YO-HANCHA
Stick or Twist ?
Yo-Han Cha ’ s obsessive love of UK diving keeps him very busy , and when he discovers a new location the problem only deepens ...
My diving year is sadly coming to an end . I might still be able to sneak in the odd night dive or weekend , but my weekend on-call swaps are catching up with me and the weather is becoming less co-operative . I ’ ve had a great year of diving , though , and I ’ m sad to see it coming to an end . I ’ ve mostly dived locations around the UK that I ’ ve been to before but this weekend just gone , there ’ s been a rather rare occurrence ... I ’ ve gone and dived somewhere new in the UK !
I do enjoy trying new locations , but such is the pull of certain dive sites that I find myself back there time and time again . And this is my conundrum every year as I book my weeks and weekends – where do I go ? Do I try somewhere new , or stick to my old favourites ?
There are some sites that I love and must dive at least once a year . So , inevitably I end up booking multiple trips to them just in case the wind blows in the wrong direction . The Farnes and the Berwickshire Marine Reserve are such places . But there ’ s so much to see around the UK , and I just don ’ t have enough annual leave or finances to see it all in one year .
The Sound of Mull is fantastic . South Cornwall , either out of Porthkerris or Falmouth , is a favourite of mine for all those jewel anemones . The sea lochs of western Scotland will always have a place in my heart , if anything just for being diveable during the winter months . But I do love trying somewhere new . Even before I started diving , I had that desire to see what was around the next bend in the road . So , this weekend I went somewhere I ’ d never visited previously – the Firth of Clyde .
As a self-professed squidge lover , the Firth of Clyde had never been high on the list of priorities , mainly because everyone who went diving there came back raving about the wrecks . I ’ m not that bothered about wrecks . And those who love wrecks , usually don ’ t notice the life that ’ s on them . So , the reports of rusty metal have never enticed me .
But there I was , curious and wanting to explore somewhere new . Admittedly , my keenness was tempered by the sideways rain at 50 mph that greeted my arrival .
“ I do love trying somewhere new ”
I found myself wondering what the skipper , Jason Coles , from Dunoon dive centre Wreckspeditions had put in his tea when he said it was still diveable . [ Jason is also a member of local BSAC club Dunoon Divers , see this issue ’ s Club Focus ]
I ’ d driven up from Bristol , so I was happy that any sort of diving was on the cards , but we did indeed manage to visit a couple of very sheltered wrecks . Thankfully the weather cleared up over the next couple of days and I even got to dive the Akka . That was the one wreck I ’ d heard about before coming up to the Clyde as even the most seasoned rust lovers would always utter “ The Akka !” with half-closed eyes in wistful memory of metal bliss .
It was very nice , however I liked the Inverkip Jetty the best ; lots of squidge on that ! Now it seems the Firth of Clyde may have turned into a site that I may have to revisit time and time again . Which only leaves less time to explore new sites ! �
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