Yo-Han Cha is filling his 2025 diary with dive trips, but he’ s concerned about revisiting too many familiar sites
YO-HANCHA
Been there, done that, do it again!
Yo-Han Cha is filling his 2025 diary with dive trips, but he’ s concerned about revisiting too many familiar sites
It’ s difficult to go diving in the sea off southern England during winter [ see every column this issue – Editor ]. By the time I’ ve arranged to see as many friends and family as possible around Christmas and Hogmanay, there aren’ t many weekends left in the calendar. Any notion of going diving in the one weekend that I did have free in December was quashed by Storm Darragh.
At the time of writing, the weather still looks awful, but I’ ve at least managed to go for a couple of dives in Vobster with Reading BSAC – mainly to check that I could still fit into my drysuit after all the eating and drinking around Christmas, and also to check my kit after it had been serviced.
I’ m impatient to go diving in the sea again, though looking ahead to this year’ s diving is a great comfort, anticipation being part of the pleasure of diving. Meanwhile, it’ s come to my attention that I might be falling into the‘ experienced’ UK diver
“ I’ m impatient to go diving in the sea again”
category, as all of my UK trips( so far) are ones I’ ve visited previously. I’ ve still got a few weekends free in the diary, so who knows, I may get to experience some new UK locations this year.
Don’ t get me wrong, revisiting to places that I’ ve dived before isn’ t a negative, it just brings home that I’ ve done a lot of fun diving around the UK! Looking at my diary now, I have trips booked for some of the old faithfuls like the Sound of Mull, Porthkerris and Plymouth. There’ s also trip to the Scillies, where I’ ve not been for years.
I’ ll hopefully get my seals fix on Lundy, but I’ ve yet to book myself onto a Farnes trip this year – something that will hopefully get remedied soon! And after missing last year’ s Scottish Nudibranch Festival due to a scheduling conflict, I’ ll hopefully be spending a happy weekend looking for nudibranchs in the Berwickshire Marine Reserve this year. I also have a trip abroad pencilled in to visit Korea as well. It’ s not explicitly a diving holiday, but hopefully I’ ll be able to arrange some diving, which means that it won’ t just be drysuit diving this year.
Despite my dislike of online training, I’ ve booked onto a couple of‘ virtual’ courses created by the Nautical Archaeology Society( NAS) in preparation for their Archaeological Skill Days in Vobster this year. For a man who would much rather take photos of squidge, I do seem to be sliding slowly but surely into the shipwreck world! In truth, I’ m looking forward to learning and being able to contribute a bit more than“ it was round and about this big” or“ I have a photo but I forgot to include anything that would help provide scale” on future NAS trips. I’ m not sure that they realise how little I know about wrecks, but who knows, they may make a rust lover out of me yet.
While I wait for winter to blow itself out, I’ ll keep nipping down to nearby quarries such as Cromhall and Vobster to feed my diving addiction, and to ensure I continue to fit into my drysuit. �
Iain Toolin from Reading BSAC is in the zone
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