Get Charter - The North Star (PUBLISHED IN DIVE MAGAZINE 14 / 09 / 05

see footnote for details of iains and jims new boat Silver Sky)

Salt water runs in the veins of this Eyemouth skipper, though fortunately not in his engine. Mike Clark reports
Skipper: Iain Easingwood and his boat North Star are fairly recent additions to the Eyemouth diving scene. Operating since February 2004, they provide a diver-friendly service and represent a good opportunity to explore this fascinating stretch of coast. St Abbs to the north always steals the limelight, but I believe the diving out of Eyemouth in southeast Scotland is just as good, and offers greater scope for exploration. Iain comes from a long line of mariners - four generations. His great-grandfather was a naval diver who wore the standard dress and lead boots. Before the war, he ran a salvage company in Dunbar, 20 miles north of Eyemouth. Iain - who learned the ropes on his father's trawler - has all the qualifications that you would expect from a charter boat skipper, including RYA advanced power boat, first aid, O2 administration, sea survival, fire fighting, VHF radio operator's certificate and a RYA diesel engine course. The North Star was built by Port Isaac Workboats of Wadebridge, Cornwall and is a standard offshore 105 with a few modifications. The Ford Sabre 280hp diesel engine is so clean and polished you could eat kippers off it! Cleanliness is a running theme with this boat - long after you are ashore and packing up your kit, Iain is rinsing off the deck to ensure it's spotless for the next party. This is especially important, as he sometimes takes parties of anglers out, and as we all know, there's a time and 'plaice' for everything! Above the engine cover, stainless-steel rails run along the centre line, making ideal anchoring points for heavy twin-sets. It's an easy and comfortable way to kit up - just sit on the engine cover and slip into your wing. Once the wing is on, the seats are high and deep enough to make it completely comfortable to sit as you wait to get in the water. It's a little tight to get 12 twin-set divers kitted up in this fashion, but I'd say it readily accommodates ten. The shelf at the stern of the boat has been removed and this affords extra deck space. This boat provides something of a novelty for local divers, as it has a side-mounted ladder that runs up the starboard hull of the boat - you have to twist yourself around when you reach the top. It made for easy access to the boat in the relatively calm weather, but I think it could be a little tricky in a swell. Iain or a crewmember is there for you, ready to grab a fin and help you aboard. Once you're back in, it's never long before the hot drinks are on offer along with some of Iain's mother's home-made shortbread. Bliss! I've dived from the North Star a few times now and I have been impressed by Iain's pro-active attitude to helping divers get the most from their time with him. He was only too keen to put us on the new wreck, East Neuk, and will happily travel distances to take you to your chosen site. His is the only charter boat in the area that will take you well north of the usual St Abb's Head sites, or further south down to Burnmouth. Last year, Iain even took a party of divers out to the extremely exposed Bell Rock, an exposed site right out in the North Sea. If you have a fancy for trying a new site, Iain is certainly willing and capable and has the electronics in the wheelhouse to give a decent chance of success.

What we liked Clean, fast boat with good seating and kitting-up areas, and a willing skipper. What we didn't like The ladder can be difficult in a swell, the head is cramped and there is no stowage at the seats. Boat: Offshore 105 Moored: Eyemouth Harbour, Berwickshire, Scotland Engine: Ford Sabre 280hp Cruising speed: 14 knots Head: one standard marine headMax passengers: 12, plus two crew Optimum passengers: ten, plus crewCharter rate: £25 per diver for two dives on weekends; £20 during the week, group discounts available (prices may have risen since 2005)

Range: Burnmouth to Fast Castle, Bell Rock and Forth wrecks

Contact: 07780 823884,

Email: marine.quest@btinternet.comWebsite: http://www.marine-quest.co.uk/

Iain and Jim have now added the new Boat Silver Sky to their fleet. I will be preparing a review shortly. Keep checking my blog for details

