Ok, we cant stay away.... this trip was without our favorite instructor Dylan but he cant join us every time....
Raggies to Pinnacles and another area.... lots of life as usual but vis dropped to 10-15m. still very nice dives, warm water, some surge.
Similar areas the following week, vis back to around 20m, brought the lovely Jennifer with us who (then) was a trainee instructor.
Friday, 13 April 2012
Nevs Ledge 25 Feb
Ok, back to Durban, number one reef 'Nevs ledge'. Was supposed to be 'containers' a new site in the same area but the gps co-ordinates were a bit out....:(
A good dive, ok vis but a lot of nudibranches, a large natal wrasse, blacksaddle mimic and pineapple fish. A very nice new fish, a lyretail hogfish, bat fish as usual and trumpet fish.
A good dive, ok vis but a lot of nudibranches, a large natal wrasse, blacksaddle mimic and pineapple fish. A very nice new fish, a lyretail hogfish, bat fish as usual and trumpet fish.
Amazing Aliwal! 18 FEB 2012
So, very little diving in Durb's so we addicts moved south to Aliwal Shoal and we were not disappointed!
Vis FOREVER. warm water, no current, amazing dives with all the sea creatures we could want - ok except sharks and dolphins (ok , we did see them from the boat).
Two long dives as neither was deep so 1 hour each approx, saw so much - potato bass, two turtles - one huge!, trigger fish, etc etc. Raggies cave was really good but we also loved the formations on the first dive but forgot which area.
Photo is of our littlest diver aged 10 and a quarter.
Cant wait to get back to Aliwal!! Oh, and the dive centre (Aliwal Dive Centre) is fab - very friendly and the best toasties, chips and hot chocolate around. Showers are excellent!
Vis FOREVER. warm water, no current, amazing dives with all the sea creatures we could want - ok except sharks and dolphins (ok , we did see them from the boat).
Photo is of our littlest diver aged 10 and a quarter.
Cant wait to get back to Aliwal!! Oh, and the dive centre (Aliwal Dive Centre) is fab - very friendly and the best toasties, chips and hot chocolate around. Showers are excellent!
Monday, 5 March 2012
Will o' the weather
Hi, my name is Annelie the Durban Diver and its been AGES since my last dive.....
The last 5 attempts at diving have been cancelled, 4 because of poor weather, mostly the wind making the seas too rough. The first boat or two get out but the later dives are mostly cancelled and due to work commitments (she works?) I have not been able to make the early dives.
We had seemingly perfect conditions a week ago for an early VERY deep 40m dive to Yarringdale which I was very excited about but lo and behold, sods law stepped in and one boat engine refused to start. Its too risky to go out with one engine, near a shipping lane, and on a deep dive, just asking for an emergency to crop up!
Super skipper Steve tried his level best but to no avail. I thought it was awesome though to watch him jump overboard and swim to shore and back to get parts as he didnt want to beach the boat.....
Ah well, the cyclone that was due to hit southern Mozambique did hit and we have had a couple of days of heavy rain, VERY heavy seas and wind.
I am booked to go out again on Wednesday but the likihood of rubbish visability is high, even if it does launch.
boo hoo
The last 5 attempts at diving have been cancelled, 4 because of poor weather, mostly the wind making the seas too rough. The first boat or two get out but the later dives are mostly cancelled and due to work commitments (she works?) I have not been able to make the early dives.
We had seemingly perfect conditions a week ago for an early VERY deep 40m dive to Yarringdale which I was very excited about but lo and behold, sods law stepped in and one boat engine refused to start. Its too risky to go out with one engine, near a shipping lane, and on a deep dive, just asking for an emergency to crop up!
Super skipper Steve tried his level best but to no avail. I thought it was awesome though to watch him jump overboard and swim to shore and back to get parts as he didnt want to beach the boat.....
Ah well, the cyclone that was due to hit southern Mozambique did hit and we have had a couple of days of heavy rain, VERY heavy seas and wind.
I am booked to go out again on Wednesday but the likihood of rubbish visability is high, even if it does launch.
boo hoo
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Awesome morning to Coopers lighthouse wreck!
Well, the jinx is well and truly broken. Three times was a treat. Perfect weather, virtually no current, good vis (a bit green), made for a very very nice dive.
Saw lots, buddied up with Manny the man who pointed out lots of life that I would have otherwise missed. an electric ray was a highlight, lots of bait fish, scorpion and common devil firefish, an eel (not sure which one) and a natal wrasse. An excellent dive and even got some reasonable photos.
