Seasearch and DIR

Martin Burnard · March 26th, 2006, 11:51 AM

Ok my mottly little mates, the Seasearch season has returned.
Time to come out and have a look at the fish and things in our waters.

Brian is kicking off the seasearch dives this coming Monday evening at Aquanauts and Rich at Deep Blue is blowing us out of the water, from the beginning of April.

Monday nights we are almost guaranteed a dive because we will go where ever there is shelter, and I guess Rich will probably do the same.

So dust off those slates and come come see the fish!

AOW or equivalent, and you do not need to know anything about sea-life, come and learn as you go (see you knew you wanted to come).

Now what on earth has that got to do with DIR?

Well its the reason I did my Fundies course.

Its much easier to observe marine life when you have control over your bouyancy, trim, and positioning (who said back finning was not useful).

For a while we had a full DIR Fundies team doing Seasearch (Little Pete, Brian of Aquanauts and myself).

So if any of you are in the Westcountry and fancy a dive to look at the fish (the only reason I dive!) come on down and join us.

I am out with Brian at Aquanauts on most Seasearch dives and as often as I can with Rich at Deep Blue.

See you soon!

Reports of the dives and the life seen to follow over the coming weeks.

If you feel its not relevant then let me know!

*Clare Gledhill* · March 26th, 2006, 12:24 PM

Course it's relevant Martin - always happy to reports of diving on here...

There are even some who prefer fishy things to rusty things.... (or so i'm told

)

Little Pete · March 26th, 2006, 01:04 PM

I'll be home for easter around the 10th of April mate so should be back in the water with you soon enough

Martin Burnard · March 26th, 2006, 01:48 PM

Good to hear Pete!

Ok it's time to set the scene for tommorrows dive.

Its been raining very heavily for the past two days, and the Tamar river is flowing quite heavily out into Plymouth Sound (the natural harbour), hence an enormous amount of runoff with silt and mud. This does not always cause a problem as if the tides are right the vis can be reasonable (3m). If the tides are wrong then 1m is possible, it just means you get closer to the sea life before it sees you!

Recent conditions have been a regular 12m of viz with sea temperature running at 6-7 degrees (thats as low as it gets around here).

Sea state has been building recently with a swell causing abit of bobbing up and down on the boat (Aquanaut being a 42 foot Lochin, she rocks a bit, but can do any weather) 12 divers can fit on board and undercover if needs be (one night it was snowing as we headed back in!). So a run for a sheltered dive site will be the call for tommorrow.

Sealife can be rather varied through out the year, so I will try to give you all a taste for what we have on each dive. I will use the common names generaly but as I get more familier with the the latin terms I will include those as well.

There will be limitations to the details (my own limited ability!), but hang in there it will get better.

Any comments on what to include more of/ leave out etc is welcome, after all the idea is to give you a weekly roundup of what is happening in our waters.

Hope you all look forward to it!

Martin

*Brian Allen* · March 26th, 2006, 05:38 PM

bombs??? i never said anything about bombs

Sterny · March 28th, 2006, 10:48 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Gledders)

There are even some who prefer fishy things to rusty things.... (or so i'm told

)

I'd own up to that

Would be interested to hear what you're seeing guys!

Jonathan · March 28th, 2006, 11:27 AM

Thanks for that Martin, I'll be very interested in reading about what you see. I hadn't heard of Seasearch before (www.seasearch.org.uk for the uneducated like me!). They're at the LIDS (stand 1048 - near the Carribean Village!) and they're doing a presentation so I might go along at find out some more.

Sterny, you fancy having a go at IDing some stuff on the Sussex coast sometime?

Cheers

Jonathan

vid · March 28th, 2006, 06:12 PM

Can I say that the seasearch courses are first rate - and really do help with your basic marine identification skills - everyone should know what's taken up residence on theirr favourite lump of metal/rock.