SCUBAPRO MK 25/G250 REGULATOR REVIEW

SCUBAPRO MK 25/G250 REGULATOR

Most folk will have an opinion on which brand of regulator is the best and will probably stick with that brand when updating their regulator or adding to their equipment. I certainly fall into that bracket and over the years I have only owned regs produced by 2 different manufacturers.
I was given the Scubapro Vintage G250 second stage married up with the top of the range MK 25 Balanced Piston First Stage to try out. This was not a manufacturer I had used before. I was very interested to see how it compared with my own regulators which are UK regs, regarded by many UK divers to be the best there is. Would I note any difference?
First impressions- I must admit I liked the looks of the old G250 which was launched in the late eighties and when I saw the new vintage version its still an attention grabber. A metal purge button is surrounded by a chromed ring with the blue of the diaphragm showing through the black casing of the second stage. There is a nice predive switch and a venture adjustment knob, which allows fine tuning of the regulator. They are both easily accessible with thick gloves on.
Reading reviews about this reg I had heard of concerns regarding the size of the 2nd stage, which compared to some regulators is large, although not drastically so, I must admit I did not notice much difference. I could use my camera as usual with no problems. The 2nd stage is a little larger in depth and width than my current reg but it was comfortable in my mouth. The orthodontic mouthpiece is extremely comfortable and I was surprised to find that I liked it more than my usual choice, which was the comfobite style. The exhaust ports were identical in size with my reg and no bubbles obscured my vision, which is something im very aware of. As a photographer I shy away from regs with tiny second stages as the exhaled air always hits the underside of the camera housing.
I tested this reg out during the winter of 2008 and every time I dived there was either snow or ice on the ground. The conditions certainly would prove whether the heat sinks and metal components of the 2nd stage would enable this regulator to perform in cold water. The 1st stage has a Thermal Insulating System (TIS) on piston and spring. Making this regulator cold water resistant, exceeding the CE cold water diving requirements.
So in very cold conditions and at a max depth of just over 46 metres I found the regulator performed beautifully. Inhalation and exhalation effort was minimal and I did notice a slight difference between the G250 and my current reg, which surprised me. The cold water was no problem for the G250 either and in 6-degree water after a surface temperature of –1.5 degrees the regulator performed perfectly and gave me as much gas, as I could want.
In conclusion some people will like it and some people will not. I liked the big second stage and for somebody who has never owned a scubapro reg in the past I would seriously consider buying one.
The best price I could find for the Scubapro G250 with the MK25 1st stage was just under £345, which is very similar to the high-end regulators from other manufacturers.
Mike Clark

KENT TOOL RATCHET REEL REVIEW

KENT TOOL RATCHET REEL
This review starts with a wee bit of a story. I had a reel, a plastic mass manufactured thing that I absolutely hated. It had a wee switch on its back to select STOP/RATCHET/FREE modes. The truth is this wee switch wasn’t up for the job and the reel had a habit of switching into the free mode, this often resulted in line spooling out of the reel causing a right mess which could be potentially dangerous. I put up with it though, as I knew of the fault etc and would keep an eye on it.
Surfacing after a dive I started taking some images of the boat, while I was involved in this, my wee reel did its party trick. The dive boat came in close to pick me up and I made to fin to the lift. I couldn’t move. I was trussed up better than a pig on a spit! The reel had disappeared into the depths and done the best thing it possibly could have by running right off the line never to be seen again. Was I sad or upset "NO" good riddance! So once I managed to get back on the boat and unwind the line from me I switched over to my back up reel which performed a lot better.
Anyway I was over the moon when I was given the opportunity to test a couple of Kent Tools Dive Reels. In the UK there is a big following using these reels. I was given 50 and 100 metre reels to test. These are solid units made from marine grade 316 stainless steel.
First impressions were a solidly engineered tool with a fantastic ratchet operation. A solid chunk of metal with counter sunk screws and no rough edges, a quality product.
These ratchet reels can be supplied to your desired specifications and come in left or right handed set up’s. Narrow or wide spools can be specified holding line volumes from 40-125 metres for sport divers and even larger spools for the extreme technical diver or cave diver. Lines can be supplied in Yellow, pink and White for the fashion conscious. The reels also come supplied with a nice P clip for attaching the reel securely to your D ring. No clip is supplied for the end of the line though, so if you intend to use the reel for a DSMB you will require to invest in a clip for this job.
Underwater I used the reel on a number of cold dives with 5mm gloves and I found the ratchet system a joy to use once I got used to it.
When holding the reel, the ratchet lever can be depressed by the thumb of the same hand allowing the line to spool out. Releasing the leaver locks the spool. At the end of the leaver is a knob, which can be manipulated to lock the spool free and running. John of Kent Tooling who sent me the reels told me that I could use this function if I ever experienced a problem. Lock the reel open, inflate the bag and throw the reel away. I decided to give this a try the buoy went up, the reel hit the seafloor and my hands were free to deal with any potential problems. It worked a treat on the flat sea floor, where the reel couldn’t disappear anywhere.
Another feature I really liked was that the reel is heavy and it holds the line taught and straight in the water. With the spool locked the reel sat in front of me, while I made adjustments to my camera.
In conclusion a beautiful reel made of quality materials designed to last a lifetime of use. The 100m reel was ideal for diving deep wrecks and the 50 m real was great from the shore or for shallower boat diving.
So apart from the weight of the larger reel which some people may not like but I found to be an advantage the only thing I saw that could improve this reel would be for the handle that winds in the reel to have a bulbous end or a grove in it? This is purely so that when I attach bungee cord to the reel to secure my DSMB I like to loop the bungee over the handle to secure it. A grove would just keep the bungee in place and stop it slipping off. It’s a very small point!
This reel cant be compared to plastic reels as they are just not in the same league in design or the fact that the Kent Tool Reel is indestructible and will outlast many a plastic version. I suppose it comes down to the type of diving you carry out. If you want to invest in one of these reels, which cost almost twice as much as some of the plastic reels on the market. I would say it’s a wise investment as the Kent Tool Ratchet Reels are a quality product.
Prices for the supplied reels are-
50m- £92
100m- £103
Mike Clark

