Preparing for hosting duties at the upcoming BSAC Diving Conference , Andy Torbet reflects on his adventures snorkelling around Britain
UKDIVING TORBET ON THE TUBE
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A tube and a duck dive
Preparing for hosting duties at the upcoming BSAC Diving Conference , Andy Torbet reflects on his adventures snorkelling around Britain
In a few weeks ’ time it will be BSAC ’ s 2024 Diving Conference *. A time for representatives from clubs across the country , and possibly some from abroad , to get together , swap stories , update and inspire . I hosted the conference back in 2019 – now I ’ m back this year to compere the Main Stage , and I ’ ll also be doing a little side-quest as I deliver a talk on snorkelling .
It seems strange that despite my deep technical dives on television from filming the Britannic at 120m to swimming into Arctic ice caves and plenty of exploratory cave diving expeditions it is , at least within BSAC , something as simple as snorkelling I should be best known for . But then I suppose it is fitting . Since this is where it all began for me at the age of 12 at Aberdeen BSAC .
And so , in preparation for my talk I thought I ’ d look back at a few of the many highlights of the past 12 years of snorkelling adventures this column has motivated me to undertake .
Cape Wrath The original 2011 project which spawned this column , Britain By Snorkel , motivated me to go to the more far flung corners of the UK ’ s blue spaces . One of the most memorable was Cape Wrath . The wild , north-west corner of the country with the black , 700 foot high Clo Mor cliffs dropping into the Atlantic was a truly unique place to snorkel . A place with a real sense of edge-of-the-map adventure .
Wildlife Where to begin ? I ’ ve always said that the dive should inform the equipment , not the other way around . Use the right tool for the job . And I have found that despite the plethora of open and closed circuit kit I own , the best way to encounter wildlife , especially larger species in the UK , has been with a snorkel . Diving with blue sharks in Ireland and Cornwall ; basking sharks in Scotland ; grey seals in Lundy and even
The wild coastline of Cape Wrath Exploring the Scottish shoreline
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