I love diving in overhead environments, I took Taz round some pretty awesome caves / reefs / swim throughs when we did the Blue O Two Deep South Safari, I loved it, I don't think she was so sure.

Some mates out in Sharm have been mapping a cave system over there for a while now, all deep stuff, with hours of deco involved.

My ambition is to do the Blue Hole at Dahab, but opportunity keeps alluding me, one day...

I used to work with a guy who was a cave diver (also a morris dancer, which just goes to show he was a nutter), he used to come into work on a Monday morning all scraped up from where he'd got stuck and had to drag himself out. I know he had at leats one close call when it rained while he was underground, which stirred up the silt and visibility dropped to zero. He missed a turn on the way back to a bottle cache and had to retrace his steps while on his reserve bottle. He also participated in at least one corpse recovery trip.

He had some pretty speciallised gear as well, all steel tanks (ex fire service) because ally ones got damaged too easily, Oddball custom light rigs, specialised climbing harnesses, you name it.

He had trouble getting a mortgage because he couldn't get any life insurance.

I quite fancy the Florida/Mexican caves in gin clear water, but the thought of wriggling through narrow muddy passages in Wookey Hole doesn't do it for me. I think maybe the American cave divers are divers who like to dive in caves, but the British are potholers and cavers who dive, iyswim

Originally Posted by Silly Car

I
My ambition is to do the Blue Hole at Dahab, but opportunity keeps alluding me, one day...

The Blue Hole's not really a cave though, the arch is only about 25m long.

Originally Posted by Druid

I quite fancy the Florida/Mexican caves in gin clear water, but the thought of wriggling through narrow muddy passages in Wookey Hole doesn't do it for me. I think maybe the American cave divers are divers who like to dive in caves, but the British are potholers and cavers who dive, iyswim



The Blue Hole's not really a cave though, the arch is only about 25m long.

yeah, I know, but it is an overhead environment, albeit, 57m below the surface

Originally Posted by Silly Car

I love diving in overhead environments, I took Taz round some pretty awesome caves / reefs / swim throughs when we did the Blue O Two Deep South Safari, I loved it, I don't think she was so sure.

Some mates out in Sharm have been mapping a cave system over there for a while now, all deep stuff, with hours of deco involved.

My ambition is to do the Blue Hole at Dahab, but opportunity keeps alluding me, one day...

I haven't changed much, we were back in the same cave system this year, at one point I bolted past Kath faster than a baracuda on speed I freaked myself out so much!!

Got some good pics though

Tazzie those pics are fantastic

Originally Posted by Tazzie

Got some good pics though

You certainly did

Originally Posted by Silly Car

yeah, I know, but it is an overhead environment, albeit, 57m below the surface

When you do get to Dahab, make sure you dive the Canyon as well. It's a crack in the reef at 18m down to 30m at the bottom of the crack. The canyon then falls away out to sea, emerging at 55m. It's a lot like the pics in Tazzie's post, but deeper and darker.

I can't really see the attraction in it tbh, but then I didn't like potholing either and I suppose I see the ocean just as a big larder, whenever I'm diving all I'm doing is looking for fish so I know where to come back to with a spear or line.

Originally Posted by icarus1859

I can't really see the attraction in it tbh, but then I didn't like potholing either and I suppose I see the ocean just as a big larder, whenever I'm diving all I'm doing is looking for fish so I know where to come back to with a spear or line.

I so want to be your buddy one day

Originally Posted by Tazzie

I so want to be your buddy one day

I bet you probably consider me in the same light I consider many of the recreational divers cluttering up the ocean. They're a bit like ramblers in the sea, they turn up with all their fancy gear, frown at me cos I'm not super-dooper qualified, then moan when I spear my supper.
The funny thing is they probably cause more damage dragging their bloated bodies across the reef than I would if I speared and free dived for a million years.

The ocean is a huge part of my life.
What really boils my piss is the holiday divers with spear guns (I use a hawaiian sling), they shoot anything that moves just for fun and take breeding lobsters or young. I've seen them shoot angel fish just for fun.

As a hunter in the ocean I know I have more repect for the creatures in there than most divers I've ever met, who just turn up, dive then disappear back to the cities.

Ramblers in the hills or ramblers in the sea, they're all the same, they all think they have a god given right to only do things their way and piss off the people who live their lives in that environment whilst trampling all over whatever they want.

This guy is someone I know, I spent days and days hunting lion fish.
http://www.lionfishhunter.com/Lionfish%20Hunter.html

I must have killed close on a hundred.

They were rumoured to have been released by people in Nassau who thought they look nice and bred like wildfire, I dunno about the truth in that but I know they're everywhere, when I lived in the Bahamas I used to get into the ocean at the back of the house and clear them all off the reef before the kids used to get in to play.

I had one or two sea ramblers moan at me killing the pretty lionfish there too.