Deep Pool, Reviews, Skills and Rebreather

Take one Assistant Instructor returning to diving after a while away, one Rescue Diver similarly looking for a review before holidaying in Sharm and a newly qualified Divemaster as keen as mustard to have a go on a Rebreather and you have a brilliant mix for some time in the pool.

That is exactly what I had on Saturday. Whilst others were teaching Open Water I had two tasks as we took on a three hour session in the Film Studios deep pool.

The first task was to put Bruce through his paces on skills demonstration. Bruce has just found Orca having already qualified to Assistant Instructor level. He has taken some time out and is now back with a vengeance. Bruce was able to convince me that diving can be like riding a bike, once you have the skills they are always accessible even if things do become a bit rusty.

Bruce was joined by Kerry who had similarly taken some time out from diving and wanted a review before going on holiday to Sharm. Always makes me envious even if I have only recently come back myself. Like Bruce, Kerry's skills came back easily and she looked very competent indeed, certainly enough to have a fantastic time in Egypt.

Scuba reviews for those that have not been in the water for some time are essential even if things do come back easily. The point for me is that while things come back easily generally speaking, the place to get it right is in the pool not in the middle of a dive on holiday. Moreover things do change over time so being up to speed means that you will know what is going on when a strange buddy starts to do something that would otherwise seem odd. When you dive with anybody trust is everything whether your buddy for the day is new to you or the person you have known for years. It is simple really, you have to rely on a buddy to do what they are supposed to do, if they can't or don't what you have is a liability. I have no desire to dive with a liability and that is why brushing up on your skills is so vital.

Having had enormous fun with Bruce and Kerry it was time to get the Rebreather out for some try dive experience. I am always explaining to people how different diving is when you are on a rebreather, personally I love it.

I think I may have found another convert as well. James's initial comment was "that's weird" and then he noticed the things all rebreather divers really appreciate, it is so quiet you can hear so much more.

Predictably, even though in the briefing buoyancy was fully explained with details of how breathing in and out will not have an impact as it does on open circuit, James still reported that he tried to breath to control his position in the water. It is one of things that you simply have to adjust to because when the buoyancy is right you do literally stay where you are in the water column with no effort.

Interestingly in his quiet contemplation and concentration James apparently did not discover on of the other quirks, you can talk on the rebreather. I think I am happy about that..........

Of course another reality is that you do need to be much more self reliant because for many scenarios that could occur having a buddy is not going to help much. I have had to learn to get by without and I now enjoy that freedom. It also means that you really do have to get full training before you jump into the Rebreather world.

I really am looking forward to giving others the chance to try out the rebreather

Gildy in the summer when it's cold

Just spent the day at Gildenburgh and while it has never been my favorite place why does it have to be cold in the middle of the summer too.

To be fair the water was not too bad but the wind picked up and the rain came.

I popped up simply to accompany Paulette and Emily who were getting their first taste of UK diving following qualification in the Red Sea. Meanwhile all the teaching was left to Mel as she instructed the finer points of Advanced Open Water.

So the really good thing was that it did mean I got to use the Rebreather. I have missed it so much but fortunately I now have a run of opportunities to really get some good use out of it.

Getting on the Rebreather was like putting on old comfortable slippers. I just love it!

A couple of tours around Gildy seeing all the sites with Paulette and Emily in tow actually was a decent enough day and I am glad that I went.

Back in the pool

Unusually last night I found myself back in our Tuesday night pool. This is now a very rare occurrence as I am mostly in Bristol during the week so it was a real buzz to be there and I love the fact that I can just go down and join in with the team.

I haven't made it to a Tuesday night for ages so although I knew most of the faces it was a bit like a brand new experience. Things were busy and there was a very positive vibe in the air. As it transpired I took an Open Water session 4. Great fun always because it involved hovering and I really love getting this right. My two students for the night were Peter and Sarah. I am glad we are teaching such great people too. Having not met before both were friendly, engaging and keen to learn despite Sarah's touch of nerves.

For the no mask swim I always get this going as a buddy exercise such that the buddy with the mask leads the one without as they swim. Peter was really confident and swam his allotted 15 metres with eyes wide open making it look like a walk in the park. Sarah needed the reassurance of Peter's hand on her arm but I confess she remained superbly calm and looked impressive.

When it came to the hover both executed great initial efforts hitting the learning objective first time. I love when that happens because it gives plenty of time for practice and play. I got both to practice descending from the surface to achieve a hover a metre under. Whenever we do this the hover at the bottom improves and it is a real advantage of using the deep pool. Once they were playing I left them in the capable hands of Graham and had a swim around.

The pool was full, two other groups on Open Water courses, several plays and practices and one of our new Independent Instructors with a dry suit orientation.

The quiet beer afterwards was most welcome.

Plan your dive, Dive your plan (Elphinstone)

I must admit to liking spontaneity, the ability just to get up and go. Having the ability to be spontaneous is a value that I cherish and at certain times I am glad of it because it is coupled with excitement and surprise. At other times we all need certainty, we rely upon it for the our sense of well being. In many ways diving is just like that and in fact it is often a compromise between the two.


