UKDIVING
South Coast Awakening
A year of
Alex Tattersall is a photo-pro who often leads trips in South East Asia . backyard Covid restrictions prompted him to join his local BSAC branch and discovery take a deeper look at his local shore dives
I
am acutely aware of how lucky I am to live on the South Coast at this moment in time . With overseas trips being put on hold , I ’ ve been able to look to my own backyard to find sanctity and sanity , a brief escape from the madness of the world .
In spite of my good fortune to live so close to some choice UK shore diving , it is still a very different diving experience from that of a luxury liveaboard , and it takes some careful planning and a lot more physical effort and dedication . Without a local guide , you are on your own to
42 find interesting subjects and photogenic situations , and at first sight , this seems impossible in the dark brown silt and sand . However , patience , sensitivity to the environment , and cumulative experience do bring their rewards .
I live in Bournemouth , some 45 minutes from my most visited dive site this year , Swanage Pier . A group of photo friends ( some from Isle of Purbeck SAC ) and I started diving as lockdown was lifted and have continued throughout the season . The beauty of this has been the opportunity to watch the site ’ s flora , fauna and even topographical features change in response to weather conditions and seasonal variation . We ‘ ve watched nudibranch species arrive , proliferate , lay eggs and then disappear . We ’ ve witnessed sea hares arrive in their masses , mate in huge groups and then vanish overnight . We ’ ve seen wrasse nesting ; blennies laying and guarding eggs ; anemone shrimp grow from teeny-tiny to almost filling their host snake locks anemone . It ’ s been an education .