Saw lots, buddied up with Manny the man who pointed out lots of life that I would have otherwise missed. an electric ray was a highlight, lots of bait fish, scorpion and common devil firefish, an eel (not sure which one) and a natal wrasse. An excellent dive and even got some reasonable photos.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Whither the weather
2nd day of dives cancelled due to wind and unsettled conditions. Heard there is a cyclone off Madagascar that is heading to Mozambique through the straits so the whole east coast may develop bad vis....bummer!
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
5 dives in a week!
Hi, my name is DurbanDiver101 and I'm a diveaholic, its been 2 days since my last dive.....
Followed up Sundays two dives with another dive to Chains/Nevs Ledge on the 7th. Good dive, hopeless safety stop. Somehow one integrated weight pocket fell out of my BCD, it was still attached but dangling so it threw my weight all over the place, couldn't hover. On top of that, with all the shenanigans trying to stay at 5m (I also miss weighted myself, took out 2kg instead of just 1) my nitrox tank was virtually empty so I was even more buoyant!
Took the boys for dives on Saturday. Vis was ok but it was a bit surgey with a current so 1st dive with son no1 to Birthdays was ok, although we ascended early since he had a headache (stop skip breathing!!) then 2nd dive with son no 2 had to be to the more sheltered Limestones. Its not a great reef but still quite a lot of life to view and son no 2 enjoyed so thats fine!
Followed up Sundays two dives with another dive to Chains/Nevs Ledge on the 7th. Good dive, hopeless safety stop. Somehow one integrated weight pocket fell out of my BCD, it was still attached but dangling so it threw my weight all over the place, couldn't hover. On top of that, with all the shenanigans trying to stay at 5m (I also miss weighted myself, took out 2kg instead of just 1) my nitrox tank was virtually empty so I was even more buoyant!
Took the boys for dives on Saturday. Vis was ok but it was a bit surgey with a current so 1st dive with son no1 to Birthdays was ok, although we ascended early since he had a headache (stop skip breathing!!) then 2nd dive with son no 2 had to be to the more sheltered Limestones. Its not a great reef but still quite a lot of life to view and son no 2 enjoyed so thats fine!
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Normal service has been resumed
SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY
Perhaps it was a tad ambitious after having a panic attack and an aborted dive due to vis but I decided to book on a double tank dive to Coopers Wreck.....
Well, the current was reasonably strong and as I tried to swim and descend towards the anchor line I just moved further away from it! The boat came back and collected three of us who failed to descend, tried again but by the time I grabbed the rope I was finished, just breathing too hard to descend.
Sat it out on the boat but soon another diver emerged, vis was not good. The rest of the group finished the dive but the 2nd descent was cancelled.
So, dive no 3 in a row failed.
We tried a small wreck further out to sea where the water seemed clearer and it was ok. The Hawthorne is a small 1800's wooden wreck sitting in the sand. A reasonable amount of life around the boat but the important thing for me was to descend successfully and get over this mental block.
My heart was beating hard and my hands were trembling for the 1st 5 mins. There was quite a surge which periodically made the wreck a sandstorm but overall an enjoyable dive AND, had a very good safety stop with a good horizontal profile. I like the aluminium 11 litre nitrox tanks.
Durban Diver is back on track!
Perhaps it was a tad ambitious after having a panic attack and an aborted dive due to vis but I decided to book on a double tank dive to Coopers Wreck.....
Well, the current was reasonably strong and as I tried to swim and descend towards the anchor line I just moved further away from it! The boat came back and collected three of us who failed to descend, tried again but by the time I grabbed the rope I was finished, just breathing too hard to descend.
Sat it out on the boat but soon another diver emerged, vis was not good. The rest of the group finished the dive but the 2nd descent was cancelled.
So, dive no 3 in a row failed.
We tried a small wreck further out to sea where the water seemed clearer and it was ok. The Hawthorne is a small 1800's wooden wreck sitting in the sand. A reasonable amount of life around the boat but the important thing for me was to descend successfully and get over this mental block.
My heart was beating hard and my hands were trembling for the 1st 5 mins. There was quite a surge which periodically made the wreck a sandstorm but overall an enjoyable dive AND, had a very good safety stop with a good horizontal profile. I like the aluminium 11 litre nitrox tanks.
Durban Diver is back on track!
Monday, 30 January 2012
Oh dear.....
hmm, Durbandiver needs to back to dive school. Panic attack on Friday at Birthday ledges. all ok until the descent, (which actually went well even though I had only 5kg instead of my usual 7) but at the bottom the vis was not good and my new mask felt strange, I just freaked and signalled the DM I was going up. I ascended fairly controlled but the instructor tugged my fin and slowed me further wanting me to do the safety stop. Before I knew it we were at the top - being underweighted I couldnt hold the hover. Not a happy DM.
