Two dives away from my 100th Dive

I guess I should thank Jon Oliver for getting me started. We’d both wanted to start diving but he did the research and we both signed up with Dive Crew in Bracknell to do our PADI Open Water certification. It started in a pool in Bracknell (I really hated diving in a hot pool in a dry suit) and finished with four really boring dives in Horsea Island just outside Portsmouth. I passed my PADI on 22nd September 2002 in some very green murky water:

Since then I’ve done 98 dives in 12 different countries across the globe:

Thanks to my Suunto Stinger dive computer and a variety of different cameras I’ve been able to record every dive. Here’s some of the highlights: Deepest Dive My deepest dive took place in Sipadan whilst searching for Hammerhead Sharks. We quickly descended to 41.7m (137 feet) before making a steady climb back up to 5 meters for our safety stop.

And it was worth it because a lone Hammerhead Shark swam right through our group:

Longest Dive My longest dive took place in Sipadan, and despite being underwater for just over an hour, I didn’t get any decent photos!

Scariest Dive This was really easy to choose. I’ll let Lisa explain: First off, it was my first ever night dive, so I was already a little bit on edge. Our divemaster explained ahead of time that we were going to go through a swim-through so she could get some photos of a big turtle. Little did we know the swim-through was essentially a small cave with a diameter of about 1 meter. We swam in one at a time and I could see the divemaster and the turtle in front of me and we patiently waited for her to take some photos. I was concentrating on my buoyancy and trying not to kick up too much sand in front of Ben and also focusing on staying calm while we were pretty much stuck in this small cave. Then my flashlight went out! Surely I lost a bit of my cool and kicked a ton of sand up in Ben’s face. While I was banging on my flashlight to get it to work, the divemaster swam away and I was a bit unsure if I should follow without any light. Thankfully, Ben noticed I was having problems and tried to shine his flashlight in front of me while I moved forward. Before we could get out of the cave, we had to swim through a tight spot that caught my tank and my regulator hose. To get through successfully, we had to pretty much bury our heads in the sand to clear the overhang. As soon as I swam out, heart beating like crazy, I anxiously waited for Ben, as I couldn’t see him when we were in the cave. I let out a sigh of relief (through my reg of course) as he emerged and I squeezed his hand nearly to death to let him know I had been freaked out, but glad to see him. And I could tell that Ben was shaken up because he couldn’t be bothered to take any photos of the monstrous turtle that was swimming around us. To make matters worse, the current kicked up towards the end of the dive and it took a lot of effort to stay on the mooring line. Then, after the 5m safety stop, I had to swim with the current to grab on to the weighted line hanging off the back of the boat near the ladder. All I remember is psyching myself up and swimming with my arms as outstretched as possible, concentrating only on grabbing that line. We celebrated afterwards, happy to be alive!!!

Favourite Dives Whilst the fish and coral are cool, I do find the wreck decks the most fascinating. So far I’ve checked out RMS Rhone (BVI), Komodo Wreck (Coral Sea), Tagata Wreck (St Kitts), SS Thistlegorm (Egypt), Jolanda Wreck (Egypt) and St. Anthony (Maui).

Coolest Animal - The Nudibranch Nudibranchs are a little hard to spot but come in all shapes and colours. They are rarely more than an inch long.

Lisa spots her first Nudibranch at Two Towers

And if you’re not to careful you miss the bigger fish in the hunt…

Nudibranch and a Crocodile Fish at Mabul Island

Hint: The blue Nudibranch is not the only fish in the photo… It’s sitting on the lips of a Crocodile fish. I didn’t even notice until I got home! So where am I going to have my 100th dive? I honestly don’t know yet, we’re still figuring out our holiday plan for this year. But there’s one thing I know for certain, I’ll be married when I do it!