Just found this on YouTube while searching for some footage of scuba diving at Stoney Cove. Just watch the guy in the background. he'll win no prizes for a splash like that.
For any new divers out there - this is not the way to do it!
Showing posts with label Stoney Cove. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stoney Cove. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Scuba diving Stoney Cove
The weekend was blisteringly hot so what better time to dress up in a thick undersuit, drysuit, hood and gloves and go scuba diving.
Alison wasn't enamoured with the thought of two temperature extremes - baking it's bits off on the surface and freezing the cobblers off beneath - but I convinced her Stoney Cove, in Leicestershire, was a wonderful place to spend a warm weekend and she finally relented.
Thankfully she had a great time.
Nautilus
Stoney is perhaps the most popular of inland dive sites in the UK. There's plenty to see, you can get a bit of depth and the above water facilities are pretty good.
We arrived later than planned which meant all the car parks were full. Not such a bad thing as we could park much closer on the site road.
The walk may have been a bit much in the hot temperatures but once in the water (a less than respectable 11C) we were glad of the thermal protection.
As it was Alison's first trip to Stoney we kept it simple with a tour of the popular sunken sites; the Stanegarth wreck, Wessex helicopter, Viscount fuselage, bus and Nautilus sub.
Alison on the Stanegarth
Alison on the Stanegarth
The reason for writing though was I finally managed to get her to understand the benefits of a wide-angle lens for my U/W camera.
My Canon G9 in its Canon housing takes fantastic images but has no option to add a wide-angle lens (thanks Canon). if I wanted one I'd have to go for the big and bulky Ikelite housing.
But with prices staying high because of the exchange rate that's not a possibility.
Having spoken with Adam at Cameras Underwater in London, he suggested the next option was to keep the G9 for close-up work and go for something like the new IXUS 980 with a wide angle conversion as my next set up.
The G9 gives some manual options missing from other compacts allowing me greater control and is my next step up before going full digital SLR, hence why I'm thinking of the IXUS 980. A full set up with strobes will cost around £1,100.
"Not another camera!" was the stock answer from Alison. But having dived Stoney and looked at the images on their website compared to mine, she can now understand what I've been talking about all this time.
Take my shot of the Viscount (a quick snap for memory rather than anything set up) and the professional's shot on the Stoney website.
The wide-angle will allow me to get closer without losing the whole subject either through cropping or because of the gloom. After a few years of point-and-shoot snap-happyness, I want to do something more creative with my U/W photography.
mine
professional
Alison wasn't enamoured with the thought of two temperature extremes - baking it's bits off on the surface and freezing the cobblers off beneath - but I convinced her Stoney Cove, in Leicestershire, was a wonderful place to spend a warm weekend and she finally relented.
Thankfully she had a great time.
Nautilus
Stoney is perhaps the most popular of inland dive sites in the UK. There's plenty to see, you can get a bit of depth and the above water facilities are pretty good.
We arrived later than planned which meant all the car parks were full. Not such a bad thing as we could park much closer on the site road.
The walk may have been a bit much in the hot temperatures but once in the water (a less than respectable 11C) we were glad of the thermal protection.
As it was Alison's first trip to Stoney we kept it simple with a tour of the popular sunken sites; the Stanegarth wreck, Wessex helicopter, Viscount fuselage, bus and Nautilus sub.
Alison on the Stanegarth
Alison on the Stanegarth
The reason for writing though was I finally managed to get her to understand the benefits of a wide-angle lens for my U/W camera.
My Canon G9 in its Canon housing takes fantastic images but has no option to add a wide-angle lens (thanks Canon). if I wanted one I'd have to go for the big and bulky Ikelite housing.
But with prices staying high because of the exchange rate that's not a possibility.
Having spoken with Adam at Cameras Underwater in London, he suggested the next option was to keep the G9 for close-up work and go for something like the new IXUS 980 with a wide angle conversion as my next set up.
The G9 gives some manual options missing from other compacts allowing me greater control and is my next step up before going full digital SLR, hence why I'm thinking of the IXUS 980. A full set up with strobes will cost around £1,100.
