Under Pressure

Was looking forward to this as I hadnt been out for a couple of weeks, O’three had altered the suit seals to be tight and I had bought a nice new Fourth Element Arctic Undersuit so was looking forward to being warm and dry!

Meet Robert at B&Q then we dumped my car at his house and off we went.

We arrived at Conger Alley for 8.40 Am and were attempting to get the dive underway for 9am.

First of all I just couldnt get under with the new undersuit I had to add an extra 3kgs of weight to help me under.

I was toasty but annoyed with myself for not adding enough extra weight. I was on 11kgs now which just seems extreme (possibly time to get a steel backplate rather than the Alloy one I am using just now).

In we go and down we get to about 17 Metres when all of a sudden I get all wet and cold on my right shoulder, the shoulder dump on the suit just starts leaking like crazy, I thumb the dive and am also aware that I can hear bubbles on my right shoulder so I point and get Robert to have a look!

The Pull dump on my OMS wing seems to be leaking so we have a quick look around the reef, find a conger and head back up.

25 minutes and maximum depth 17.8 Metres, game over for another day as Im not diving soaking wet and with a wing leaking and a suit leaking!

I do seem to be jinxed just now and am considering getting back to a simple single cylinder kit config, my diving has been going to ratshit recently and I need to do something about that or my confideince is going to go alltogether.

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Typical “DANK” Scottish November. Windy, dark, overcast and cold.

Met up with Robert at Moodiesburn house at twelve thirty, dumped my car and off we went on the usual journey to Loch Long.

I love living in Scotland, great diving on my doorstep just over an hours drive to either coast.

Dive 1 (94): Conger Alley / Duration 51 Minutes / Entry – 14:14

We got to the site, no other divers around and a high tide, Straight in down to the left and straight to 30 Metres.
Reef right in front of us, slowly worked our way up the reef with a couple of congers to be found under the rocks a large fish with a sort of barb at the front (Ling / Cod?)

Plenty of large crabs, Squat lobsters. A couple of large wrasse free swimming around the reef and at the twelve metre mark I just couldnt believe how many schooling fish there was to be seen. Hunners and Hunners! Lots of little shrimp, crabs, anenomes.

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What a brilliant wee dive! One of the best for fish life I have done yet in Scottish waters!

Dive 2 (95): Conger Alley / Duration 50 Minutes / Entry – 16:04

After roughly an hours interval it was starting to get pretty dark so this was going to be essentially a night dive on a dark Scottish Afternoon.

This time we went in at roughly the same point but limited our depth to the 20 metre mark as most life was at 12 Metres on the first dive.

When we came across the reef we also came across a conger eel pretty much straight away then another and another, three congers found in the first few minutes of finding the reef.

Yet again a nice slow ascent working our way up the reef watching the squatties, crabs, shrimp & Wrasse all feeding and playing in the sea water.

Not as much life this time but still an enjoyable wee guddle in Loch Long.

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Seventy five dives this year, Ninty Five Total: 65 Hours 20 Minutes.

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