2 You ’ ll find colour in the darkness
Whether you ’ ve transitioned from tropical diving or are contemplating your first ever UK dives , you will notice that subdued light is the norm . You may well be able to see clearly enough in the muted light , but it is for the most part a place of shadows .
Far from putting us off , it ’ s more a case of attuning ourselves to the conditions . As Bane in The Dark Knight Rises says : “ You merely adopted the dark ; I was born in it !”
Super villainy aside , the reason our water is green is the density of plankton it supports . Tropical seas are relatively barren by contrast , with life mostly concentrated on coastal and barrier reefs . Our water ’ s greenness is a sign of its oxygen-rich vitality .
Does this mean we lack the spectacular colour of the tropics ? Not at all , you just have to tune into seeing things the UK way . There ’ s a reason every British diver carries at least one torch . A dab of artificial light reveals the glorious colour of our temperate reefs , bedecked as they are with corals , anemones and sponges . Equally , a torch will help you pick your way across the shadows of a shipwreck , revealing the detail behind the detritus .
UK diving is like a mystery , waiting for you to develop the skills to unlock it .
3 You ’ ll become a weather guru
Most folk are fatalistic when it comes to the weather . For divers , the nuances of weather take on a weighty significance . We need to know about approaching weather fronts : How strong is the wind ? Where ’ s it coming from ? What ’ s it doing in relation to tide ?
Understanding weather is critical to dive planning . Witness the grizzled veteran standing on the quayside with his finger held aloft , uttering the dread words : “ There ’ s a southerly on its way .” Such words will strike terror into the hearts of savvy divers ,
prompting the infamous side effect known as Plan B .
Seriously though , as a British diver you will become more attuned to planning in advance [ see Yo-Han ’ s column in this issue ] and working with the weather . We use every tool at our disposal when planning our dives . Most clubs will have a sacred black book of reliable GPS marks , and every seasoned boat cox will have his or her favoured source of wind forecasting , whether that be the Met Office , XC wind maps , or the time honoured method of sticking a wet finger up in the air and frowning enigmatically at the horizon .
Blue shark snorkelling demands favourable conditions
Moody skies in the Farnes
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