Night Chills

Finally conditions look good for a night dive! I got my gear together and trekked out across the long expanse of sand exposed by the low tide, trying to ignore the wind biting through my wetsuit. Mask on, gun loaded camera running and I flop face down into the shallows and get under way. The first thing I notice is that it's very cold, and very clear which is a huge relief as this mark is often a real disappointment in terms of visibility. The second thing I notice is that there is a fish at the edge of my torch light, I freeze and slowly inch forward, it's a Bream, who unfortunately for him is coming home with me for dinner.

After a wrestle in the dark with the fish I realise it's a Gilthead Bream, I've never caught one before but have heard good things about them (and indeed when cooked the next day it was one of the tastiest bits of fish I've ever had, superb!).

It's a great start, followed by an hour of seeing very little, I head off around an island and see some mullet (which I leave to fight another day) but very little other life. In fact I start to get a little spooked out there alone in the dark. The human brain is a funny thing, despite knowing there is nothing to be scared of it still doesn't like being out in the sea in the dark :) At times like this I clamp down on those feelings and don't let them get the better of me.

When I come back into the shallows nearly where I started suddenly the sea comes alive again, in amongst the fields of sea grass, string weed and kelp I come across a fantastic cuttlefish, always one of my favourite creatures to encounter. As I was watching it I notice something big moving in the kelp underneath it and my adrenaline spikes, just for a second I think it's the mother of all Sea bass and I'll be eating well for a week. Then a big old Bull Huss emerges from the weed, certainly the biggest I've ever seen, about 3ft long. I'm torn for a moment between filming the fish or the cuttle, but in the end manage both. What a treat :)

On the final stretch, I encounter lots of crabs, also the area is dotted with mermaids Purses (dog fish eggs) and I also encounter a lovely shoal of Sea trout, rounding off a really fantastic night.

The Best Laid Plans.....

Well I got blind sided by work which has but the breaks on my fitness drive. A month without a proper day off has left me without much energy to run etc.

I have got in the sea a couple of times with mixed results. The good news is there are fish around and I got my first Mullet of the year, which went down a treat barbecued in foil with lemon, line, chilli and soy sauce. Sunshine and fresh fish!

On the down side, on the few shallow dives I tried I got terrible pain in my teeth, probably from sinus blockage or possibly tooth squeeze, a bit of googling informs me that sinus pain can often feel like tooth pain.. A trip to the dentist / doctors may be in order I will see how my next dive goes. I might try some decongestants and see if that makes any difference.

In the meantime I have put together a best of compilation of some of my spear fishing footage. I hope you enjoy it.

It begins....

My breathe holds are shocking. I'm currently struggling with a two minute dry static. However I've started running and today had my first (quick) dive of the year. The water felt freezing, the visibility was quite poor and my suit seems to have developed several leaks. It was great to get back in the water though and my friendly seal came to say hello. She seemed quite cagey probably because I have been away so long.

My gloves have no fingers (wear from loading my gun) and it turns out my boots have holes in the soles which I hadn't noticed. It's definitely time for some new gear. I'm looking at a 6mm Elios made to measure suit, new boots and new gloves. When I'm all wrapped up I might venture in for a night dive, but it will probably take a month or so for the suit to arrive.

In fact I've just ordered the suit ( from Spearo ). In the meantime I'm going to set about repairing my suit enough to get in for a night dive.... watch this space.

Resolutions

The last 6 months have been... up and down to say the least. I've let my training go and lost touch a little with the ocean. But it's a new year and a new start. It's going to be a tough start as I haven't been living the most healthy of lifestyles, worst of all I started smoking again so I have a tough road ahead of me. I went for my first surf in, well in about 6 months, last week and it was quickly evident how out of shape I am.

So – resolutions:

1st and most importantly stop smoking.

2nd cut down on my drinking.

3rd Get fit.

4th Get back in the sea.

5th Update this blog more often.

There is a danger this is going to turn into a fitness blog for a bit but I will try and keep it on topic.

Wish me luck!

Seal Hugs

It has been a slow year so far for me in a number of ways. Blog posts for one, so apologies on that front. The fish also have been reluctant to show themselves to me and the Basking sharks haven't put in an appearance - reports suggest record low numbers of sightings which is a real shame. Still I can't complain because the seals are really coming through for me :)

I have always been jealous of some of the films I have seen on youtube of scuba divers getting seal hugs and wondered what the main differences are. Is it the fact that the divers are deeper and more static? That they are in a location where the seals are friendlier? Or just the familiarity of constant exposure to scuba divers? Well I have just returned from an incredible dive with a new seal at one of my favourite spots. He was a young male and was MUCH more friendly than any other seal I have yet encountered.