WEEZLE SUPER SKIN REVIEW

EXTREME WEEZLE SKIN



Well I certainly picked a good few months to review this product. Snow covered hills at Loch Long or out in a boat off of Eyemouth with air temperatures of –1.5 degrees centigrade. It was difficult enough getting to the dive sites never mind keeping warm in the water. I was very pleased to have this 2-piece garment on when I left my home for the dive sites. The extreme weezle skin is a close fitting base layer but unlike thermal base layers you can pick up from hiking shops etc the Weezle extreme skin is thicker.
The material stretches in 4 ways and I found it to be very comfortable. Donning the garment was easy as foot loops and thumb loops are designed into the garment for this purpose.
For the cold conditions I was experiencing I dived with the garment under a 200-grm undersuit with a membrane drysuit. I found whether in the cold freshwater run off on the top of loch long or on long decompression stops after diving east coast wreck I was comfortably warm in this set up.
The Weezle Extreme skin was very good at wicking the moisture away from my body. All this nice extra warmth did demand another kilogram of weight on my belt, as I did feel a little more buoyant when wearing the Weezle extreme skin.
The toughest test of all though was standing about in on the frost covered ground at Finnart on Loch Long in between dives. It was really cold here and the frost and icy puddles never disappeared all day. My feet were cold but that was about that and I happily entered the water for another dive.
The Weezle Extreme Skin is a 2-piece garment finished in black with red stitching. There are a vast range of sizes and after taking a few measurements and applying them to the size guide, I received, a couple of days later the undergarment which fitted perfectly.
Weezle claim that the Weezle Extreme Skin can be worn on its own. I think for diving in Scottish waters this would be best for under a thick neoprene suit. Under a membrane suit I would certainly advise use in conjunction with a thinsulate undersuit of some type.
Now with a sweat wicking garment like this you want one that is easy to take care of. Not being great at this I bunged the garments in with my usual wash cycle and the garments came out great every time. I used my normal powder etc with no problems at all, although Weezle do recommend and supply special powder to keep the Weezle Extreme Skin in tiptop condition.
In Conclusion a wise investment for divers who plan long deco stops or are keen enough to dive right through the winter. The Weezle Extreme Skin gives you that extra bit of protection that you need on extreme dives.
Info
www.weezle.co.uk