Giving into panic is a very very bad idea (although usually panic means you are not thinking...). I have felt panicked before, especially on deep dives but I always managed to get through it by breathing slowly and turning my air up to max flow for a few breaths. Often the descent can put strain on you so you can feel out of breath which makes you feel panicky....hello.
Lesson learned, dont give in, dont give up, calm down and breathe.
Giving into panic is a very very bad idea (although usually panic means you are not thinking...). I have felt panicked before, especially on deep dives but I always managed to get through it by breathing slowly and turning my air up to max flow for a few breaths. Often the descent can put strain on you so you can feel out of breath which makes you feel panicky....hello.
Lesson learned, dont give in, dont give up, calm down and breathe.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
ABORT!
Dive to Coopers wreck aborted at 20m. vis all along SA coast bad. Cyclone activity madagascar and Mozambique. big swells, green water.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Sodwana Bay
On the 10th of January after a few more dives around Durban (some good some not so good....) we headed for 4 nights up to Sodwana Bay lodge. From Durban its about a 4 hour drive with a stop at Hluhluwe Ilala Weavers for lunch.
The resort looks after all your gear, taking it to and from the beach each day and helping make sure all gets onto the boat which is great when diving with children!
The diving at Sodwana is very good, warm tropical waters, excellent visibility and lots of reefs to choose from though the weather and conditions dictate where we end up diving.
Every day there was a steady wind blowing so the launches were quite something, often taking the skippers 3 attempts to find a way through and involving some exciting ducking and weaving. Hold on tight!
We ended up diving 5 and 2 mile reefs with a max depth of 18m but most were 12m or so which meant long nearly 1 hour dives.
The boys and I took lots of photos and got to practice our skills - a few decent shots but its something that will take time to master, particularly with the surge and current that takes you along, making it difficult to stop!
We also did the turtle tour and witnessed a loggerhead and huge 2m+ leatherback lay their eggs from the beginning to the end of the process which was a privilege.
Check the flickr link for photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/durbandiver101/
cant wait to go back!
The resort looks after all your gear, taking it to and from the beach each day and helping make sure all gets onto the boat which is great when diving with children!
The diving at Sodwana is very good, warm tropical waters, excellent visibility and lots of reefs to choose from though the weather and conditions dictate where we end up diving.
Every day there was a steady wind blowing so the launches were quite something, often taking the skippers 3 attempts to find a way through and involving some exciting ducking and weaving. Hold on tight!
We ended up diving 5 and 2 mile reefs with a max depth of 18m but most were 12m or so which meant long nearly 1 hour dives.
The boys and I took lots of photos and got to practice our skills - a few decent shots but its something that will take time to master, particularly with the surge and current that takes you along, making it difficult to stop!
We also did the turtle tour and witnessed a loggerhead and huge 2m+ leatherback lay their eggs from the beginning to the end of the process which was a privilege.
Check the flickr link for photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/durbandiver101/
cant wait to go back!
Monday, 2 January 2012
Great way to end 2011!
7am dive to Coopers Wreck which is rated at Durbans no 1 wreck dive.
Excellent vis of 20m+ but descending was a mission! The current we had been warned about was there - although apparently not too bad! We had to haul ourselves down the anchor line hand over hand but on the wreck it was less evident.
The large soft corals on the wreck were beautiful and there was plenty of sealife to enjoy. I want to go back to Coopers as I used my oxygen a bit quickly due to the exertion of fighting the current. 32 minute dive all up with max depth of 29m.
Then at 9.30 we went to Nevs Ledge, another deep dive. This was a very calm dive, no current, warm water, very relaxing. The DM Chantal and I ended up surfacing last as we had air left and were on nitrox. 42 min dive all up but not a whole lot of sea life. I did find some beautiful nudibranches which I am going to learn more about, they are amazing!
Excellent vis of 20m+ but descending was a mission! The current we had been warned about was there - although apparently not too bad! We had to haul ourselves down the anchor line hand over hand but on the wreck it was less evident.
The large soft corals on the wreck were beautiful and there was plenty of sealife to enjoy. I want to go back to Coopers as I used my oxygen a bit quickly due to the exertion of fighting the current. 32 minute dive all up with max depth of 29m.
Then at 9.30 we went to Nevs Ledge, another deep dive. This was a very calm dive, no current, warm water, very relaxing. The DM Chantal and I ended up surfacing last as we had air left and were on nitrox. 42 min dive all up but not a whole lot of sea life. I did find some beautiful nudibranches which I am going to learn more about, they are amazing!
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