I had spent some time hunting (and failing to find) Bass and was frankly surprised not to have bumped into one of my regular seal friends. It was only when I returned to the shallows along the shore that I noticed I was being tailed by a seal I didn't recognise. I unloaded my gun and turned on my camera and waited to see how this newcomer was going to react. It was quickly apparent that he was extremely inquisitive, he glided elegantly around me and straight away decided my fins looked tasty. Unlike the other seals he was happy to swim right underneath me and was attracted rather than nervous when I dived down.

I began to realise this was going to be a special dive and I wasn't wrong. The seal played with me for over an hour, getting bolder and bolder, clearly completely unphased by close proximity he would pop up right next to me and look around turning his back on me. Or swim right underneath me, even sniff my hand and let me scratch his chin. It was like playing with a friendly underwater dog :)

I will let the video do the talking. Suffice to say it was a magical experience! (HD Fullscreen and chuck me a like on youtube if you er like it!)

Reacquainting myself.

I had arranged to take my photographer friend diving again to try and get some good shots of grey seals after our last failed attempt.

We rendezvoused in the afternoon at one of my favourite spots which is home to the friendly seals I have blogged about in the past. From my experience I knew that there was about a 90% chance of encountering the seals and likely getting to swim with them. Through my binoculars I could see two of them basking on the rocks just above the water line, and as we got ready the tide reached them and they slipped into the sea.

Knowing that they were around and swimming I felt confident that we would get a good dive. As we entered the water we saw that the visibility wasn't great but certainly acceptable and we struck out towards where the seals had been resting. As we drew near I saw the recognizable head of what I had always though of as the 'mother' which we were informed later is a male. In my experience the males are usually more standoffish which is perhaps why I always assumed he was a female despite his masculine features.

We dived with him for some time but he was not as playful as usual and I didn't wasn't to pester him so we finned off around the rocks to a gully I know the females and younger seals like to frequent. I hoped that he might follow us but he had obviously lost interest at this point. Luckily the younger seal (probably the pup I first met last year) was in the gully as I had hoped and she immediately began circling us and acting in a very inquisitive and brave manner. Two other females showed up but kept their distance, on occasion racing past us very quickly, they put on a great show!






(As usual it's best in hi def/ full screen.)

Unfortunately my friend had only brought his compact camera and not his large high quality rig so although we got some nice shots and some fun video he didn't get the images he needed for his project. It was a great dive though and I was thrilled to find the young pup growing up into a beautiful adolescent, much braver than she was the first time I met her. She even approached me and gave my fins a little sniff so I'm hopeful of many more great dives with her In the year ahead.

On the fin home my mullet sense started tingling so I loaded my gun and sure enough found a couple for dinner in the murkier water close to shore.

Another Season begins!

Well it's been a long winter and I'm sorry for the dearth of updates! Still Spring is in the air (if not the sea quite yet) and the diving season approaches.

The surf has been outstanding so I haven't felt like my lack of diving has meant I'm missing out on quality sea time. There have been lovely sunny days and offshore winds, you can't beat it! So far this year I have only dived twice. Firstly at a secluded cove to take a friend hunting (with a camera) for seals as part of a photography project. The day was calm and sunny but the sea was cold and murky and although we found three or four grey seals who did investigate us quite closely, the visibility unfortunately meant no photographs were got. They seemed defensive rather than playful, probably due to the proximity to a cave they may use to rest.

My second dive was my first spear of the season and once again the water was cold and murky. My breathe holds were also terrible and I felt a distinct lack of confidence which reduced my bottom times considerably. The incredibly low tides were a good opportunity to visit a local wreck which was in very shallow water and great fun to dive around. Especially as a lot of the sand that normally covered it had been washed away and the kelp that normally festoons the metalwork has yet to grow back.

Finally as I returned, shivering to shore having seen nothing but a few Wrasse, a small shoal of Grey Mullet emerged out of the murk, the largest of which came home with me for dinner.

A good start to the year!

Dolphins in December

My mate called round for a morning surf, and I got laughed at as usual as I strapped on my goggles and camera. We trotted down the hill to find some lovely little waves coming in, but not only that a pod of bottle nose dolphins were playing near the rocks. I left my friend to go surfing and clambered down the cliff and went straight out to see the show.

It was incredible. A crisp clear sunny December morning with decent vis under the water and as soon as I paddled over the dolphins came to investigate me. My goggles really came into their own as they circled just a couple of feet away eyeing me inquisitively. With a quick nod and a burst of sonar clicks in my direction they were off and I watched them splashing their tails nearby before they shot back past me riding a wave towards the rocks. They jumped out of the back of the wave and raced underneath me, it was amazing.






