KIRSTYANDREWS
Pinch , Punch ...
Kirsty Andrews joins the hardy divers of Torbay BSAC for their traditional New Year ’ s Day harbour dive
I
’ m writing this column as I attempt to warm up after my first dive of the year , on the first day of the year . Comparatively old news for the March edition of SCUBA magazine , but this is the first SCUBA mag of 2023 , and as it hits your doorsteps in mid- February , the waters will be cooler still . I wonder how many of you will have followed me into salty waters so far this year ? My salutations to you if you have !
Mostly I ’ m filled with excitement at the prospect of what a dive might hold , but sometimes even I go in with managed expectations . Today was certainly one of those : I had spent much of the previous weeks coughing and spluttering , as is becoming an annoyingly seasonal tradition for me . I thought I was fit to dive again but had given myself a stern talking to about taking it easy . Also , the weather had been inclement for much of those past weeks , and as I waited at the dive site for other hardy divers to arrive , I was greeted by not one but two hailstorms , in between rain showers . There ’ s something about the first day of the year , though , isn ’ t there , that makes you want to ‘ start as you mean to go on ’, and make the effort to get out there and overcome the appeal of the duvet , even if conditions are less than perfect ?
The day ’ s dive target was a modest but intriguing one . Those lovely folk at Torbay BSAC welcomed me again - usually I only descend on them for their annual photography event in the summer but this time I had been enticed along for the rare privilege of being allowed to dive in Torbay harbour . It was a site I ’ d never tried before , but an annual tradition for them . Permission to conduct this dive is granted by the Harbourmaster to the club by application only on this one morning of the year , when the usual boat traffic is not present . Even then , surface marker buoys are essential from the outset and vigilant shore cover equally so .
Luckily there were plenty of suitable candidates to keep an eager eye on the intrepid divers ; it was a lovely sociable occasion with as many ‘ dive supporters ’ as divers . The conveniently located cafe providing coffee and bacon sandwiches may have had something to do with this . It was a lovely occasion to catch up with club members after a seasonal hiatus , compare holiday stories and perhaps , a chance to make plans for the rest of the year .
I ’ m not sure I ’ d describe the dive itself as a classic . Miraculously , the clouds cleared for the dive window , and although plentiful white horses gambolled past outside the harbour , within it the water was calm and there was at least a metre of visibility to allow me to keep track of my buddies , just about .
The harbour wall provided shelter for sea squirts and in cracks , gobies crabs and blennies ; under the boardwalks were forests of featherstars . I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and called time after about half an hour . I spent longer over my Americano afterwards ! Nevertheless , it was nice to think of dive buddies across the UK and further afield , taking their first underwater strides of 2023 at the same time . I know that other BSAC clubs run their ‘ winter warmer ’ trips a little later in the year , but the ethos is similar . Here ’ s to getting together for another year of diving fun . �
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