The East Coast diving season has kicked off in a big way. After the terrible winter there is abundant marine life to keep the diver occupied. I have had a few trips since my last post about the Bob Tailed Squid and i have encountered another one of them. Im hoping its a good year for these creatures. But what i have to write about just now is my most recent trip where i encountered two firsts for me.
I headed out onto the U boat U74e on board Marine Quest boat Jacob George. Iain easing wood was at the helm today for this trip. A mega Moon had made the tides huge this week and a storm out in the North Sea had induced an unexpected swell. It had been a long time since i had been on this wreck and it was much as i remembered it but for me the action started when i bagged off and reached my deco stops around 6 metres. the vis was 4m at best and it was a little bumpy so i had stowed my camera gear away. Then 3 white shapes blasted past me. initially i got a shock until my brain processed what it was i saw. Three Common Dolphin had buzzed me and disappeared into the gloom. Thankfully the blasted past twice more to confirm i was not imagining things.
I was glad i had stowed my camera as the swell had risen during the dive. Once safely back on board Skipper Iain asked if i had seen the dolphins as they had been running around my DSMB and the shot line buoy for the whole ascent.
Iain was confident that the dolphins would stay on the bow as we motored off and he was right. For 10 miles they rode the bow wave and we were allowed up to the bow to film them. It was a fantastic experience and proved to me that there is more to diving than just the diving! Usually i bring a few lenses onto a trip but today i did not. With the dolphins so close it was difficult to get a good shot with my zoom lens, but i enjoyed trying all the same.
So two new underwater encounters for me Superb.
It was a great day out on the Jacob George. Thanks to all on board for making it a great trip and thanks to Jim and Iain Easingwood of Marine Quest for a super day that will live long in my memory.