My footage is not quite so incredible as I was using the Go Pro wrist mount which has the dome lens on it which blurs the underwater footage (and it's shaky too). Still it's better than nothing and I am really glad to have a record of what turned out to be one of my best and most interesting dives with the dolphins to date.

They played with me and around me for an hour or more, surfing, circling me and when I dived down they would come and investigate me it was a really special experience and one I know I'll never forget. We drifted along the coast with the tide and I noticed that two or three of the pod were friendly and playful whilst the largest stayed at a distance. I also wondered why they were staying in one place, only moving with the current. It was only after my camera battery had died that I found out why.

There was (what I thought was) a baby dolphin with them, but it quickly became clear all was not well. The baby was not surfacing and the other dolphins were nudging it, then bringing it to the surface over and over again. It was a heartbreaking scene. I finally got close enough while it was at the surface to examine it. It was about 2.5 to 3ft long and its nose was very stubby, it had lacerations on its head and other abrasions and was clearly dead. My excitement had quickly turned to sadness so I released the dead calf back to the sea leaving the dolphins to their vigil. I climbed the cliff with a heavy heart.

As it turned out I was wrong on just about every count! I called the Dolphin people at Cornwall Wildlife Trust and agreed to go back and try and retrieve the body for autopsy. I returned to the sea for a frustrating two hours unable to catch up with the pod who were spending most of their time underwater. They buzzed me a few times but there was sign of the calf.

It was only when I returned home exhausted and called the Wildlife Trust back that we realised my description matched not a baby Bottle-nose Dolphin but a young Harbour Porpoise. I checked some images and confirmed the species, it turns out Dolphins often kill their smaller brethren! That certainly put a different perspective on things! If I had known that I would have brought the body back straight away, but at least I could describe their behaviour which was really unusual under the circumstances.

A fantastic day and my ridiculous looking gear paid off sooner than expected!

What makes a good surf?

Ahhh the surfing season has definitely arrived! Crisp sunny offshore days and great waves! And even better some great showings by the local wildlife.

We turned up for an early morning session last week,the waves were not anything special to be fair but the morning sun was creeping over the cliff and catching the spray beautifully. What made the session really memorable however was a surprise appearance by a pod of bottlenose Dolphins. A set came through and we saw large dark shapes darting within the wave, then suddenly they leapt from the face in a group – incredible! Everyone was smiling and hooting, even the arrival of a trio of long boarders couldn't dampen our enthusiasm.

The dolphins surfed with us, played around us and generally put on a fantastic show. Jumping, flipping upside down, waving their tails in the air and gliding right under us. I dived down to meet them squinting my eyes underwater and often seeing their silhouettes pass right past me, I could hear their high pitch squeaking as they inspected me. There is no better experience in the sea than encountering wild dolphins it really does set you on a high.

After a half hour they moved on and I was left with a warm glow that stayed with me all day.

Today I also had a great surf, lovely crisp, hollow little waves. Another sunny morning - this time with great waves! But again nature put on a great show, as we waded into the water we could see 3 seals playing in the shallows, and more out in the surf. They spent the whole session regarding us carefully, sometimes hooting mournfully in the distance. Several times the smaller females popped up very close by and one duck dived in front of me as I took off on a wave, riding down the line I could see her racing along under me in the clear shallow water.

I've procured a set of small swimming goggles to wear round my neck when I'm surfing from now on so that next time I have one of these encounters I will be able to dive down and see it all clearly!

I think I will also get a wrist mount for my GoPro so that I always have my camera with me as well, just in case.

How things change...

I decided to return to a spot that I haven't dived for a while. When I first started spearing it was one of my regular haunts even though I never had much luck there (apart from spider crabs) but it is a stunning location.

It was a crisp clear day, the sun was out but the promise of cold was in the air as I got changed and hiked down to the beach earning some curious looks from walkers out enjoying the weather.

There were a couple of characteristics about this bay that stuck in my mind, firstly that there was always deep gullies out of my reach that I thought must have been FILLED with all the fish I'd failed to find, there were after all always fishermen here casting off from the rocks. Secondly I remember finding a cave and I wanted to try and revisit it.

It had been a sunny day with clear vis and from the surface I had seen a large spider crab at the bottom of a hole in the rocks. I remember diving for it and thinking it was right at the limit of my abilities, when I reached to grab it I glanced up and saw a cave ahead of me, light glinting at the far side. I shot back up to the surface my mind filled with images of giant conger eels.