Mike Clark

TRIMIX FOR SCAPA

TRIMIX FOR SCAPA
Scapa Flow, Orkney is one of the most popular wreck diving destinations on the planet. It’s home to the scuttled remains of the German High Seas fleet, which now lies between 30 and 50 metres deep on the bottom of the flow. It’s a fantastic wreck diving destination! I visited this September with the intention of visiting these magnificent wrecks and also completing a Trimix course. Could it be done and would Scapa be a good destination for training?
My buddy, Gordon Mackie of Tuscan Divers, knew a good contact up in Orkney. This was Barry White, IANTD Instructor and owner of White Diving Services.
We discussed our requirements with Barry who suggested we try out the IANTD Course called Advanced Recreational Trimix. This sounded perfect for our needs, as it’s a new course designed to introduce Trimix diving to recreational divers. We would not need to buy any new equipment as the course can be completed with a cylinder and a pony set up, although I used twin 12 litre cylinders with a 7 litre side mount. This course would enable us to dive on Trimix up to a depth of 48 metres. This then was perfectly suited to the diving depths in Scapa Flow. We looked forward to experiencing the wrecks on the helium rich narcotic reducing Trimix mixes.
DAY 1
On board the dive boat Valkyrie, Barry White arrived and ensured we all had received our course packs from IANTD. He also provided us with further course material. Barry at this point also confirmed we had the required qualifications and we filled out a medical questionnaire.
So formalities over, it was time to dive. Today would purely be a shakedown day, getting used to equipment and making sure everything worked properly. We dived on the light cruiser, Karlsruhe and the Seyditz salvage site.
Good shallow dives around the 20 metre mark. Tomorrow the training would start in earnest.
DAY 2
The Valkyrie takes around an hour to reach the wreck sites, which is an ideal time for us to receive our theory training. Barry went over the course material, advising us that today’s diving would ultimately be an assessment of our diving skills.
The only tasks we were set for today, were to deploy a surface marker buoy to complete our decompression stops and for one of the trainees to lead the dive. This was purely an air dive and the Brummer was shrouded in fairly poor 4 metre vis. Forward of the bridge, I noted the wreck had deteriorated since my last visit, 10 years ago. More of the hull along with the bow gun had now crashed to the sea floor. The bridge and its railings are still impressive though!
At the end of the dive, the two pairs of trainees separated into buddy pairs and deployed the DSMB’s. All appeared to have gone well.
Dive 2 of the day was on the F2 and the barge. Vis was poor again but it was a great dive. Another trainee led the dive and DSMB’s were deployed again.
On the steam back into Stromness, we had a debrief covering what we had accomplished and discussed the theory we would cover tomorrow. It would be time to start seriously thinking about dive planning.
DAY 3
The now familiar routine was followed and we covered theory as we steamed out to the Kronprinz Wilhelm. Today we were introduced to the Trimix tables that had been included in our IANTD pack. These tables related to the mixes 32/15 and 28/25, the first number being the oxygen content and the second number being the helium content of the mix.
Initially these looked complicated but Barry soon clarified how to use them. For this course we would be using a 50% Nitrox mix in our deco stages to accelerate our decompression, reducing the amount of time we had to hang on the line.
We were now nearing the wreck site and it was my turn to lead the dive. I was planning to see the 12-inch main armament on this dive and so the team brief and the plan had to be clearly understood by all. Thankfully the dive went very well and we enjoyed seeing the big guns.
We then returned to the side of the hull and back towards the shotline, aided by a couple of nice strobes placed there. We then started our planned decompression stops. We were using a 28% Nitrox mix today and whilst our computers were clear, we carried out a deco plan from the tables. What a great dive!
The debrief was interesting and we turned our attention to gas planning formulas which we covered more thoroughly after a dismal dive on the Dresden, where vis was a poor 2 metres max at best.
In the classroom, we learned how to choose our best Trimix mixes and work out the safe maximum operating depth (MOD) of said mix by using the "Pressure T", also known as "Daltons Triangle". We would aim to have an equivalent air depth/narcotic depth of 24 metres by varying the helium in the mix. We soon put this new knowledge to use.
Under the watchful eye of Barry, we chose the preferred mix for tomorrow’s dive and worked out the dive plan.
DAY 4
First thing completed by us this morning was to analyse our Trimix mixes with a helium analyser. I ended up with a 26/23 mix, which was just perfect for our intended 44m maximum depth.