A good dive is always well planned but what you end up seeing is that much more exciting when it is unexpected. If every dive was the same and you could rely on that being the case you would rapidly bore and probably stop diving altogether. Thank goodness that every dive is different even when it is at the same place.

One of my favorite reef dives is Elphinstone which was very convenient as the recent trip to Marsa Shagra meant this reef was a short speedboat trip offshore. I personally think that I could happily dive this reef every day for years and not get bored. It is not just a nice reef, it is dramatic, deep, shallow, furious, alive, serene and it offers up something different every time.

Three dives on Elphinstone in the course of a week was not enough by any stroke though just those dives alone threw out some lessons. Every diver knows that the rules are plan your dive then dive your plan. To dive well on Elphinstone you must plan well and execute the descent well to get the best out of the place.


On the first dive we were reminded this dive was only for Advanced Open Water divers who had logged at least 50 dives so not suitable for the novice. The truth is the beauty is amazing so you need to be comfortable to really enjoy the splendour.

The brief itself was simple; expect current, do a negative entry, get to 7 metres check and then get down beside the plateau and out of the current. Hope for Pelagics, indicate when air is at 120 bar then work along the reef to finish the dive. That's the plan then.......Agh but as any military trained individual will tell you no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.


On our first dive if you had never been in a strong current this was a damn fine opener. The boat dropped us such that with a negative entry and a fast descent you can make the reef and seek quick protection. As we rolled in and a couple of people didn't manage to do a rapid descent the challenge arose straight away. Getting to the plateau at 40 metres in strong current is no fun. Breathing like a train from the effort of swimming or tugging yourself along to find shelter uses up air very very quickly.

Despite there being a couple of sharks on this first dive we had to rise from the depths pretty early and I had to settle for a stunning drift along most of the length of the reef. With 70 minutes on the computer wouldn't you know it, another shark appeared from the blue. Tiger, Tiger, Tiger...but all to brief an encounter with this amazing apex predator who remained outside of decent photo range.

Following the experience of the first dive I found myself the only member of our group that wanted to get back for more and whilst I missed a buddy doing this dive everyday is such a seriously attractive proposition whether alone or with a trusted mate.

Both the next dives were perfectly executed to the plan. Negative entry, rapid descent to the lee of the plateau then hanging off the ledge watching for the big boys. On the second dive the effort was rewarded with a very large Hammerhead. I just love these sharks as they look so incredibly graceful yet packed with immense power.

Then as if to challenge we saw two grey reef sharks, two white tips and a silver tip. Just as the deco time started to get close to the limit a Tiger appeared to join the party. There is no doubt about an awesome dive in shark soup. Worth every minute of deco time spent gently drifting on the top of the reef watching all the smaller animals doing their thing.


Now I must confess to loving wreck diving but when you get dives like this it just tops the lot. The dive guide who took us on the boat does this everyday just about and still has the enthusiasm of a first timer. Muhammad looks like he has it made but then on one morning during our stay he had to take a group to Nemo City and the disappointment in his voice was quite resignation only because he knew Elphinstone will beckon again. I know it will for me too.

ABOUT ELPHINSTONE
Elphinstone is a long, finger-like reef which runs from north to south in the open Red Sea. Steep walls drop to the depths on the reef’s east and west sides, reaching 70m (230ft) or more, while the north and south ends of the reef are marked by submerged plateau. The northern plateau is very shallow, offering snorkeling possibilities. The southern plateau is much deeper, with a drop-off at 30m leading down to the depths. A large underwater arch can be found here, between 50 and 70m. This lies beyond the range of most sports divers, but has a fascinating story attached to it. Legend has it that the sarcophagus of an unknown pharaoh lies beneath the arch, and you can, in fact, see the outlines of a suspiciously rectangular, coral encrusted mass in the depths at around 60m.
Coral coverage is dense and magnificent, with a full range of hard and soft corals on all sides. The east side in particular has some beautiful soft coral growth.
A massive number of reef species lends still more color to the already dazzling walls, with a ready supply of big solitary and schooling pelagics to observe. One great hammerhead seems to be a permanent resident.
The reef is around 6 nautical miles from Marsa Shagra.

Marsa Shagra

Almost a year to the day I found myself back in Marsa Alam airport. This time the destination was Marsa Shagra just down the coast from Marsa Alam where I had been last year. The other difference was being with fifteen divers from the Academy.

I knew also that I had my work cut out with numerous courses to run and a massive variance in experience amongst the party. Not to mention the biggest age range I have experienced to date with a span of over 60 years.

As things turned out I had enough to blog about every single day but found myself gloriously cut off from Internet access so the temptation was missed and I know think a summary and selection of photos is more in keeping.

We all stayed at Marsa Shagra village, the site offers a range of accommodation options ranging from tents through to fully air conditioned chalets and amongst the party we experienced the full range. Though it is fair to say on arrival we had some reconciliations to be done between our booking and our allocation.