Today the visibility was nothing like as good but I knew the area fairly well and struck out round the headland with confidence. I had to duck close to the rocks and under some Anglers Lines, asking of course before hand, earning a few glares for my trouble. Anglers don't generally have much time for Spearos which is a shame. I always try to stay out of their way and am more than happy to let them know what fish I've seen around and where if they only ask.

I did some warm up dives and began to explore. It immediately became apparent how much I have improved since the last time I dived here. I found myself quickly lying on the seabed at the bottom of the gullies I had always eyed in the past. The deepest one was only 11 or 12 meters. Unfortunately the huge fish I had always imagined lurking down there were proving elusive.

I was on the way back when found the cave. I quickly dived down to the entrance and realised that it wasn't that deep and that it was also much wider than I remembered. I checked the exit as well, it's important if your going to swim a cave to make sure it's safe first. A good test is to swim down to the entrance look in, then swim up and around/over it to the exit and look in, if you can do that (and the cave is wide enough) then you can be fairly sure you can make it. But be careful and always dive with a buddy!





I had done some diving through underwater obstacles an Chepstow with the free-divers so felt much more confident and after a calming breathe up made my attempt. After the initial excitement almost disappointingly easy and I went back through a few times, taking the time to hang around in the cave. It was really fun, there's just something eerie about being in an enclosed space underwater and it was really rewarding to see how much more confident I was underwater compared to a few years ago.

As usual I had a great time, despite the poor vis and the lack of fish!

Underwater Surfing... sort of

As the diving season comes to a close so the surfing season comes around. The crowds thin out (a bit, not as much as they used to unfortunately) and the swells pick up.

I decided not to take my board in but instead try some underwater surfing and took my camera along to try and get some footage. There were big regular lines coming in and a stiff offshore wind sending plumes off spray into the air as I put on my old fins and my mask and backed into the shore break.

It turns out I am no George Greenough! For those of you not familiar with his work, check out Crystal Voyager, a classic 1975 surf film, George pioneered filming inside the barrel and there is a long ambient section set to Echoes by Pink Floyd that will blow you're mind!

Check it out on Youtube

I managed to take a few poundings in the shore break (I'm still getting the sand out) and very few even passable shots, certainly no decent footage! I did manage to catch a few waves underwater which was fun, but another lesson was learnt. Don't use your favourite free diving mask! I took an underwater wipe-out (a first), and the mask got torn off and immediately lost. With that kind of swell running there's a lot of water moving around there was no chance of recovering it.

Still it was a lovely day with rainbows forming in the spray behind the waves filling the air with colour. I need to find some way of preventing water droplets on my lens above water as all my attempts to film them ended up blurred.

Close Encounters

The basking shark survey stopped it's work earlier in September so I was surprised to see four of them feeding in the bay this late in the season, one small one was very close to the shore. I rushed off to get my Kayak and diving gear together. By the time I was running down the hill with the kayak slung over one shoulder an idiot on a stand up paddle board had chased the smaller shark out to sea. DON'T chase basking sharks! Stay still near their feeding area and they will more than likely cruise past you without getting disturbed.

By the time I had made it to the waters edge I was disappointed to find that I could no longer see the sharks at all. Undeterred I waited for a gap in the swell and paddled hard for the open ocean, I didn't want to get caught by a wave with all my gear lashed to the kayak!

It was a lovely sunny evening and aside from the gentle rolling of the swell the sea was calm, I caught site of a fin a long way out and headed off in that direction. When I finally got out to their feeding area I found huge shoals of Mackerel creating waves of spray all around with great whooshing sounds and 3 sets of distinctive fins circling a wide area. Just sitting on the kayak watching was amazing!

I hurriedly put on my fins and mask, grabbed my camera and slipped into the water. The visibility wasn't too bad and I was immediately buzzed by huge shoals of Mackerel, their fantastic colours glinting in the sun, below me another shoal swirled, almost in a baitball. I headed past them and waited for the biggest Basking Shark to circle back to me. I floated motionless keeping the Kayak out of the way and was rewarded by a direct approach, its huge silhouette resolving into fantastic clarity, the sunbeams illuminating the inside of its mouth I could see right through its gill rakes as it swept majestically past me.

It came so close I was concerned it might hit me, certainly too close to film effectively! But what an experience! I could see every mottled mark on its skin, its dark eye regarding me and the bright red of its gills as they flared. It was probably over 15ft long and at its stately pace seemed to take a long time to pass, or maybe my excitement caused time to slow. Finally its great tail fin swept elegantly right past my face and it swam into the gloom and out of view.




