YO-HANCHA
Dreams of warm water
Is it really time to start diving abroad again ? Yo-Han Cha is conflicted on the question , but has come to a conclusion
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’ ve almost always talked about UK diving in this column . It ’ s because the vast majority of my own underwater time has been in the UK , and since the pandemic hit , all of it has been here at home . I don ’ t feel like I ’ m missing out , I love diving in the UK and I would genuinely choose a week in the Scillies over most diving locations in the world .
That being said , at the time of writing , it ’ s been almost two years since I ’ ve set foot on a plane , never mind going abroad . And as the world slowly opens up , my friend Rick and I have booked onto a liveaboard in the Maldives . So hopefully , by time you ’ re reading this , I ’ ll be packing and trying to figure out how to stay under my baggage allowance .
I feel like I have to repeat that while I adore UK diving , I equally yearn for a bit of variety , which is why , from the Scillies to Shoreham and from Weymouth to Eyemouth , during the summer I could be found diving in any of the four corners of the UK . And before anyone had heard of Wuhan , I could also be found diving abroad - at least once a year .
As even the most die-hard UK diver will have to admit , diving in warm water , in a wetsuit , in clear blue water , has its advantages . And hopefully , if the government haven ’ t implemented Plan B , which they ’ ve assured us they won ’ t (!), I ’ ll start 2022 ’ s diving in the Maldives . Seeing as I ’ ve not dived in a wetsuit for a couple of years , I ’ ll probably descend on my check dive pressing on my chest , looking for a non-existent valve to feed air into my non-existent drysuit . I ’ ll also need to check if I still fit into it ... those lockdown pounds are proving hard to shift .
I ’ m certainly not among the first wave of travellers to have left the UK since lockdown ended , plenty of my friends have been venturing abroad for some sunshine . I ’ d taken the decision to stay in the UK this year , as I feel that checking my phone multiple times a day to see if I need to re-book my flights to avoid quarantine on my return home is not especially relaxing .
‘ At last , the situation seems to be stabilising ’
At last , the situation seems to be stabilising . Flights are less likely to be cancelled at the drop of a hat , and our lifepreserving vaccinations have allowed us a lot more freedom of movement .
That being said , the vaccine doesn ’ t offer 100 per cent protection , so I won ’ t be going clubbing anytime soon . Or ever again . That ’ ll be my excuse , and certainly not my advancing years !
Back to the point – my decision to go abroad was made after a great deal of thought . For the last two years , I feel like I ’ ve been inhabited with two opposing personalities . There ’ s the cautious side of me that doesn ’ t want to catch a respiratory disease that could have long term side effects . Then there ’ s the adventurous side of me that wants to jump on a plane and go diving . Sometimes the cautious side has won , but in this case ‘ Indiana ’ Cha has come out tops . �
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