The basic seasearch course is 1 day and all theory (with a series of interactive video/dvd dives to practice what you've been shown).
It shows you how to undertake basic surveys. You can then go on to undertake dives with seasearch members to get practical experience, progressing on to more specialised areas as you want.

The survey results are important, resulting in significant eco benefits.

Have a look here http://www.seasearch.org.uk

Not a fish lover - you're only a wreck head ? Well even my "fish frying buddy" enjoyed it - she now knows the difference between mackerel and herring.

(unfortunately seasearch responded that after considering her suggestion, they couldn't see sufficient demand for a "how to fillet" course)

vid

*Brian Allen* · March 29th, 2006, 12:12 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by vid)

Not a fish lover - you're only a wreck head ? Well even my "fish frying buddy" enjoyed it - she now knows the difference between mackerel and herring.

vid

Well seasearch now have a form for all the wrecked heads out there too

http://www.nasportsmouth.org.uk/proj...MB2006form.pdf
Wreck Map Britain 2006 click link above to help out.

Martin can we do some of these too?

B

Martin Burnard · March 29th, 2006, 10:38 AM

Yes we can Brian.

I feel like Bob the builder there.

A quick update on Monday night.... don't get too excited..

As those of you who are local will know Monday night was blown out, Force 7/8 winds put paid to the dive!
Good news though is that the air temperature has started to climb and is now generally 11 degrees as opposed to the 2 degrees of the last few weeks.
Hopefully the water temperature will start to follow soon.
Howver next Monday (3rd of April) is looking good so, keep watching or better still come and dive.

If anybody is down diving with us and wants to do a fishy / general dive I am always happy to help, cann't guarantee to ID everything but I can try!

Martin

March 26th, 2006, 11:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
Martin Burnard(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 580	Seasearch and DIR Ok my mottly little mates, the Seasearch season has returned. Time to come out and have a look at the fish and things in our waters. Brian is kicking off the seasearch dives this coming Monday evening at Aquanauts and Rich at Deep Blue is blowing us out of the water, from the beginning of April. Monday nights we are almost guaranteed a dive because we will go where ever there is shelter, and I guess Rich will probably do the same. So dust off those slates and come come see the fish! AOW or equivalent, and you do not need to know anything about sea-life, come and learn as you go (see you knew you wanted to come). Now what on earth has that got to do with DIR? Well its the reason I did my Fundies course. Its much easier to observe marine life when you have control over your bouyancy, trim, and positioning (who said back finning was not useful). For a while we had a full DIR Fundies team doing Seasearch (Little Pete, Brian of Aquanauts and myself). So if any of you are in the Westcountry and fancy a dive to look at the fish (the only reason I dive!) come on down and join us. I am out with Brian at Aquanauts on most Seasearch dives and as often as I can with Rich at Deep Blue. See you soon! Reports of the dives and the life seen to follow over the coming weeks. If you feel its not relevant then let me know!

March 26th, 2006, 12:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
Clare Gledhill(Offline) GUE Instructor Site Admin Pacman Champion! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,541	Course it's relevant Martin - always happy to reports of diving on here... There are even some who prefer fishy things to rusty things.... (or so i'm told ) __________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk

March 26th, 2006, 05:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Brian Allen(Offline) GUE Instructor Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London & Plymouth Posts: 594	bombs??? i never said anything about bombs __________________ ...dive planning again ... GUE fundamentals and Halcyon Equipment Online www.ocean-explorers.co.uk

March 28th, 2006, 10:48 AM	#6 (permalink)
Sterny(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: The limpid tropical lagoons of Ealing, West London Posts: 550	Quote: (Originally Posted by Gledders) There are even some who prefer fishy things to rusty things.... (or so i'm told ) I'd own up to that Would be interested to hear what you're seeing guys! __________________ "I thought I had a great idea today, but it never really took off. In fact, it didn't even get on the runway. I guess you could say it exploded in the hangar." - Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

