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Diving

Red Sea Diving Expedition 2009

Upon receiving my Ocean Diver qualification the previous weekend and the end of term upon us, I was quickly on my way to Portsmouth and the Sports Diver Expedition to the Red Sea. HMS Bristol seemed a desolate place with empty metal corridors everywhere and just one lad in the mess deck playing on his phone. It was strange to think that I didn’t know a single person that I was going to spend the next ten days with; as guys arrived into the messdeck, I was met with the awkward smile and a quick introduction, not something that I am used to considering my long time at Clifton, far away from introductory situations such as these. Little did I know that the people sitting next to me on that cold ship would soon become great friends of mine.

My time at the HMS BRISTOL seems to have just blurred into three distinctive sections. The first was that of getting around as we couldn’t just walk around like some teenage rabble and instead had to march as a unit everywhere. This brought about a fair bit of laughter due to the fact that some individuals seemingly had the inability to walk in time and the “Oh No’s” that became the common place sanction during our time on the expedition. The second section was the theory which at first glance doesn’t appear to be that hard to learn but when combined with the fact that we had just 24 hours to do so made this a challenge that none of those involved will forget anytime soon. It wasn’t that the theory was dull or anything but it was just impossible to stay awake for 8 hours at a time of lectures. The fact that Mr Scorgie stated “I have no problem if you get up and go and stand at the back to stop yourself from falling asleep, be a grown up and do it if you have to.” Should show how phenomenally strenuous this theory hurdle was. Looking back it was clearly a good idea to get it out of the way before heading over to Egypt, but at the time it did seem a lot! The third and final area that sticks with me from Portsmouth was that of the messdecks themselves; the small bunk beds and floodlight that was the red safety light provided endless amusement in the evenings and helped establish a connection between all those there.

There isn’t really much to say about the flight to Egypt other than our group must have looked like the undead with a hangover because the 5 am departure did not go down well with anyone, especially when our bus decided to turn up half an hour late. Oh, and the fact that the anticipation in the air as Egypt came into view out the plane windows is something that you could practically feel with your fingers.

Upon arriving at the Marina Lodge we were met by an army of hotel staff who offered to take our bags to our rooms whilst we handed in passports and collected our keys. The view from the hotel was truly stunning and was made even better by the fact that we arrived at sundown; seeing the orange glow around the trees and buildings was honestly breathtaking. The rooms were well fitted and had the most powerful showers I have ever had the pleasure of standing underneath; this may sound rather odd but once you had tried them everything else seemed inadequate.

The whole group was up bright and early the next morning to a breakfast that kings would be proud of, not only was there a vast selection of foods available but there was also a cooking station where chefs would cook pancakes and eggs to your exact liking right in front of you. They may not have had British syrup but they sure did know how to cook! It was surprising how even something as simple as a decent breakfast could set everyone in a good state for the day ahead, not that we needed it, but I’m sure it all helped add to the experience. The dive group had been assigned two dive boats, Rachael and Amy, which had been recently completely refitted. There was plenty of room to allow everyone to develop a tan, or in my case allow myself to burn

Each day consisted of 2 dives separated by a surface interval to allow the nitrogen levels in our blood to decrease; something that any diver knows is a vital part of diving safely. The first of the twelve dives was full of marine life and coral that regularly got me into a trance, floating around underwater just watching all the marine life around you and taking in just how graciously everything moved around. It was to my amusement that several cadets started getting cold whilst underwater, not only did this make no sense to me but it seemed almost illogical due to the blissfully warm 24 degree water. Compared to my previous diving experience of the National Activity and Dive centre at Chepstow and its 6 degree water the Red Sea seemed like heaven. Clearly my past experience had affected my perception of temperature underwater.

