Meet People, Go Places, Do Things

A few years ago Mark and I were strolling along a beautiful sun soaked beach in Thailand after a wonderful snorkeling excursion. I remember talking excitedly about the amazing things I had seen under the surface as well as bemoaning the fact that my lungs would only let me stay down for about forty seconds at a time before demanding I'd return to the surface for another greedy gulp of air. 

When Mark said "We should learn how to scuba dive" I just kind of laughed it off, as back then I mistakenly thought that scuba diving was the reserve for people with plenty of cash to splash. 

However on our return to the UK Mark phoned a few places to inquire about training and costs and after considerable deliberation we decided to sign-up for the PADI Open Water Course with Dive Wimbledon and so the journey to awesomeness began.

As ridiculous as this may sound to others, learning how to scuba dive totally revolutionized my life and it has had a profound effect on my self-confidence. Sometimes something brilliant comes along that makes you glow and grow and for me that something was scuba diving.

  "Meet People, Go Places, Do Things" is the PADI motto and since becoming Divemaster Trainee with Aquatron Dive Centre that has become my sweet life :)

Yesterday Mark had a day off so we jumped in the car and drove to Loch Long. In the morning we dived a site called The Caves and in the afternoon we moved down the shore to a site called The A-Frames. 

The Caves - Loch Long

Mark and Jen enjoying a post dive coffee.

We've had a fair bit of rain and blustery winds here in Scotland of late but yesterday we had perfect diving weather. In the morning there was barely a ripple on the loch and we even had some blue sky breaking through in the afternoon. The water temperature was a cool 10°C but even after a 45 minute dive I still didn't feel that cold, in other words there is a very good reason why so many fellow divers opt for the Scubapro Everdry 4, it keeps you nice and toasty.

Pre-dive lunch at A-Frames where we managed to gatecrash an army exercise.

The highlight of the day was having our first ever catshark encounter. Sadly we didn't bring the GoPro camera on these dives which was a real shame because the visibility was really quite good but I was brushing up on my navigating skills and we thought it best not to task load ourselves. There will be another encounter I am sure.

I will wrap up with a little medley of pics from the past couple of months.

Now that Mark and I are both Divemasters in training we will be doing a lot more diving with the school, both as little helpers and as students ourselves.

The first rung on the PADI professional ladder looms in the distance but first there is plenty of studying, practicing, perfecting, working and playing to be done :)

The PADI Master Scuba Diver is the highest non-professional certification level in the PADI system of diver education, it has been so much fun getting to this point and I am very much looking forward to getting on the first rung of the PADI professional ladder.

Mark and I did four pool sessions and three open water days with the school this month. We also did the Enriched Air Diver Course and bagged our certs with flying colours, huzzah!

St. Catherines - Loch Fyne with Aquatron Dive Centre

29 Steps with the Open Water students who all did swimmingly.

Mark also did the first part of the Night Diver course at the A-Frames, I tagged along to serve up a hot drink during the surface interval.

St. Catherines with the school last Sunday. It was a bit of a dreich day but it takes more than a bit of rain and wind to wipe the smile off  a Scottish scuba divers face, we are hardcore ;)

Next month is set to be just as busy, kicking off with the Aquatron Big Sale Weekend and Halloween Charity Dance this Saturday. Mark's costume is all sorted but as per usual I am still pondering what get-up to go for, too many choices is my delightful problem.

Have a funderful Halloween peeps :)
Loads of love,
Jennie
xXx

Being AWARE

On Sunday Aquatron Dive Centre did something absolutely brilliant! 

Spearheaded by Awesome Annie, a bunch of  people gave up their Sunday lie in and headed to Dog Fish Reef, Loch Fyne to take part in the Project AWARE Foundation Debris Month of Action.

Dog Fish Reef is a very popular site for fishermen, campers and divers but unfortunately due to some peoples inability to dispose of their trash in a responsible manner it has over time started to resemble a rubbish dump with bags of trash stuffed in the bushes and litter & fishing line strewn across the shore. 

The main aim of the day was to do a site clean-up both on shore and under the surface, because the litter on land very easily becomes marine debris and sadly when this happens it is usually a case of 'out of sight, out of mind' for many people.

Every year an astonishing amount of waste makes its way underwater and can reach even the most remote ocean areas. The rubbish kills wildlife, destroys habitats and threatens our health and economy.

As a diver you have a unique opportunity to protect the ocean environment and making every dive that you do a Dive Against Debris, even if it is just a quick removal of some fishing line or stuffing a stray piece of rubbish into your mesh bag when you spot it.

From the Project AWARE website.

The simple action of removing rubbish from the shore or the underwater world has the potential of preventing more of these horrible things from happening...

Pics found via Google images.

You don't have to be a diver to make a difference either, it is just as important to remove rubbish from the shore thus preventing it from ever entering the water.

Here's the Aquatron Dive Against Debris day in pictures...

Dog Fish Reef at Loch Fyne.

Mark and I did our PADI Rescue Diver Course here back in May.

It was nice to see such a good turn out for the event.
Argyll and Bute council had kindly provided litter picker tools and protective gloves for the shore clean-up.

Yes, that is me on the right, looking amazingly fabulous in my scuba gear ;)

The underwater debris removal crack team after their first dive.

The shore crew sorting out the debris, counting and weighing it so that it can be added to the Dive Against Debris Map and project stats.

Just some of the debris collected.

The crack team spotted a wheelbarrow but decided to leave it behind as quite a few underwater creatures had made their home on it. The general guideline is to leave alone if things are growing on it or living inside it, unless of course it is something very harmful to the aquatic environment.

Here is Mark with a couple of divers getting kitted up for their second dive.

Mark did his second Divemaster Trainee session on Sunday. 

All bagged up and ready to be collected by Argyll and Bute council.
My hat goes off to the sorting crew that had to go through all the festering refuse that people had left behind in the bushes.

A worthwhile way to spend a day, I think you'll agree.

In other news this old girl turned forty the other week, became a certified PADI Master Scuba Diver and started her PADI Divemaster Internship with Aquatron Dive Centre, exciting times! 

Hope you are all doing grand.

I will love you and leave you with a cracking tune by the amazing Afro Celt Sound System, enjoy :)

All the best,

Jennie

xXx