"Not another camera!" was the stock answer from Alison. But having dived Stoney and looked at the images on their website compared to mine, she can now understand what I've been talking about all this time.
Take my shot of the Viscount (a quick snap for memory rather than anything set up) and the professional's shot on the Stoney website.
The wide-angle will allow me to get closer without losing the whole subject either through cropping or because of the gloom. After a few years of point-and-shoot snap-happyness, I want to do something more creative with my U/W photography.
mine
professional
Then there is the pic above of Alison taken from the wheelhouse of the Stanegarth. I had another image in my head but my current set up wouldn't do it.
What the trip did do was also give me some other photo ideas for Stoney. So I'm going to have to pick a quiet weekday when the viz is no so churned up and go and have a play. If I can get anything like the professional's image below of the bus then I'll be happy.
Bus
Bus
Friday, April 17, 2009
Diver dives at Stoney Cove
Another dose of sad news from Stoney Cove this week after a diver died at the inland site this week.
The Leicester Mercury reported that sescue teams at Stoney carried out a search to locate the man after it was reported that a diver had gone missing at 1.35pm on Tuesday.
Staff were able to quickly locate the man and gave him first aid until air and road ambulances arrived.
He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary, where he was confirmed dead.
A Stoney Cove spokesman said the man was not diving under instruction, or under the supervision of dive site management.
He is the second person to die there this year.
The Leicester Mercury reported that sescue teams at Stoney carried out a search to locate the man after it was reported that a diver had gone missing at 1.35pm on Tuesday.
Staff were able to quickly locate the man and gave him first aid until air and road ambulances arrived.
He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary, where he was confirmed dead.
A Stoney Cove spokesman said the man was not diving under instruction, or under the supervision of dive site management.
He is the second person to die there this year.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Scuba diver dies at Stoney Cove
Just come across a piece of sad news.
While we were enjoying Dosthill over the weekend, staff at our next favourite inland site were dealing with a tragedy.
The Sunderland Echo reported that a rescue operation was launched at Stoney Cove after diver James Henry Askew got into difficulties and failed to resurface after a dive on Saturday.
The body of the 35-year-old, from Stockton, was found in about 35 metres of water. Stoney Cove boss Alan King was reported in the Echo as saying it was believed he had had a problem with his regulator and had possibly become separated from his buddy, although the events that led up to the tragedy will be accurately determined by the HSE and police investigation.
A stark reminder for us all, particularly in the winter months when the cold puts extra stress on our bodies and equipment, to ensure we check and double-check our gear before getting in the water.
We should also remember our training and always ensure proper buddy contact particularly in the cold when there is a risk of regulator free-flows (although, I must stress that we don't know whether that was an issue here).
Thoughts go out to Mr Askew's family and diving pals at what is an incredibly difficult time for them all.
Meanwhile, a police diver suffering with the bends had to be flown to the Wirral for hospital treatment after becoming ill while on a training exercise near Chepstow.
While we were enjoying Dosthill over the weekend, staff at our next favourite inland site were dealing with a tragedy.
The Sunderland Echo reported that a rescue operation was launched at Stoney Cove after diver James Henry Askew got into difficulties and failed to resurface after a dive on Saturday.
The body of the 35-year-old, from Stockton, was found in about 35 metres of water. Stoney Cove boss Alan King was reported in the Echo as saying it was believed he had had a problem with his regulator and had possibly become separated from his buddy, although the events that led up to the tragedy will be accurately determined by the HSE and police investigation.
A stark reminder for us all, particularly in the winter months when the cold puts extra stress on our bodies and equipment, to ensure we check and double-check our gear before getting in the water.
We should also remember our training and always ensure proper buddy contact particularly in the cold when there is a risk of regulator free-flows (although, I must stress that we don't know whether that was an issue here).
Thoughts go out to Mr Askew's family and diving pals at what is an incredibly difficult time for them all.
Meanwhile, a police diver suffering with the bends had to be flown to the Wirral for hospital treatment after becoming ill while on a training exercise near Chepstow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)