Aside from not causing distress to them the advantage of not chasing them is that they remain unperturbed by your presence and I was lucky enough to have another six close encounters like this with three different sharks as a result. I couldn't have been happier (except if my girlfriend had been there to share the experience!). The sharks moved away and I let them go, taking the opportunity to load my spear gun and catch some Mackerel for dinner, the shoals were massive and kept returning. On one shot my spear came back with two attached and in the end I decided to stop at five as that was enough for all of us for dinner.

I returned to shore a very happy diver! It made the horrendous hike up the hill carrying my kayak worth it!

Bits and bobs

I film using a GoPro HD camera which gives much better results than the old GoPro wide low-res camera. But if you're thinking about buying one for underwater use be aware that at present the GoPro HD does not focus properly underwater. For underwater use the camera requires a flat lens rather than the dome lens that it ships with, currently you have to purchase a 3rd party modification to achieve this (or do a custom job yourself). When I contacted them about this they said I was on my own as they don't advertise it as an underwater camera which is amusing as they clearly state it's waterproof to 180ft.

I went with this goforfocus.com its a simple lens replacement that you fit yourself. The process is very easy and the results are excellent, making it a cheap effective solution.

I've been through several mounting set-ups as well and have settled on a modified hang-glider camera mount for my spear-gun. It has Velcro straps so is easy to fit and a movable arm allowing me to adjust the camera position quickly. I'd recommend exploring these options before shelling out the extra cash for a GoPro branded mount.

Up until recently I used a mount on top of my torch for night dives but I discovered that as the camera was facing directly down the beam of light it washed out the subject. The light reflects back from particles in the water as well and the effect is compounded if your filming straight down the beam. You get much better results if you hold the camera separately and shine the torchlight in from an angle.

I generally use Windows Live Movie Maker which is more than adequate for the little clips I put together but I ran into a couple of problems with this as well. Annoyingly you need to convert videos from MP4 to a format that WLMM can read, I settled with mp4cam2avi which does a great job batch converting to .avi format.

The next problem was (as you can see from some of my earlier videos) that WLMM kept putting a black border around my hi-res videos. I have just found out that there is an aspect ratio setting (under the “view” tab) that when set to wide-screen eliminates the problem.

Just a few bits and bobs that I hope might save someone some time!

While I'm posting here is a fun outer space screen grab I took from my last lot of footage....

The next generation.

I haven't had a dive for a while as I was surfing instead last week instead so was pretty keen to get in today despite not feeling 100%. I headed over to the south coast and saw there was a tiny bit of swell wrapping around and a really low tide. As soon as I got in the sea my fears were confirmed, lots of seaweed bits being stirred up and poor visibility.

Even in bad conditions when you get close enough to your subject (in this case about 1ft!) it still appears clear on film, however on returning and checking the footage my aiming is a little off on the close ups so a lot of the shots didn't come out :( Nonetheless I had a fun time filming some small fish and some Dead man's fingers (Alcyonium digitatum) which I've never seen before. I also found a picturesque little starfish nursery and some fantastic sea anemones as well as shoals of small Bass and Mullet.

I headed out deeper to explore one of my usual hunting spots and dived 12 meters into the gloom, to the seabed I don't normally see at higher tides. Down there I found a very spooky looking cave, I peered in but it was too dark to explore even if I was brave enough! Maybe next low tide I will take my torch.

Little did I know what an exceptional dive this was going to turn out to be! Initially I found my friendly seal basking on a rock, completely unperturbed to see me sneak past and looking very relaxed. Then I was surprised to find there was not one but two younger seals lounging nearby, they were a little more wary and regarded me cautiously if I got too close. Just a bit further along I found a much smaller pup which must be only 6 months old! I was thrilled! As I passed by she looked at me with wide eyes before slipping into the sea without so much as a splash.

Just when I had decided that would be the last I saw of her I accidentally discovered her hiding place - she was curled up in a corner under the kelp keeping a very low profile. No doubt unhappy to have been found she swam off casting a quick look over her shoulder as she went. I was keen not to scare her or pester her and let her come to investigate me, a delightful battle commenced between her caution and her curiosity. It was fantastic to see a young seal so closely! I was a bit concerned the mother might be protective but the pups are left to fend for themselves at quite a young age and mum was quite happy to sleep on the rocks nearby.



(left click to open in you tube, select high def and full screen for best effect).

I managed to get some great footage over a captivating half hour, sometimes she would peer out of the kelp watching me quietly and others she would dash around me at full speed. Seal pups have the most amazing huge limpid eyes and I was transfixed as we came face to face in the kelp, it was incredible, I'm still buzzing!

A close encounter with a Shag rounded off a great day! (click the links for full-size images).