Today we would just be diving with our back gas and no deco stages. These would be added on our last training dive of the trip.
Today we dived the James Barrie and the vis was a stunning 20 meters. Needless to say at 40 metres plus I felt clear-headed. Our bottom time was to be a maximum of 15 minutes. Then it was up the line to complete our stops for real today. First Trimix dive completed yee haaa!
The second dive of the day was on the Mara and we decided to put on our stage cylinders to get used to them before the big deep dive tomorrow on the Markgraf. Before that though, we had to learn all about the oxygen tracking table and how to keep within the safe limits when using higher partial pressures of that gas.
DAY 5
The final dive of the course, where all our training and theory work would come together.
We had worked out the dive plan from the tables, taking note of times for deeper depth and longer times to cover for any unforeseen events. Then we marked the information on our wrist slates. We planned for an 18 minute bottom time. This included decompression stops on 50% Nitrox at 15,12,9,6 and 4.5 metres respectively.
We dropped down the shotline. Today there was no nice clear vis. It was back to a murky 5 metres at best.
We landed at the stern of the Markgraf and finned past slabs of armour plate that had fallen from the hull. One feature that could be easily identified, was the massive rudder, which we investigated at the end of the dive.
On this dive, I certainly felt the benefits of the helium in the mix and at well over 40 metres, I had a clear head. I ascended back up the line very slowly to let the helium out of my system, ready to complete my deco stops.
We only managed 1 dive today and we visited the ring of Brodgar on a sightseeing trip in the afternoon.
Before that though, we completed the theory test that covered all the aspects that we had learnt on the course.
DAY 6
The final day of the trip and on the way out to the site, we went over our answers for the test. This was openly discussed and everybody could discuss their thoughts and how they arrived at their answer.
This was an excellent form of learning and ensured everybody had picked everything up correctly. Thankfully we passed and we had an amazing Trimix dive on the Coln putting together everything we had learnt. The flow had also started to revert back to its normal vis of around 8 metres.
So to answer my question "Can a Trimix course be completed whilst diving the wrecks of Scapa Flow?" The answer is a very positive yes for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it’s a 3-day course, which can be spread out very comfortably over a 6-day diving charter.
Secondly, rather than being in a quarry or sheltered water site completing training dives, up in Scapa Flow you are actually completing real wreck dives whilst undertaking training.
The real difference being, its much more enjoyable and you are learning in the real environment…In my opinion Scapa Flow makes an excellent choice of destination for Trimix Diving.
SIDEBAR
What you need to know.
The IANTD Advanced Recreational Trimix Diver program is one of the new wave of programs to introduce Trimix diving into the recreational community, without encumbering the diver with lots of new equipment. Designed to extend the divers knowledge in the use of Nitrox for recreational diving, as well as introducing helium to cut down on narcosis experienced on deeper recreational dives and to further develop recreational diving skills.
This program will include at least four open water dives of at least 30 minutes bottom time each, and with two of the dives to be deeper than 30 meters down to a maximum of 48 meters and include up to 15 mins decompression.
To take part in the IANTD Advanced Recreational Trimix Diver program you must be qualified as a Nitrox Diver either with IANTD or another recognised organisation and be qualified as a IANTD Deep Diver or equivalent or take part in a combined course. The diver must also have proof of a minimum of 30 logged dives or sufficient experience as to satisfy the instructor that the student has enough relevant skill and experience to complete the course and must be over 18 or over 15 years old with parental consent.
The student must also carry on the course, either a twinset, pony or a single cylinder with a dual valve as well as an optional decompression cylinder side or back mounted.
The Advanced Recreational Trimix Diver course usually takes 3 days to complete and training can be carried out onboard any of the dive boats in Scapa Flow. The cost for the course is £350 plus the cost of your Nitrox/Trimix fills (price as per boats standard rate).
Getting to Orkney
Northlink Ferries web address
http://www.northlink.ferries.org/.
There are 2 main ferry routes to Orkney
Scrabster to Stromess and
Aberdeen to Kirkwall.
We used the latter route.
British Airways operate flights into Kirkwall Airport.
Barry White details
White Diving Services
Mobile number: 07990800525Email:divertraining@gmx.comWebsite:WWW.TechAndRecDiving.comBarry can operate off of any dive boat in the Flow, confirm this when booking though.
Mike Clark