IN THE MIX
Chris Shelley ( Plymouth Sound BSAC ) makes things easier
John ‘ Toddy ’ Todman offer ’ s a student ’ s perspective of the Mod 1 Top Up course
I
was really grateful to Dave Pegler for giving me the nod to join the first BSAC CCR Mod 1 Top Up Course .
The dive site was Eastern Kings ( Shore dive ) in Plymouth which was deep enough to gain the qualifying depths required , and was diveable on the weekend in question . Dave was the first instructor to deliver the course , and we were the first two students to complete it , which I feel is a privilege .
So off I go , a 4.45am alarm call , up and out of the door , coffee in hand to meet at Plymouth , Eastern Kings for 07:30 and watch the sun come up over Fort Bovisand . There was an extensive dive brief , then a check of our dive plans by our instructor and general discussion ; then we carried the units and dive gear to the place we were going to do pre-dive checks , buddy checks and get ready to enter the water .
The plan was to repeat the same dive plan twice working out surface intervals and tide times , using 20 / 25 dil at 40m , for a surface-to-surface run time of 60 mins . We had deco stops for 2 mins at 9m and 6 mins at 6m . The viz in the shallows was typical for December – a good 1m !
Fortunately , it was a pleasant 4-5m viz at
depth , with little to no current as we finned to the bottom of the slope . Eventually , it was time to ascend to our first stop at 9m and then onto 6m before surfacing . As this site is shore-based we did have a little swim at 6m back to the shallows to exit , then de-kit and debrief . Dive two was the same but on High Water there was more of a surface swim and slightly more current , but diveable nonetheless . One note for this site is to use and rely on your compass .
Thanks to all the organisers and Plymouth Sound BSAC , who made me feel very welcome . In true BSAC style , it was a good day finished off with tall tales and lots of laughter .
Thanks to Dominic Robinson for organising this feature at short notice �
An early start to catch Low Water in Plymouth
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