I had a dream, which was not all a dream

Night diving has become a passion of mine, not only do a lot of interesting creatures come out after the sun sets but the calm, quiet and solitude I love about diving are amplified. It can be nerve racking however, the first time I tried it especially, but pushing yourself outside your comfort zone is part of the allure.

Safety is always the first consideration, I can't stress this enough. In case you read this and decide it sounds like a good idea here are some ground rules for night diving. Firstly don't go alone, secondly make sure someone knows were your diving and when you're expecting to leave the water. Always dive somewhere you know very well from day dives, you must be familiar with the shoreline, the currents and the underwater terrain.

Make sure you dive somewhere with lights on the shore to help you navigate back to land in an emergency. Check all of your gear, take a watch with a light, a main torch and a backup torch, keep the rest of your gear to a minimum.

Check the weather report!

When diving constantly check your bearings and finally stay close to the shore, you don't need to go offshore at night as the beasties come into shallower water in the dark.

I have had some fantastic experiences night diving, it is a great opportunity to see unusual sea life and get closer to them than you normally would during the day. Common sites include baby and adult squid, dogfish, baby conger eels, red gurnard, sea trout and my personal favourite – cuttlefish. How people can kill these amazing creatures is beyond me, like Octopus they have an advanced nervous system and are able to change their skin colour and texture not only to camouflage themselves but to communicate.

When I encounter them I can happily watch them for the entire dive, they often wait on the sea bed camouflaged against the sand (they are ambush predators) making them hard to spot. But occasionally you see them on the move, drifting across the sand, their motion like that of a hover craft. Even rarer is to find them swimming in open water, here they are reminiscent of UFO's drifting hypnotically in the dark/ They are captivating creatures and often inquisitive, one night I was surrounded by three cuttlefish and they happily explored my equipment while I hung motionless watching them.

If you happen to alarm them they will often raise two of their tentacles as a warning signal and change to a darker pattern, if you get closer they will glide away from you. Their last resort, like the squid is to release a cloud of ink and jet away.

Sometimes I turn off my torch and submerge in the pitch black, when the conditions are right every motion will set off swirls of phosphorescence creating a ghostly outline of your body as if you have been replaced by a cloud of tiny fireflies (the programmer in me thinks of particle systems).

On clear calm night I also like to lie on my back just floating there watching the stars, it is at these moments I feel most at peace.

Sometimes my (very brave) girlfriend accompanies me, she is developing an interest in underwater photography with great results, she has kindly let me use some of here pictures from our last night dive together to illustrate this post.

The Deep Green

It's always tough deciding to go freediving. It means a long trip to Wales and missing a whole weekend of sea dives which are precious as I work 9-5 at the moment with a long commute. But whenever I go I am pleased that I made the effort, my latest trip was no exception, despite the horrendous weather! (Plus I got to stop in and visit my godson and his new brother which was great!).

I always feel and up-welling of excitement which becomes more like nervousness as we get to the quarry, and is definitely nerves by the time the little boat has taken us out to the freediving pontoon. I look down into the deep green water with trepidation, knowing that it's eighty meters deep beneath me.

The walls of the quarry loom over us ominously as the divers begin going through their various routines. The more experienced among our small group begin yoga, stretching and breathing exercises variously while us beginners chat and joke. Back at the quay I can see scuba divers preparing and at various spots around the quarry the tell tale patterns of bubbles give away those already diving, most of them stay closer to the shallow end though.

We continue our preparations by dropping weighted lines off three sides of the pontoon, two longer lines for the deeper divers, we have in our small group several instructors, an instructor trainer and the British record holder as well as people like myself that have only qualified this year. We have two lines on our side, a warm-up line set to 20m and another set to 35m, It amuses me that the warm-up line is only 2m short of my deepest dive, I am determined today to reach 25m.

We don our fins and masks and ease into the cool fresh water and gather around the shorter dive line, we all submerge a few times checking out equipment and getting relaxed in the water, below me the rope disappears into the deep dark green, there is no sign of the bright white weight on the end, I estimate the visibility is about 8-10m.

We take turns diving, as one person descends the rope, attached by a lanyard his (or her) buddy keeps a close eye on them. You hold the rope with one hand feeling the vibration as the lanyard runs down the rope, soon they disappear into the gloom and you wait for the tug as they grab the rope to turn around. As they ascend your job as buddy is to dive down and meet them about 10m down, getting them to signal that they are ok, and watch their eyes for signs of trouble. You float the final few meters to the surface staring at each other then confirm that they are ok, these final seconds are where you are most likely to blackout and safety is the number one priority.

