Dive trip to Cyprus
 
This Year the Underwater Adventures end of Season dive trip was to Cyprus to dive the wreck of the Zenobia which is said by many to be one of the best wreck dives in the world and it didn’t disappoint.

               

Our trip didn’t start off brilliantly with a delayed flight and a mix up with the transfers from the airport to our accommodation in Pissouri which lead to a bit of fun sorting out taxis for all 14 of us at 01:00 after a really long day but fortunately, that was the only thing to go wrong on what turned out to be a great holiday.
Out first days diving was spent doing a couple of shore dive at Cynthiana, a lovely little bay a short car ride from our accommodation, a couple of shallow dives just so everyone can get used to the conditions and how everything was working. The next days we had a bit further of a drive to the other side of the Island for another couple of lovely dives, this time a little deeper around the Island of St Georges which was surrounded by loads of life.

Our third day's dive was our first on the wreck of the Zenobia, the main reason we had traveled here. The boat ride was at most a 10-minute boat ride out from Larnaca and it was a big boat which was good seeing as we were sharing it with 4 other groups but good planning by our guides meant we dived the wreck without the hassle of being surrounded by the other groups.

               

First impressions of the wreck were literally “WOW”. This is truly an impressive wreck. Laying on its side in just over 40 metres of water and with its highest point at around 16 metres, you can see it as soon as you enter the water. We dropped down on to the stern section by the prop and made our way around the stern to check out the loading ramps and it was all full of life, and maybe a few too many divers.
Our second dive of the day was on the bow of the wreck from where we headed in through the cafeteria and on through a hallway to end up just above the cargo decks. Two excellent dives enjoyed by everyone.

Our penultimate days diving we went out of Limassol to dive two especially sunken wrecks put there in 2015 to attract more divers to the Island. These were the wrecks of the Costandis, a Russian trawler, and the Lady Thetis, a German Pleasure boat, both just over 20 metres in length and sitting in just over 20 metres of water and on our first dive we came across a very large grouper, proof that the Mediterranean still does have large fish.
You can check out the videos of these wreck dives by clicking on the links below (don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel while you are there.
Video of the wreck dive on the Constandis
Video of the wreck dive on the Lady Thetis
 
               

For our final day's scuba diving, we were back at the Wreck of the Zenobia. Again the boat was busy but because the wreck is so large it seemed like we had the place to ourselves most of the time. Has a bonus on our first dive we came across a turtle who gave us the pleasure of a swim by at the end of our first dive.
Check out the Video of the Turtle here

Our second dive of the day and our last dive of the holiday was a penetration of the lift shaft and down into the cargo bay and to be honest, if I tried to explain what it was like here I wouldn’t be able to do it justice so please just take a look at these two videos from that one dive and enjoy the immenseness of the Zenobia Wreck 

Through the lift shaft
Into the hold



A big thank you to everyone who made the trip so enjoyable :-)


 

22 things your Scuba diving instructor didn't tell you (but probably wanted to...) 
 

                               



1) Everyone pees in their wetsuit – everyone, eventually (except your instructor of course!)

 

2) Yes, you have tan lines on your neck and hands from your suit but as long as that’s all that people can see when you are back at work it’ll look like you’ve been on Holiday, and don’t worry, those odd lines on your face will disappear in time but you wouldn’t get them if you didn’t overtighten your mask.

 

3) Waterproof makeup was intended to withstand a good cry and not scuba diving in a cold lake in the middle of England.

 

4) The person on the boat flashing the most certification cards and the newest equipment is usually that biggest **** on board.

 

5) You will be buddied with them, and they will be a nightmare.

 

6) Going on your first open water dive is scary, but it’s OK, your instructor and the rest of the dive team are there for you and they have done this a lot of times before and know what they are doing, well, most of the time anyway.

 

7) ‘This is my favourite site,' translates as ‘we come here ALL THE TIME because it’s close and easy.’

 

8) You won’t always see the shark/barracuda/scary marine inhabitant approach; but when it does have your camera ready otherwise, we won’t believe you.


