YO-HANCHA
Don ’ t forget your ear plugs !
Yo-Han Cha weighs up the rhythms and routines of a typical UK dive trip – does anything here sound familiar ?
I
do love a dive trip , whether it be a weekend away or longer . It ’ s when I get to spend quality time with my dive club , forging friendships and becoming part of the dive club family . If I ’ m able to lift-share for the car journey , that ’ s when the trip starts . There ’ s nothing quite like a three-hour drive to get to know each other better ; I ’ ll definitely find out how patient my passenger is by how long they ’ re willing to suffer my questionable music tastes .
When we arrive , we ’ ll meet up with everyone else on the trip . There ’ s usually an air of excitement and anticipation for the diving that ’ s to come . There ’ s usually someone who ’ s had a tortuous journey there , especially if the journey involved the M6 , but life ’ s troubles ebb away as we get set up for diving .
On the boat itself , there ’ s usually someone with an issue ( lately in Eyemouth that was me with a split wrist seal ) but there ’ s usually someone at hand to help them ( Iain Dixon on hand to loan me his spare drysuit – what a legend ). There ’ s usually a bit of banter , like when a certain nefarious Greg Wood re-attached me to the boat ( via the cylinder holder ) after I finished kitting-up . As I had unattached myself before getting into my BC , it took me a couple of attempts to stand up before I detected the stitch-up ! There ’ s nothing quite like going diving to see each other ‘ warts and all ’.
If I ’ m not still tied onto the boat , my buddy and I will then go for a dive . When I first started diving in the UK , I was buddied with a more experienced diver who tried to make sure I was okay . I was rather excitable when I first started diving and wanted to see everything at once , but they were all very patient with me and taught me , among other things , that the slower you go , the more you see . These days , I usually find myself buddied with a less experienced diver , who normally aren ’ t as taxing as I was !
I find that the diving itself takes up a surprisingly small percentage of the trip . It ’ ll normally be two 45 minute-ish dives per day , after which the dive manager breathes a sigh of relief that the same number of divers that went down have come back up . We ’ ll then usually have dinner together , whether it be in a pub , restaurant or self-catered , further solidifying our friendships built during the day . If I ’ m sharing a room , I ’ ll usually put that friendship to the test with my alleged snoring . It ’ s been described from anywhere between ‘ cute ’ and ‘ like having a cow in the room ’.
And then , normally far too soon for my liking , it ’ s all over and it ’ s time to go back home , where kit has to be washed down , cylinders refilled and , occasionally , wrist seals replaced . Then I ’ m ready to go again for the next dive trip .
So if you ’ re new to a club , the best way to get to know everyone is to sign up for a dive trip and go diving with them . And if you ’ re sharing a room with me , bring ear plugs ! �
Yo-Han ’ s buddies de jour : Elaine White ; Roisin Maddison and John Adams
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