Success at the St. Abbs and Eyemouth VMR Splash In 2013

I really love taking part in the  St. Abbs and Eyemouth VMR Splash In and i support it by entering it whenever i can. Its always a bit stressful as bank holiday weather at the end of August can be a bit changeable. the last few years have been a bit murky under the water. This year was much better with good vis on the Saturday. Sunday was very foggy with better vis under the waves.
there were only 19 entrants this year which is about half the norm but i must say the quality of the submitted images was generally superb. A couple of beginners won the categories and well done to both of them for their shots. I picked up a third place for my Diver Wolf fish shot in the wide angle category and a second place for my shot of a nudibranc in the John Goldie themed Category.



it was a great weekend and thanks goes to everybody who organises the event, All the friends who i now put faces to the names and all the old friends that i meet up with yearly at the event, the sponsors. Most of all thanks goes to my 2 buddies for the event Derek Borthwick and Mathieu Juppin De Fondaumiere who both helped me immensely over the course of the weekend THANKS GUY'S. Lastly Thanks to my wife for letting me away to play over the weekend.

Here are a selection of my shots from the day. My wolf fish shot narrowly missed out from taking the overall prize... Next year 

 Mike Clark

ISLE OF MAY

After last years very successful trip i was itching to get back to the isle of May. Once again the trip out with Marine Quest was great. unfortunately my photography on the day was a bit under par as i experienced focusing issues. I certainly never rose to the level of the previous years seal shot. The diving was good and we dived the wrecks of the primrose and the Island. both in good vis. here are some of the days images.

And my thanks go to Phil who kindly sent up a picture of me underwater. Its a thing i dont have much of as im always on the other side of the camera. Nice one Phil Mike Clark

Fortuna Wreck

Catching up with dives now as i have been out a few times in the good weather. last week i was out with Iain and Jim of Marine Quest to dive the wreck of the Fortuna. I had never been on the wreck before and i enjoyed it very much. Here are some images of the wreck. If anybody knows what the strange looking object in the picture labeled "

what is this" please let me know"
cheers
Mike Clark 

BACK IN TENERIFE

Well 26 years after i first visited i arrived back in Tenerife. Its where my wife learn to dive amongst the Stingrays of Las Galletas. This time though it was my children who experienced stingrays close up even when snorkeling. It was great to see them get excited about a 1.5 metre Butterfly Stingray as it glided past them.
Diving well i was lucky enough to squeeze one dive in. It was on the wreck El Condesito. I visited this wreck on my previous trip and it was totally intact right down to the light bulbs in their fittings. She isn't like that any more and lies flattened in her magnificent u shaped gully. the stern is still intact and its home to many interesting fish.
i dived with Aqua-Marina Dive 5* Padi Dive Centre in Playa de las Americas and had a great time. The dive rib is great and the rental dive gear was all fine. they have just installed trimix and will be running trimix dives soon.
My dive on the wreck was great but other divers in the group headed out into deeper water which meant a lot of fining in mid blue water not seeing much. This didn't help me with the photography especially since i was only using a wee compact camera loaned from the dive centre. It was great to be back on the wee wreck though and if you get a chance don't miss out on the excellent snorkeling either.
i would love to get back with my own camera gear and try a bit of the technical diving.
Mike Clark