                              


 
9) I do love night diving, but please don’t point your torch in my face when talking to me.

 
10) You should do the deep/navigation/DSMB course just so that I can have a break and do something different.


11) if you touch the wildlife you will be in my bad books for a very long time!
 

12) No, I don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend.

 

13) ‘The last time I was here I saw a whale shark.’ translates as ‘I’ve scuba dived here hundreds of times, and my mate on the other dive boat new some who once said he saw a whale shark here.’

 

14) You are going to, at some point, flood a dive camera, drop a flashlight, get blisters from your fins, buy a leaky mask, it happens.

 

15) Diving is not for everyone; some people should remain on land yet some slip through the cracks, and…

 

16) See point five.

 
                              



17) If you do not listen to dive briefings and then mess up because of it, or repeatedly ask questions whose answers were in the briefing, then I will be very tempted to turn your air off.

 

18) Interfering in my dive course will get you thrown back in the water without your wetsuit; at least in my evil fantasies.

 

19) At some point you are going to have ear issues; equalization problems, ear infections, and burst eardrums are in your future.



20) The only way to guarantee you'll see a shark is to leave your camera on the dive boat.

 

21) Fish really are attracted to shiny jewellery.

 

22) I don’t care about your video clip from the last dive, but I will happily come to the bar and watch it if the beers are on you.

                              

 

Swimming with blue sharks off the coast of Cornwall.

At the beginning of August 2018 a few of us from the dive club, we were limited by numbers allowed on the boat, headed down to Penzance in Cornwall for a very special day out.

We were on a large Rib with Charles Hood Shark adventures and we were lucky enough to have the man himself with us, a famous author and marine life advocate, it was a please to have his company and knowledge on this trip. Where were we going, I hear you ask? About 20 miles out to swim with blue sharks and boy1 were we in for a treat.

We had traveled down the night before to be fresh for the day’s activities and we all meet up at Penzance boat club to load our equipment and launch the RIB. The journey out only took around an hour, but it didn’t seem like it as we were joined along to way at different times by pods of dolphins either crossing our path or ride the bow waves as they love to do.

Once we had reached the spot the captain had decided would be best for blue shark activity, he started out the chum and “O my God” did it smell. I know that’s what is needed to attract the blue sharks, but it really doesn’t do your stomach any good. I was really glad I had taken the sea sickness tablets. The chum may have smell rank, but it did the job and within 5 minutes the first blue shark turned up and she was gorgeous, 5-foot-long at least and something I didn’t know about them is they have a gold tint to their noses and pectoral fins, which you could really make out the bright English summer sunlight.

                              

After around 20 minutes of allowing the shark to get comfortable around the boat I was the first in, the captain said to get in the water gently which I planned to do but unfortunately, I lost my balance putting on a fin and landed in the water with a big enough splash to have scared anything away. I climbed back out and went to the back of the Que and waited for the blue shark to return. Fortunately, it did within a couple of minutes and Simon was next to jump in the water. You can water the video of Simon in the water by clicking the link below

Simon with the blue sharks.

 With Simon in the water a second blue shark made an appearance, this one slightly bigger then the first and they both loved the smell coming from the rotting fish which slowly being released into the water. The second shark was a little more wary and kept her distance for a while.
After Simonhadstart to chill it was Sonia’s turn in the with the blue sharks. She was a little more cautious which is understandable when you are getting in the water with sharks given their portrayal in Films and Media but after a couple of minutes, she started to relax and really enjoy it. You can watch her video by clicking the link below.

Sonia in the water with blue sharks

Next, it was my turn and “wow” it was worth the wait and I had the added bonus of having the second shark come in close to the Rib while I was in the water. What an amazing experience and it is something I would suggest that if you ever have the opportunity to swim with these amazing fish you jump on it and it will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Click here to watch the video I took while in the water.

We rotated in and out of the water for the next couple of hours and the sharks stayed with us all day until it was time to head back to shore, all of us with beaming smiles, buzzing from such an amazing experience.