The next few days all flashed by without any major hiccups but this clearly wasn’t meant to last and on the 4th day Mr Scorgie and I were awarded the pink tutus for saying stupid things during the day, well actually mine was a combination of things which all revolved around Mrs Elliott’s gift of a cross stitching pack to everyone on the Expedition; not only did I learn to cross stitch that same day but also had the stupidity to claim that “there just wasn’t enough time to dive because I have to finish this stitching.” Not the most masculine of days I must admit; at least I could laugh at the sight of Mr Scorgie having to wear the X-small tutu whilst I waltzed around in the extra Large. I would think that it would be an appropriate time to mention my instructor for the 6 days out there, Stuart Sissons, otherwise known as Stew. This ex mine clearance diver apparently had “forgotten more about diving than I would ever know” so I think it’s safe to say that he was a rather good instructor who had great pleasure tormenting me by forcing me to repeat mask removal again and again and again.., something that I thoroughly hate having to do. This little ‘joke’ of his was made even worse when he turned round to me at 33m and told me to take my mask off! It’s bad enough doing it at 10m, let alone three times that depth; luckily he quickly stopped me when realising that I was about to go ahead with it. Jokes aside though he was a great support to both me and my dive buddy and helped us through the drills required for the Sports Diver Qualification.

Going back to Mrs. Elliott, I must say I see fit to mention the April fool’s joke that she pulled on the entire dive team. It started on the night before April fool’s when she stated that we were going to take part in a trial that was testing to see if toothpaste could be used to prevent masks from fogging up whilst diving. We were all handed a small little tube of Colgate and told to rub a pee-sized amount into our masks the next day. It all seemed very scientific and caused no second thoughts what-so-ever the next day when we did as we had been instructed. I am surprised Mrs. Elliott lasted half a day before revealing that we had all been part of her April fool’s prank as the sight of all the cadets meticulously applying toothpaste to their equipment for no reason would have caused me to burst into hysterics. In fact she got us so well that some people didn’t believe it was a joke even when they were told that it had been. If that wasn’t enough there was another prank on the last day – naughty Nick! Where some of the cadets and officers were finding eggs in their boots as they were dressing for the 1st dive of the day or tobacco sauce on their regulator mouthpiece and the best of all was the colour of some feet after the dive – blue, purple, black, red – they apparently had a reaction to the foot fungus reagent put in their dive boots – more accurately known as food dye! Justice was served by most who were targeted!!

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To ensure that I don’t ramble on for several more pages there are 3 more things that I would like to mention before I finish, the first is that of my 10th dive and the marine life that I saw there. To quote my logbook, “I wanted to see more turtles and oh my did I make the right choice, not only did I see a dozen turtles but also saw Guitarshark, Pufferfish and even a Sea Cow which nobody else saw. I was hated to say the least. An amazing dive!” Just sitting on the seabed and watching these massive Sea turtles swim around you was a sight that had me completely mesmerised. What made that dive really special was that I left my buddy and instructor to go with the dive guide and revisit the turtles in the afternoon, it was this decision that allowed me to get a look at the Sea Cow which I can assure is not as slow as it looks in pictures. The second event that stands out was the ‘underwater rave’ that took place on the last dive of the Expedition, this unconventional practice underwater turned out to be rather popular and I have to admit that the sight of 10 divers dancing with all their diving kit on 10m underwater was hysterical. It also transpired that this was how I discovered my obsession with resting upside-down in the water. Now the more traditional divers out there would usually carry out their 6m decompression stop in the vertical upright position but this was not for me. I found much more amusement and satisfaction in doing the whole thing vertically upside down, still not sure why most people kept giving me rather bemused looks but I suppose that’s the cost of having a good time. Finally, I would like to mention the cadets themselves who made the Expedition what it was. It would simply not have been the same without any of them. At the beginning of the week we were a group of individuals wanting to go diving but by the end we were a team that had shared some brilliant memories. There wasn’t a single person that I hadn’t grown to respect over the time out there and I am sure we will stay in touch for years to come.

A thank you to Mr Scorgie who organised the Expedition, it would never have happened without you and the instructor team. There wouldn’t have been, what only can be described as a, warm feeling to the whole group of people out there. From the comical remarks of Mrs. Elliott, the continuous smile on Mrs Hughes’ face to the constant presence of Marc and his video camera there was always a member of staff there to keep you smiling. I would also like to pay special thanks to Mr Scorgie who got me on the trip in the first place and seemed to always be looking out for every member of the team out there. The saying “you know those who have been Stuart trained” shows how much respect everyone has for him and I cannot express my gratitude enough for giving me the chance to experience this diving Expedition.

Thank you

Matt Bell

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