Once again, the dive season has started and how it has got to the middle of July already I am not quite sure!! 

This year I have started (as per usual), with Bob on the Clasina (https://www.clasina.co.uk) for Easter weekend and it was unexpectedly perfect weather!! We were SO lucky and managed to spend each night on different islands, Coll, Muck and Mull (Tobermory). Some of us went for a swim whilst on Coll, and it felt much warmer compared to the usual dip in the North Sea. However…the seals did start to get a little too close, so we bailed and went to the pub! It was great to be back on the boat again and get dived up for some southern diving! 

This year I was kindly invited on a group dive trip in Plymouth to celebrate Aithne Atkinson’s 30th birthday. Wahoo happy birthday Aithne, and thanks for organising (along with many others)!! Having grown up in the southwest shore diving from Brixham and the like, it was nice to be back diving in southern waters, I can’t remember the last time I dived in the south….THE WATER IS SO WARM!!! It was an epic week with great visibility and was great to catch up with friends old and new! I bought a new toy this year….so the clearer waters helped me practice my (pretty terrible) underwater camera skills. I also want to say a huge thanks to In Deep Dive Centre who looked after us all week – with 3 full boats out each day, they were incredible! We didn’t have perfect weather all week but dived each day and were well looked after by skippers and crew! So again, massive thanks and if you fancy any diving out of Plymouth – these are the guys (https://indeep.co.uk)!  

By the time I was back from Plymouth, the dive season had just started in the Northeast, and it was great to be back in the North Sea with Allan on Spellbinder (https://www.divespellbinder.com). We dive throughout the summer evenings here, and I am hoping we have better luck than last year – we were blown out most weeks! Fortunately, I have managed to get in the water a few times and have dived one of my favourites – the Ethel Taylor, which is a small fishing vessel. 

 However, my most recent endeavour was heading up to Orkney to complete the St Magnus marathon on July 7th! Myself and Fiona Tibbet were running in memory of Hannah Brooks, and have managed to raise over £2000 for Papyrus UK!! It was classic Orkney weather, (force 5 winds and some rain), but we are both chuffed to have completed it!  

For now though PhD work is starting to ramp up and with less than one year left (EEEK!!), there is going to be lots of writing and hiding from me for the rest of the year I think!! But happy and safe diving to you all!