Welcome
Is summer 2026 finally at an end? This is, after all, SCUBA’ s October issue, and should be landing on your doorsteps at some point in the second half of September. All the same, it feels like the season still has some treats in store.
I’ m writing this in the final days of August, on my annual pilgrimage to Lundy Island. More precisely, I’ m ensconced in a tiny Airbnb in the hills above Ilfracombe, because our accommodation( camping) on Lundy was cancelled a week before our visit. The reason? Low water levels on the island; yet another consequence of the long hot summer.
We managed a great weekend of diving all the same, our friends at Lundy Diving bringing us back to Ilfracombe on the Saturday instead of depositing us on Lundy’ s shores. We were able to get cylinder fills from the lovely people at Ilfracombe BSAC – many thanks to the members who manned the compressors long into the evening.
Anyway, we defied the odds and managed two days of peak Lundy( 12-metre viz, flat calm on the west coast) before the dreaded easterlies kicked in on Monday, by which time I was beating a tactical retreat up the M4.
That’ s enough about me – what about you? This summer’ s intense and prolonged dry spell brought challenges on land, but how’ s it been for your diving? SCUBA’ s role is to celebrate your diving, and I’ m keen to showcase any special projects. For a prime example, check out this month’ s centrepiece feature by Patrick Holliday of Milton Keynes SAC, which tells the story of a expedition to Ireland to dive the wreck of the Laurentic, a fabled White Star liner [ Golden Years – diving the Laurentic page 36 ].
To my mind, this endeavour is a classic BSAC expedition story, involving research, planning and a profound respect for the great ship the team sought to dive. It all comes together in a great yarn about pursuing our diving ambitions. Do you have similar story to share? Drop me an email and we’ ll devise a way to feature it in these pages.
Simon Rogerson – Editor simon @ scubamagazine. co. uk
Cover: Hippocampus bargibanti pygmy seahorse( yellow variant) in Halmahera, by Simon Rogerson
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