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Written by Coldhands
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No diver is going to turn down the chance of an encounter with a dolphin and not too many will miss a chance to swim with a shark, either. Given the choice, which would you prefer to dive with?
The dolphin is, let's face it, fun. He's got a cheeky grin, loves to show off and will seek you out just so he's got someone to play with and will enthusiastically chase your boat and bounce along your bow wave. I was lucky enough to swim with one after a dive on the Carnatic. When we surfaced, the entire boat was in the water snorkelling with a lone dolphin who was clearly delighted to show off his skills. He leapt out of the water, he swam under around and beside us and did all but wag his tail. He was there so long we actually got cold, hungry and - dare I say it? - bored and went back onto the boat after an hour. He was still around when the dinner gong went. We've also seen pods of dolphins, either sniggering at us amateurs in the course of a dive or leaping athletically in the boat's wake as we watched them. Undeniably beautiful, graceful and charming.
So what can your shark bring that Mr Cute and Cuddly cannot? For a start, the sightings are more rare and fleeting so the encounter is all the more precious. They are also silent. I've been alerted to the presence of dolphins by hearing their squeaks underwater so I've known to keep a eye out for them. The shark gives no clues. I've swum above one for a good few minutes, completely oblivious of the creature slinking a few metres below me while my buddy tried to attract my attention without making a sound that might scare it away proving that a.) you need to look everywhere and b.) my buddying skills are not what they should be. And admit it - there is always that thrill of sharing the water with something that, should it want to (and it hardly ever does), it could take a nasty chunk out of your body.
Maybe it is the difference between a wild animal that wants to entertain you and one that treats you with disdain - underwater dogs and cats. If you want something to play with, opt for the dolphin. It is good with children, delights everyone and is eager to please. For my money though, I'll take the shark every time. It's elusive, aloof, slinky and you just know it would never come when called. It is that very independence of spirit that I so admire in the cat and shark alike so they get my vote.
Wouldn't turn down a swim with the dolphin, though...
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For divers who do not live in tropical places, dry suits are really important. For the sake of safety, it is just as important to maintain your dry suit carefully and there are a number of ways in which you can do that. One thing that you can do yourself is to replace the neck seal on your dry suit. Purchase a seal kit, and then you can get on with fixing up your suit.
The first thing you need to do is to remove the old neck seal that needs replacing. There is a tape that runs around the base of the seal, which can be removed by heating it to soften the glue. One way to do this is with a hair dryer. This can take a while, and you may get bored and want to give up and play partypoker, but if you persevere you will see results. Once the glue begins to soften, you will be able to pull off the tape with a pair of long-nose pliers.
When the tape has been removed, you can pull off the neck seal in the same way. Make the neck area of the suit as flat as possible, perhaps using cardboard to hold it taught. The old neck seal should have left a faint line where the old tape was, allowing you to see where to put the new seal. Then you need to apply the glue in a thin strip along the edge on the under side of the neck seal. Stick this to a flat, clean surface to prevent wrinkling and apply glue to the other side. While you wait for this to dry, apply another inch-wide strip of glue and then remove the neck-seal from the hard surface.
Now you can gradually stick on the neck seal, keeping it flat. To finish off this process, apply the tape with a coat of glue on top. Make sure that during this process you do everything carefully and find some professional instructions, then you will be good to go.
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Rec-Diver has had a face-lift. There are a few changes, notably in the Events area and there is a chat area primarily for the Bedford divers (although all are welcome). We'd still like to hear all your diving stories and experiences and see your photos.
You will need to re-register if you would like to submit articles and photos but most of the content is available for reading without needing to register. Hope you like the site and feel free to email me through the Contact page with your comments.
Happy diving - Coldhands.
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Written by Coldhands
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At what age should children be taught to dive? PADI does a Bubblemaker course from age 8, with Open Water qualifications available for those over 10 but does this mean it is safe to let youngsters into the water?
I have to declare my own position here; I have four children between 11 and 19. The eldest two gained their Advanced Open Water at ages 12 and 15, beginning at Gildenburgh (an unprepossessing quarry near Peterborough that boasts visibility of almost 3 feet) and ending in the Red Sea. We were still newly qualified and full of enthusiasm for this adventure we were so keen to share with our children but in reality, while they were in the water we couldn't relax enough to enjoy our own diving. Even when the 12 year old was in the care of the local DiveMaster, we had to chase after him as he dutifully followed the DM past 18 metres, 20 metres, 22 ... whether the DM forgot he was with a Junior or was just careless, we don't know but from then on we made sure they dived with us.
That was the one and only dive trip they took with us. It's too expensive and too nerve-wracking for us to repeat the trip - besides, we selfishly like our week away just the two of us. However, there have been cries of "Unfair" from the younger two because they have not been given the same opportunity to learn to dive. Damn right, they haven't. The UK's waters are cold. When you're cold you become miserable and you start making mistakes. When we were newbies, we charged in and enjoyed everything. Some hundreds of dives later, we have both had a few hair-raising adventures that have added to the enjoyment and our experiences but have also made us keenly aware of the dangers that are out there, particularly ones that involve being cold. Crap visibility, too, is not something I want to share with my carefully nurtured off-spring. Moreover, children, especially those below 15, are nowhere near as strong as an adult and cannot necessarily fin themselves out of currents or hang on to shotlines in difficult conditions. That said, I've dived with some staggeringly mature and strong teenagers before and they are a credit to the sport.
Everyone has a different attitude to risk. Legislation has too heavy a hand and will happily throttle all the fun out of life until we are constrained to little pods from which we can't escape to injure ourselves. Or enjoy life. So you need to find where you are happy and my personal compromise is to teach the children to dive where it is warm, free from currents and the visibility is greater than 20 metres. That's merely where I am comfortable with the risk. Yours will be different.
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You would think people had too much to do after Christmas and New Year to find time to go diving but the bottom car park at Stoney Cove was packed on January 2nd. Falling as it did on a Friday many people, us included, had taken an extra day's leave to join up the Bank Holiday with the weekend. My diving friends have made January 2nd an annual diving day for a couple of years and I was determined to join in this time, tempted by their reports of empty car parks and crystal clear visibility.
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