View Full Version : Eastwood's Moray Firth trip
Well the diving was good real guy stuff wrecks and more wrecks the girls liked it too. The viz was 8-10m on average over the Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully the others will post some of the pictures they took underwater. My camera strobe is playing up just now. :eek: The diveboat sailing from Lossymouth was called the Topcat It has a good deckspace with a central raised area, great for kitting up and a gate at the stern to enter the water. And as every diver wants to know a proper dive ladder. And something the girls always want to know a good WC. The skipper is great at finding wrecks and when he drops the shot line and says its on the bow its on the bow.
http://www.moraydiving.com/
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j62/johnnicolson/Temp%20folder/dive1.jpg
We also had the now world famous curried potato and yes they taste great, If only they had served it with a cold beer as well it would be heaven. The skip also dives, A good sign as he understands all the things u need to make a good days diving
Gass guzzler is getting a lot beter with his air and now has dived deeper than his wife who organised the trip, cheers clare, PS did u go shopping when we were on the boat!!!!!
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j62/johnnicolson/Temp%20folder/Andy.jpg
The proud gas guzzler and gord holding court.........
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j62/johnnicolson/Temp%20folder/Cambell.jpg
Nial sitting there missing yvonne or probably thinking about the reading he will have later and Cambell getting used to a position we both used later on......
Can you tell which picture I'm feeling like barfing in? :rolleyes:
Great trip!! Thanks Claire! And we were all really sorry that you couldn't join us on the boat. That was a real nightmare :( I sympathise because almost the same thing happened to me in the farnes in May. Sod's law!
The drive up was pretty long though: 200 miles!!! :eek: on a friday evening after work it was a bit of a bummer ... but we got there.
The B&B was good, and after a hearty breakfast we were raring to go.
Like everyone else, I can only say positive things about Bill Ruck and the Top Cat. Bill was full of energy and enthusiasm for diving and had loads of briefing materials about the dive sites. He even had a dive on the San Tiburcio himself while we were eating lunch on our surface interval.
Day 1: 2 dives on teh San Tiburcio.
The viz was excellent (10m), and it was a long way down teh shot. You get that Scapa floe feeling of falling into green space. Yeah!!! The wreck had loads to see, and was big enough that we had two separate dives on it.
Lots of pollack, saithe, and a couple of ling. Also, great light from the sunshine above.
Bill provided his famous curried potato lunch, which i really enjoyed and had 2 helpings of.
The third dive was in teh Clifton Pub, after a monster nosh-up at Charlie Chang's chinese buffet.
Day 2: The Verona and the Unity
I thought yesterday was a beautiful day: bleached blue-grey early autumn skies, low warm sun, and a silvery tone to the sea. On the 1.5 hour steam out to the dive site, we crossed paths with a minky whale. In close.
The Verona is another large wreck, and because of our saturation levels we didn't get much time on it. A bit frustrating but still a lovely dive. Yes, I know how it would have been if we'd all had rebreathers :rolleyes:
We saw ling, pollack, and lobster.
In the afternoon, we dived the wreck of a wee trawler, teh Unity, at 25m the shallowest dive of hte weekend. because of this, you could still feel the swell, even on the dive, and I think a few of us were a bit queasy. But it was worth it because I suddenly looked round half way through the dive and saw something I haven't seen in 6 years of diving: a shoal of cod! That made the weekend for me and I'm still thrilled to think about it.
Maybe more signs of a recovery in fish stocks? Bring it on!!
the 2nd picture, guy in the middle with blonde hair/hands on hips.
i think i know this guy, his name is andy?
anyone shed some light?
Yep andy or as we call him Gas guzzler. Probably change his name to deepdiver (private joke ask clare) how do u know andy?
Yep andy or as we call him Gas guzzler. Probably change his name to deepdiver (private joke ask clare) how do u know andy?
So, I spent 8 months organising the trip, and spent 2 days in the B&B, getting over suspected food poisoning on Friday night. Thanks M&S (allegedly)
My hubby, gas guzzler (or Andy as some know him by) only qualified this year and was egged on by me all the way from being a squeeb. On Sunday, Ian Allan took him to 40m, where I have not been. Not chuffed.
Anyway, anyone fancy a dive Thursday night? We're off to the Red Sea next week and I want to get dived up.
ahh gas guzzler, i mistook the interpretation & assumed the guy on the left was gas guzzler.
i dont know claire so i think it would be best to swerve the 'deepdiver' joke altogether.
i know who andy is, but not through diving.
i work within the same establishment.
i assume he will probably now know who i am, if not........
