an expert? What I can tell you is that I have done many dry suit dives for pleasure and as a Rescue diver on training courses. The first thing I would like to say about Dry suit diving is be prepared to feel like you have never dived before, I felt so strange with a few more things to think about, slightly uncomfortable, and managing your buoyancy in different ways, all added to a new experience and something different to the norm.
When buying a Dry suit look for and buy the best you can afford have it made to measure if you can it will really help with everything if it fits you personally well. Decide what seals you would like there are choices like Latex and Neoprene I find Latex for me works well but I know Neoprene can be a little more comfortable, Take advice from your supplier he really knows his suits and be able to advise you which way to go with the types of diving you want to do.
There are so many options some personal research into the different types of suit will reap dividends in the long run, I personally like Trilaminate suits with which you wear an under suit of varying weights and warmth to suit the environment you are diving in, so the long shot is that they are very flexible in the types of diving you can do and the temperature ranges you can tolerate.
Once you have decided what you are going to buy book yourself onto a course with your chosen training agency, please don’t be tempted to just dive and have a go there are many things to learn for safety and your enjoyment, of course you will also learn to care for your Dry suit which is so important with an expensive piece of kit that is looking after you, did you know the zip on Dry suit was developed by NASA for the space program?
Now you know you got to look after it, regular cleaning and lubricating with Bees wax will keep it in peak condition, it’s the most expensive part to replace.
I really hope I have inspired you to take a leap and try dry suit diving its different but I am so glad I did I know you will too.
Should you need any help or advice please doesn’t hesitate to contact me via Scuba Jedi.com, or for just a chat I can talk scuba all day.
Until the next time Dive safe my Scuba chums.
Nick Hopes
Popularity: unranked [?]
Diving in the Caribbean
October 24th, 2009
Dreams of 32 degrees water amazing visibility, Wrecks, Drift, Dives, Biggest Brain Corals, the Caribbean has it all.
Its where my Scuba life started sitting by a pool in Antigua along came my first instructor Carlo Constantini he took me through a try dive in the pool and I was hooked, next day my first discover scuba dive from Nelsons Dockyard , The pillars of Hercules I was amazed the coral was so fantastic small Nurse sharks stingrays, fish everywhere and this dive site was only three minutes from the harbor.
Antigua is a beautiful place and Nelsons dockyard is a great place to dive from, I only did two dives in Antigua but ill never forget them, and I can highly recommend it for weeks diving.
Tobago, now were talking fantastic drift dives fast and challenging at Speyside (Atlantic side) and more sedate on the Caribbean side I stayed in Tobago for two weeks and dived every other day, Davey picked me up each Day in his truck and we would just set of pull up at a beach kit up and dive it was like going back in time no one around just us. First dive was On the MV Maverick a roll on off ferry sunk especially for diving. We swam out and descended through a thick green soup, Tobago suffers a run off from the Orinoco which greens the water on the Caribbean side but ten meters down crystal clear and a great dive with a fantastic swim through great for those first ventures into a wreck.
Mount Irvine wall a beautiful outcrop covered in corals and fans teaming with life I watched in amazement at an Octopus being cleaned by cleaner Wrasse.
Life in the Caribbean takes some getting used to, as everyone seems to be late and it’s hard for us foreigners to accept it, so go with an Open mind and be prepared to wait!! That’s a really good piece of advice.
Back to the diving of to Speyside with the big drift dives, Davey and I arrive 
after a long drive or should I say slow drive right across Tobago we arrive and are met by Davey’s Cousin, (they all know each other the locals) who puts a pair of fins on dives in a swims out to a small wooden boat and brings it back to us, I do two dives at Speyside first one was a really fast drift like flying along and just steering , words of Davey ringing in my head when we reach the big brain Coral you need to go around the inside of it or we will have to abort , we reached the biggest brain coral I have ever seen and I positioned myself to tuck around the inside, perfect I was happy as I came around the corner I was greeted by the biggest Nurse Shark you have ever seen and I nearly back peddled so hard with the shock, that’s the thing with Speyside if you see something big its really big.
One thing I did talk to Davey about was the possibility of seeing Manta Rays and his thoughts were very rarely if at all, he seemed to think that the promise of seeing Manta’s shouldn’t be used in trying to sell Scuba in Tobago it was so uncommon.
Grenada is a wreck lover’s paradise with plenty to choose from and nearly all of them not to far from shore but the daddy of them all has to be the Bianca C a 1960’s cruise liner that sunk a mile of shore after a checkered life. If I am honest it was the greatest wreck dive of my life and one that kept me awake that night , she is at about 38 meters at her shallowest and we swam from one end to the other quickly just to see it all as we only had 15-20 mines no decompression time. The bow section was like looking at the Titanic awesome, one of my top rated dives.
So diving in the Caribbean, what do you need to know. Go with an open mind and be patient chill out and enjoy the restfulness of every dive, make sure you protect yourself from the sun when on boats believe me when I say burnt legs whilst sitting in a Shorty hurts and doesn’t look good on the beach the next day. Most dive centers charge in US dollars and diving isn’t as cheap as say in Egypt but most certainly worth it for the intimatecy and small number groups I have never dived with more than four people ever.
Try to pre book with your chosen dive centre that way they can pre plan for you and fit in with any dives you may particularly want to do.
Caribbean the best place on earth I love it I am sure you will to.
Can I come with you???
Until next time
Dive safe
Nick Hopes
Popularity: 1% [?]
