Blogs

I've just got back from a long weekend doing trimix dives in Spain. I flew over with BA and they've made an interesting change to their baggage policy. Hand luggage is now allowed to weigh up to 23kgs as long as you can lift it unaided into the overhead lockers. So with that and my 23kgs of hold luggage, I was able to take out four sets of regs, a drysuit, a stainless steel backplate and all the rest of my dive kit. I even had room for non-essential items such as clothes. So definitely a good option and of course food and drinks are included onboard.

Well it took until May 19th, but I finally got in the sea in the UK in 2013. I went out of Swanage and did the Kyarra. It's only a 15 minute boat ride and is a big wreck in 30m. The viz was OK at around 4m, but it still hasn't warmed up much. My computer registered a chilly 11C. It should be warmer than that by now. The second dive was a drift over the Old Mussel Beds. We were travelling quite fast, but there wasn't much to see other than rocks. I saw one edible crab and one under sized scallop. It wasn't the most fascinating of dives, but at least all my kit worked.

I've added my trip report for a couple of days diving in Mochima in Venezuela. It's here.

There's loads more to come as I also dived in Brazil on this trip. If you want to see the non-diving parts of the trip, you can check out my blog: Jason Mochilero

It's only January, but my trips seem to be filling up a lot quicker this year, which is a welcome relief. My first two in Weymouth are already full. My trip to Plymouth, with a maximum depth of 45m, on Top Gun with Gary currently has 3 spaces left. The final trip, my trimix trip, is surprisingly empty. There's still plenty of spaces. Maximum depth will be 60m and I'm thinking of doing something like the Meknes and the more interesting of the two LSTs.

For some time now, Yorkshire Divers has been the main UK diving forum, despite it's northern-centric name. However, it's recently undergone a change of management. The Terms and Conditions have changed making some people very unhappy and some of the moderators have set up their own, non-profit forum.
It's called The Dive Forum or TDF for short. Why not give it a look?

On Sunday 27th May, I went to Dover to do a dive off of Neptune. I dived a wreck called the Anglia in about 30m on the low water slack. The viz was the best I've had in the UK this year, at 6m. There is a lot of bloom in the water though, which is hardly surprising given how much sun we've had recently. The water's starting to warm up too. It was almost 13C. I'd just bought a new pair of Fourth Element 5mm gloves.