(a clue; i wear red & i also use the same name at work ;) ).
So, I spent 8 months organising the trip, and spent 2 days in the B&B, getting over suspected food poisoning on Friday night. Thanks M&S (allegedly)
sorry to hear that Claire.
but if you think m&s (allegedly) is bad for food poisoning, your going to love Egypt.:eek:
thanks for the explanation of the deepdiver joke.
dont worry about it, 40m is over rated, just make sure you have his life insurance policies in order :D
dont worry about it, 40m is over rated, just make sure you have his life insurance policies in order :D
Oh I do, they went straight into my filing box as soon as the updated ones came in, along with a nice actuarial calculation of the annuity I would get!
By the way, Gas guzzler says remember, he's the one who is testing the kerosene bund for your certificate of safety tomorrow.
I have no idea what that means, but that's pretty much usual when he talks about work.
Claire
Sounds like hes checking a wall for a petrol pond maybe fill it with water and dive it.....:D
By the way, Gas guzzler says remember, he's the one who is testing the kerosene bund for your certificate of safety tomorrow.
errm, yeah ok,
my life insurance is also up to date :D
if you never hear from me again, its gas guzzlers fault.
dive granny
18-09-06, 23:40
sorry to hear that Claire.
but if you think m&s (allegedly) is bad for food poisoning, your going to love Egypt.:eek:
thanks for the explanation of the deepdiver joke.
dont worry about it, 40m is over rated, just make sure you have his life insurance policies in order :D
Be careful what you eat in Egypt Claire. I got a form of dysentery and had to go to the SGH when I came home. I couldn't even stand up. i was off work for three weeks. Also got heat stroke, and I didn't sit in the sun:( :(
Cambell, Nial and helen have not herd from u here about the trip?
Gas Guzzler
19-09-06, 10:12
That will teach Claire!
Bet she wishes now, that she didn't make all those comments about me getting to (age) 40 first.
That will teach Claire!
Bet she wishes now, that she didn't make all those comments about me getting to (age) 40 first.
That's ok gg, you can make comments about me getting to 30 in a few years!
Be careful what you eat in Egypt Claire. I got a form of dysentery and had to go to the SGH when I came home. I couldn't even stand up. i was off work for three weeks. Also got heat stroke, and I didn't sit in the sun:( :(
Do you get an extra baggage allowance for Immodium?
Claire you get an extra baggage allowance for looking after that old guy u call andy, 40 years old will he have a zimmer with him.....:D you get an extra weight allowance for the zimmer.
dive granny
19-09-06, 20:30
Do you get an extra baggage allowance for Immodium?
Wish I had. It might have helped me. It really was awful. Thought I was going to die with the heat stroke:eek: :eek:
ps to Ding. Campbell is a busy man just now, hence me organsing the lectures for him.:)
ahh gas guzzler, i mistook the interpretation & assumed the guy on the left was gas guzzler.
Nope, that's me. Hello
Nope, that's me. Hello
hi Col.
nice to meet you/see you? :)
did you enjoy the dive?
never did this wreck, was supposed to do it in april but had other commitments.
stewart
hey,claire,just had to join conger A to reply,If gas guzzler was not capable of the dive i would not have taken him to the wreck.I thought it was M&S grub that made you GREEN ,not the fantastic dive on the Verona.I will post a photo of G G doing a very long deco stop for the enjoyment bof the dive.Cheers,BIFA.How are you feeling now?
hey,claire,just had to join conger A to reply,If gas guzzler was not capable of the dive i would not have taken him to the wreck.I thought it was M&S grub that made you GREEN ,not the fantastic dive on the Verona.I will post a photo of G G doing a very long deco stop for the enjoyment bof the dive.Cheers,BIFA.How are you feeling now?
I'm feeling much better thanks. Just back from Conger Alley where gg, Campbell and I had a very enjoyable dive. Vis was about 3cm for the first couple of metres - couldn't even read my computer! Below about 6 metres it was quite clear though.
Claire
Gas Guzzler
22-09-06, 00:20
Very good dive. 1st night dive in Scotland. That's me over 50 dives now and 33 hrs underwater
Almost Tropical on the surface. Crap vis to 3 metres then fine below that.
Slight problem with losing Campbell as we went down for the first time. Surfaced from 6 m and spotted him still at the shore.
Can't believe I was the only one to see the dogfish as I swam in the middle of three.
Stonefield Hot choclate is recommended.