Everyone has a different routine for their warm-up dives, free divers often follow these almost superstitiously. I start by diving to 10m and holding there, then slowly ascending, then 15m and finally make a couple of dives to 20m. As you dive deeper your mammalian dive reflex begins to kick in and you feel more comfortable, the depth and length of your dives increases.

I am thrilled to manage a dive to 25m, but I feel comfortable when I surface and know I have more in me so when I have recovered I dive again hoping to go deeper.

I clip on my lanyard and stare down into the depths for a few moments before turning onto my back and beginning to breathe up. I relax, close my eyes and regulate my breathing, calming my mind and trying distance myself from the nervousness and excitement I feel. After a couple of minutes I take my final deep breathe, turn, duck dive and begin finning down the line, I reach out and let my hand run down the rope. There is a lot to think about, I focus on my technique and overcoming the bad habits spear fishing has taught me, but most importantly I focus on relaxing, I take a stock check, relaxing any muscles that are unnecessarily tensed and economising my finning as I descend into the cool, quiet dark.

My left hand is pinching my nose, as I get deeper I need to equalise almost constantly and I feel the pressure building. The water suddenly gets noticeably colder and although I am not looking up or down I know I am deep (for me) and I force myself to relax and overcome the urge to turn around and race to the surface.

I resist the temptation to check my dive computer but look down instead, I can just see the plate a blur of white below me, it seems to shimmer and I realise there is a temperature differential there. Above and to my right I see another weight hanging against a dark to light green gradient and I realise I must be at about 25m, I keep finning.

The pressure continues to mount both psychologically and physiologically, it becomes harder to equalise my ears as the air inside me is being compressed. It noticeably colder as I pass the differential , I look down again and see the plate is tantalisingly close, I check my dive computer and it registers 106ft, I feel a burst of adrenaline and drift horizontal, before I can rationalise it I am pulling on the rope and swimming for the surface.

I suppress a feeling of panic when I feel how much harder it is finning upwards, I am negatively buoyant at this depth, I am 100ft down and my chest feels compressed, there is a metallic taste in my mouth, every sensation seems strange, I have never felt anything like this before. I keep working my legs and refuse to look up remembering that raising your head restricts the blood flow to the brain.

The swim to the surface seemed to take an eternity, I could feel my diaphragm contracting and have to quash my urge to panic again when I see I am still 20m from the surface. My instincts scream at me to fin as hard as I can and rush towards the air but I keep my pace steady and run through my muscle relaxing check-list again instead.

As the water grows lighter the need to breathe becomes more demanding, then my safety diver appears and looking straight at me gives me the 'ok' sign , which I return. I break the surface with a rush of relief and excitement, a sharp exhale followed by a strong fast inhale, I hang onto the rope while giving the ok sign to my buddy. I don't even realise how much I'm grinning.

(Photos by Kate Adams)

Mobile Home

After pouring over the map I decided to venture further afield, trying new dive sites is always exciting! So off I drive for an hour an a half until I find myself in a National Trust car park a short walk away from a secluded cove. It's a lovely stroll down a wooded valley, down carved steps and over wooden bridges across a small stream. The beach has no sand just lovely round pebbles, some old mine workings and a picturesque pond. The sea looks calm and inviting and the coastline interesting enough so I head back to the car to get changed.

Once I get into the water I realise that appearances can be deceiving , the visibility is not very good at all and try as I might I cannot find any clear patches, I fin up the coast for an hour with no success and find myself frustrated as I'm unable to explore what I cannot see!

Still one of the great things about diving is that you always see something interesting! Despite swimming through pea soup I still managed to find the best jelly fish of the season so far. A big beautifully patterned specimen pulsing serenely through the gloom complete with three passengers. I spent twenty minutes enjoying the spectacle and getting some footage. I am always fascinated by jellies, there is something hypnotic about their graceful motion and lovely patterns and colours. The small fish sheltering behind it's stinging tentacles regarded me nervously always trying to keep the jellyfish between us or tucking themselves far up into it's body if I got too close.

Here's a small clip, best watched in hidef / full-screen.

Sunday Dive

I lie face down I the water feeling the sun warm my back as I peer down into the gloom. The water is about 25ft deep and out here there are currents and a swell running that has reduced the visibility so I can only just make out the kelp below me. I finish my breathe up although it's hard to relax whilst trying to maintain position against the moving sea, I fill my lungs with a final deep breathe, first from my diaphragm then my chest, spit out my snorkel and begin my dive.

Finning downwards the light quickly takes on a green tint and the seaweed becomes clearer, swaying hypnotically with the rhythm of the waves. I angle my descent, aiming for a good landing point and equalise my ears, I'm lucky on a dive this deep I only have to clear the pressure once. Levelling out I drop knees first into the kelp, until I touch the rock it is anchored to and my head is level with the waving fronds.

