JANUARY 2011: My Surface Interval named one of the best scuba diving blogs

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

My Top Five Dive Sites 2008

Okay, hopefully you've got the chart count down music going round your head......

Coming in at Number 5, its the Birmingham Sea Life Centre
Not a sandy beach in site and no turquoise waters - the canals don't count - but that didn't stop me getting tropical in landlocked Brum when I joined the team of window cleaners tasked with keeping the tanks clean.
And while I know the city centre can sometimes be a dangerous place, but it’s not every day you get headbutted – by a 42-stone Green Sea Turtle.
Read the full story of my exploits and watch the video here.

At 4, the Plymouth wrecks of HMS Scylla and the James Egan Layne
The Leander class frigate that once was the Scylla is the UK's first artificial reef. Now four years she is now covered with fantastic growth with anemones and sea squirts - a damn sight prettier than that gloomy grey war paint she used to have. While the owners have cut massive holes allowing you to penetrate her, that just felt a little bit rude (actually it was too bloody dark inside on the day we dived).

The neighbouring James Egan Lane was thrilling inside - well it had to be because it was the only way to shelter from the surge that ripped over the wreck on our dive. The silhouette of the Liberty ship's intact bow is said to be a fantastic underwater view and its recommended to lie on the seabed with one leg either side of the bow and look up. I had to give up after the surge left me feeling like a stubborn bottle of champagne being repeatedly battered against the hull until I broke. Inside there are loads of bits of old cargo and ship stuff to see but this whizzed by the eyes like an episode of the Generation Game on acid. Still a roller coaster thrill though.

A later entry at Number 3, Superman's Flight in St Lucia.
Beneath the majestic Piton Mountains lies Superman's Flight, a drift dive of some excitement. The beautiful Petit Piton plunges into the Caribbean and continues its slope to the sea bed 1,600 feet below.



Some say that the site got its name because the powerful current that sweeps you along makes you feel like the Man of Steel. But in reality the Pitons made a brief appearance in the sequel when Christopher Reeve flew between the two while wooing Lois Lane.
It's a good job he stayed in the air, because the Man in the Cape may have forgotten about Margot Kidder once he saw the beauty beneath the waves.



The reef is full of soft corals and loads of fish. I've never seen so many trumpetfish in one spot. (Still couldn't get a decent pic though). A stunning reef dive, my pics don't do it justice.




And falling a place to Number 2, the Whale Shark dive.
The reef, lazy sunny afternoon, Whale Shark. Who knew! Can't say much more than my earlier post other than to quote the words of the famous Jack Burton when asked what he expected to find: 'You never can tell!'




Which means we have a new Number 1. The Farne Islands.
Round of applause please
Some might say it wasn't a dive, that at two metres I was snorkeling. Well Pah to them!
For the sheer thrill of up close and personal interactions with sea life, June with the seals in the Farnes is going to take some beating.
It’s amazing how we travel the globe looking for the ultimate in diving experiences but the best of the year was in British waters (okay, considering the seven hour drive I could have to Egypt quicker).
Yes I was only in two metres of water (we did hit 18m for about two minutes) but who's going to complain when you could across the seal playground.

Resting on the top of the rock known as Hopper we enjoyed a 40 minute seal show as they swam, nibbled and rubbed their noses into my camera port. I grinned so much I thought my reg would fall out. A dive everyone should do.

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