The village is dominated by the diving with a central hub of a divers shade, beach shade, cafeteria, restaurant and diving centre all located very close to the beach. The house reef is easily accessible with a gently sloping sandy entry a few metres from the diving shade. The entry point makes use of a natural opening in the reef that allows divers to explore both to the north and south. The quality of the reef is excellent with plenty of life and some really beautiful coral whichever way you went. During the week we managed to spot several turtles an Eagle Ray and one White Tip shark so most of what was on offer was the smaller reef inhabitants though quite sufficient to fill numerous dives.

The reef can also be accessed via zodiacs offering to drop you off, pick you up to your hearts content. In addition to the House reef truck dives are offered every day to a number of other local sites with opportunities to explore for Dugongs and other exotic creatures such as the Red Sea Walkman.

House reef, zodiac and truck diving is all included on an unlimited basis so once the check dive with the resident Instructor was complete we were free to do what we wanted and dive away to our hearts content.

To spice things up a little several excursions were also available offering specific dive sites including Elphinstone which is a short speed boat ride just of the coast.

My first day of diving, which also just happened to be Billie's birthday, involved teaching both Open Water and Advanced Open Water. Paulette and Emily had both been waiting a long time to put into practice all that they had learnt in the pool. The location made most of it easy and within a short time both looked to be diving very comfortably indeed. James worked through the whole course as part of his Divemaster internship and did a wonderful job throughout. Emily had to work really hard to master the mask removal but with some perseverance we got every thing completed after five dives over three days.

We also completed several adventure dives to count towards Advanced Open Water qualifications which were completed by Les, Chris, Archie, Michaela and Paulette. The site lends itself to a wide selection of possibilities so I found myself involved in Boat, Drift, Navigation, Deep, Fish ID, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Naturalist and Night adventure dives.

Meanwhile the Fraser and Edmonds clans just indulged in doing their own thing but then that is what Marsa Shagra is all about.

To top it all off we completed a Deep specialty with James and I still had time to fit in some pleasure dives including three trips to Elphinstone which I absolutely adore.

The dive centre does restrict Elphinstone visits to those with Advanced Open Water and 50 logged dives and we were all quickly reminded why on the first visit when the current was running like a proverbial train over the plateau at 30 metres. The effort was very worthwhile as during my visits we manged to top the spectacular wall dive with sightings of Tigers, Silver Tip, Grey Reef, White Tip and Hammerhead sharks. Sadly none of them cam quite close enough for me to capture the elusive photos but the images left in my mind are awesome.

I have returned to these shores to discover that we are already booking up for next year and based on my experience this is well worth it despite one or two having a day of tummy trouble this was an excellent value trip with plenty of diving in great company.

Hope you enjoy the small selection of photo's.

Time racing by; holiday needed

Several days seem to have raced by so quickly and I have to admit that there is an enormous amount going on in life at the moment. Thank goodness I have my diving to assist in keeping me sane.

Having had a fantastic time racing at Cowes last Saturday I organised an impromptu Divemaster session on Sunday morning. Fortunately the pool was available at such short notice so a call in the morning secured its' use and getting the trainee DM's to come along involved just a few calls which Gary masterminded as I drove back from Southampton.

The purpose was essentially to see if we could sign off some skill circuits for which I could otherwise have driven back from Bristol on Tuesday to perform. I have to admit arranging an impromptu pool was the much better option.

The great news is that the practice had all paid off resulting in both Gill and James scoring sufficient marks to get their skill circuits signed off. I so easily recall that when I was doing this myself I was so determined to score a 5 (top mark) in every skill that I practised endlessly. The same seems to be true for our DM's so something is rubbing off and most of the skills now look top draw.

In Bristol on Wednesday I had a great time mostly just hovering and getting people to play with buoyancy skills, very relaxing and just what I needed after a hard day.

As the week progressed Orca got the chance to buy it's own van. I am delighted to report that we do now have an Orca van but doubtless I will report on that later.

Those of you keeping on top of Orca news will have realised that on Friday a PADI Instructor Development Course started at the Academy. I managed to see Steve and Janet Prior only to briefly though it great to see our facilities being used. I did sit in the back of the classroom on Friday for the briefest of spells and immediately wished that I was joining the candidates on their course, I will always remember my own course with great affection. Steve is such a great Course Director and just watching him for a few minutes reminded me of how inspirational he and Janet are,bear in mind that he wasn't even my Course Director until I did my Staff.
The guys on the course are going to have such good fun and I admit to some envy.

Having spent too little time watching Steve it was back to teaching and on Friday night with presentation in hand the trainee DM's and I went to the pub where all three passed their physiology exam with flying colours. more importantly as is my want, I re-quizzed them on physics from the previous Friday and discovered that what they had learnt had stuck.

Finally to round the week off I had all day on Sunday delivering another Rescue course. I still love this course and working with James and Marcello was a sheer pleasure. They both approached the course with great humour and despite their concerns that they may not be as good as other divers I have to report that they were excellent.

Working at the film studio's pool really is the business when it comes to practising the lifts from the rescue course. This is always a challenging area for students to grasp. But after a bit of practice with weights and buoyancy these two went on and made lifting an unconscious diver look like child's play.

Now I need that break. On Wednesday I am off to Marsa Shagra and I can't wait. The diving will be great, the company outstanding and I only have 10 courses to run............seriously though it will be awesome and I hope to have plenty of photo's to share,