I enjoy the tranquillity, feel the pressure of the water on my body, nearly double what you feel at the surface and watch the fish gliding towards my hiding place to investigate. As usual the first takers are juvenile Pollack, on my left I see a good number of them, their arrow shaped silhouettes circling me inquisitively. There is a sudden darting motion above me and a shoal of small streamlined fish swim into view. As always when I'm hunting I feel almost like two separate people, one part of me enjoys the spectacle, the glinting of beautiful colours catching the sun, whilst another part is identifying the fish, accessing their size and the chance of getting one. This is a big shoal of Mackerel, moving fast as I track them with my gun, I don't often see Mackerel and am hesitant to shoot, they are small targets and I don't want to shoot an undersized fish.

My pause pays dividends and I see that the smaller fish are fleeing a shoal of Bass, I adjust my focus, moving my gun slowly towards the newcomers singling out one of the larger ones and letting him move in front of the gun before shooting. It's not a great shot the gun is turned towards the bass so I'm not sighted properly, but it's secure and I swim towards the surface towing the fish with me where I quickly real it in and dispatch it with my knife.

I do some more dives hoping to find a big Pollack or more bass, but only see a shoal of Mullet at range so I just enjoy the show, watching their shapes fade into the murk. The frequent deeper dives (8-10m is the deepest I hunt at present) have tired me out so I decide to call it a day and start the long fin back to shore, circling the island until I'm out of the stronger tidal currents.

As I cross the final channel the current picks up again and I encounter some small basking sharks harvesting the plankton being swept past, I swim along side one as it passes which rounds off a great dive perfectly.



(to get the most out of the video open it up in youtube, select hi res and fullscreen it)

Freediving

I began spearfishing exclusively in shallow water but as I became more confident I ventured deeper where things quickly become more serious, your hunting techniques change and the limitations of your body become more apparent. As I read about the subject I realised the dangers also become much greater, I had heard of several famous surfers who had met their end diving and found the cause : Shallow water blackout.

Never dive alone is the rule - I'm almost always solo however and I realised If I started diving deeper I was putting my life at risk. So I decided I had to do something to maximize my safety, I ended up taking the Aida ** freediving course at SaltFree in Chepstow with the intention of learning about freediving safety and technique as well as my own limits.

What I didn't expect was to enjoy freediving for divings sake, but it is an extraordinary experience and I found my self with a drive to dive deeper! I have only managed to reach 22m at this point but hope to extend that to 30m before the year is out. I have managed to go from a 1.45 dry static (at home on the couch) breathe hold to a personal best of 4 minutes. It is a sport that focuses your mind an heightens your awareness of self tremendously, both mentally and physically. It is in short a real challenge.

Although I feel this has improved my safety when spearfishing I must re-iterate you should always dive with a buddy!!

The start of a beautiful friendship

My friend and I got in for an afternoon spear. The conditions weren't ideal, the wind was chopping up the surface of the sea a bit, which meant murky water, but we could see a sheltered spot in the lea of some rocks and headed across the channel to check it out. As soon as I saw the low visibility I realised that it wasn't going to be the best dive but I was just glad to be in the water, and you can never tell when you will find a patch of clear vis, or run into a big shoal of fish unexpectedly!

The water did clear up as we got further out and into the shelter of the rocks, but there were no fish to be found, then we saw the reason, a seals head just poking above the water observing us from close by. I quickly unlimbered my gun and turned on my camera hoping the seal might get close enough to get some footage.

What I never expect was for the seal to approach us and play with us for over half an hour, it was the most fantastic experience. When I have seen seals in the surf the always seem to be a little menacing, the big bull seals have a habit of surfacing near you and catching you by surprise, splashing and huffing their huge scarred heads and looking quite intimidating up close.

But this female grey seal was inquisitive and so elegant underwater as she swam circles around us, not at all threatening. Instead she was clearly curious about us and kept approaching from different angles before retreating then trying to sneak up from behind. Often she would sink down and watch us motionless from the seaweed, allowing me at times to get within 3 ft of her.

She began doing flips and lazy rotations seemingly unphased by our presence, if anything it looked as if she was showing off. She would regard us with her dark eyes then turn away, running the seaweed through her flippers. It was enchanting and one of the most memorable encounters I have ever had in the sea.

Finally she tired of us and swam off into the murk to find something more interesting to do and we returned to shore. I was buzzing all the way home. Here is the edited highlights of the footage, although the wide angled lens makes her look further away than she actually was.