KIRSTYANDREWS
Doing the biz in zero viz
Kirsty Andrews reports on a bizarre yet strangely fulfilling diving experience with her club
Henleaze swimming lake is a very picturesque former quarry in Bristol , where a local charity has run a swimming club since 1919 . Bristol Number 3 dive club ( also a venerable institution , being the third ever BSAC club , formed in 1953 ) has a good relationship with the lake trustees , and I recently paid my first ever visit to the lake with the club .
The peaceful and pretty venue , between 3 and 6 metres deep , attracts swimmers , divers of the non-scuba kind , and sunbathers optimistically soaking up the slightly-sub-tropical Bristol sun . It also makes an excellent spot for the dive club to practise various techniques , including refresher rescue training and Practical Rescue Management sessions . The visibility in particular ( for more see below ) makes for challenging search and recovery practice .
This latter activity is where the divers sometimes come in useful to the lake management . On occasion , valuable items are mislaid and the dive club can come to the rescue , putting our search patterns to use , and with luck , finding the missing item . Objects recovered over the years have included an electric chop saw and a
large marquee , which the trustees were particularly happy to recover !
Underwater , the lake is not as idyllic as above – there is a very silty bottom and the visibility on my dive varied from nil to a few centimetres . I conducted a quick search of the lake bed for obstructions around the newly renovated diving boards . When the main purpose of the activity is to trawl the lake bed , inevitably clouds of black mud and silt are disturbed , which doesn ’ t improve the situation .
I could just about make out the North arrow on my dive compass , but only if I lit it up with glowing absorbed light from my torch . Surface cover is crucial in managing this situation safely . One of the techniques we used was to place a line across the surface connecting the divers to the surface support : a tug from above indicates if it ’ s time to turn around or come up , and gives the divers some idea if they ’ ve veered off course .
It ’ s very disorientating to be underwater in these conditions , and even as an experienced diver it gave me pause when I first went in . Dives are short and of course can be stopped at any time . In a way though , these conditions inspire comfort - knowing that you can manage here means that you have experience to call on should you need it , for example if you lose visibility in a wreck penetration .
I was pleased to put my skills to the test and join in the fun , but my experience suggested that the lake bottom is pretty clear . My efforts only yielded a plastic bottle and a large piece of wood ( medium-sized twig , according to my fellow divers ) and another diver found a pair of swimming goggles . Still , from the perspective of reassuring the lake team , finding nothing much is just as good as finding something . I stayed relatively on course and only surfaced with a face-full of lake-side foliage once .
Several swimmers kindly thanked us for our efforts on their behalf ( we went in just after closing time ), and it occurred to me that this is one moment when diving is visible to the wider community . As a sport we tend to head out to our favourite coastal or inland spots which are well known to divers but otherwise quite separate from the wider world . It was nice to show non-divers what we do and introduce them to a little bit of the fun involved with our sport . �
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