March 29th, 2006, 12:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
Brian Allen(Offline) GUE Instructor Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London & Plymouth Posts: 594	Quote: (Originally Posted by vid) Not a fish lover - you're only a wreck head ? Well even my "fish frying buddy" enjoyed it - she now knows the difference between mackerel and herring. vid Well seasearch now have a form for all the wrecked heads out there too http://www.nasportsmouth.org.uk/proj...MB2006form.pdf Wreck Map Britain 2006 click link above to help out. Martin can we do some of these too? B __________________ ...dive planning again ... GUE fundamentals and Halcyon Equipment Online www.ocean-explorers.co.uk

March 26th, 2006, 01:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
Little Pete(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 509	I'll be home for easter around the 10th of April mate so should be back in the water with you soon enough

March 26th, 2006, 01:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
Martin Burnard(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 580	Good to hear Pete! Ok it's time to set the scene for tommorrows dive. Its been raining very heavily for the past two days, and the Tamar river is flowing quite heavily out into Plymouth Sound (the natural harbour), hence an enormous amount of runoff with silt and mud. This does not always cause a problem as if the tides are right the vis can be reasonable (3m). If the tides are wrong then 1m is possible, it just means you get closer to the sea life before it sees you! Recent conditions have been a regular 12m of viz with sea temperature running at 6-7 degrees (thats as low as it gets around here). Sea state has been building recently with a swell causing abit of bobbing up and down on the boat (Aquanaut being a 42 foot Lochin, she rocks a bit, but can do any weather) 12 divers can fit on board and undercover if needs be (one night it was snowing as we headed back in!). So a run for a sheltered dive site will be the call for tommorrow. Sealife can be rather varied through out the year, so I will try to give you all a taste for what we have on each dive. I will use the common names generaly but as I get more familier with the the latin terms I will include those as well. There will be limitations to the details (my own limited ability!), but hang in there it will get better. Any comments on what to include more of/ leave out etc is welcome, after all the idea is to give you a weekly roundup of what is happening in our waters. Hope you all look forward to it! Martin

March 28th, 2006, 11:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
Jonathan(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 215	Thanks for that Martin, I'll be very interested in reading about what you see. I hadn't heard of Seasearch before (www.seasearch.org.uk for the uneducated like me!). They're at the LIDS (stand 1048 - near the Carribean Village!) and they're doing a presentation so I might go along at find out some more. Sterny, you fancy having a go at IDing some stuff on the Sussex coast sometime? Cheers Jonathan

March 28th, 2006, 06:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
vid(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: london/surrey border, UK Posts: 353	Can I say that the seasearch courses are first rate - and really do help with your basic marine identification skills - everyone should know what's taken up residence on theirr favourite lump of metal/rock. The basic seasearch course is 1 day and all theory (with a series of interactive video/dvd dives to practice what you've been shown). It shows you how to undertake basic surveys. You can then go on to undertake dives with seasearch members to get practical experience, progressing on to more specialised areas as you want. The survey results are important, resulting in significant eco benefits. Have a look here http://www.seasearch.org.uk Not a fish lover - you're only a wreck head ? Well even my "fish frying buddy" enjoyed it - she now knows the difference between mackerel and herring. (unfortunately seasearch responded that after considering her suggestion, they couldn't see sufficient demand for a "how to fillet" course) vid

March 29th, 2006, 10:38 AM	#10 (permalink)
Martin Burnard(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 580	Yes we can Brian. I feel like Bob the builder there. A quick update on Monday night.... don't get too excited.. As those of you who are local will know Monday night was blown out, Force 7/8 winds put paid to the dive! Good news though is that the air temperature has started to climb and is now generally 11 degrees as opposed to the 2 degrees of the last few weeks. Hopefully the water temperature will start to follow soon. Howver next Monday (3rd of April) is looking good so, keep watching or better still come and dive. If anybody is down diving with us and wants to do a fishy / general dive I am always happy to help, cann't guarantee to ID everything but I can try! