UKDIVING
Fill bank, fill cylinders, repeat. Welcome to my world
Luke loads some new Js of O2 air, about twice as much as he was carrying.
Your computer can tell you your time to surface; it can’ t put more gas in your cylinders. If you don’ t enjoy doing maths, remember it’ s a lot less fun doing it at 6m on a rapidly draining tank.
4 Listen to your instincts
Scapa is a big bucket list dive, and it’ s tempting to push yourself to do everything; I know I do. But I’ ve learned to respect people who know their limits and take a morning or afternoon off. I’ ve seen people kit up, look at the conditions and say to their buddy,“ Hey, are you okay to dive with somebody else? I’ m just not feeling it.”
Sometimes those people joined us on the bridge, looked wistfully at their friends’ dSMBs and said they should have gone after all. Hazel had a great line for those moments:“ It’ s better to be on the boat wishing you were in the water than in the water wishing you were on the boat.” * Words to live by. * I first heard this adage from the technical diver and safety consultant Richard Bull, but I suspect it is common currency. Does anyone know its origins? Editor
5 Talking of dSMBs …
If your dSMB is the length and thickness of my( skinny) forearm and it’ s connected to a cotton reel, then go jump in a lake. At sea, where there’ s current, waves and it’ s dark, why make life so much more difficult for yourself? I’ ve never seen anybody mess up deploying a socking great crack-bottle buoy on a chunky clunky ratchet reel. As for finger-reels, bolt-snaps and little mouth-inflator blobs, in the words of that guy in Blade Runner, I’ ve seen things you people wouldn’ t believe.
View from breakfast
The secret recipe for Valhalla’ s Hot Chocolate ++
Yes, I know how to make Valhalla’ s infamous chocolate with‘ the works’. Yes, it is the best post-dive drink in the universe. No, I won’ t tell you what’ s in it.
■ Brian crewed on MV Valhalla, based in Stromness, Orkney. mv-valhalla. co. uk /
34 Hot chocolate( mostly gone) and teacake pairing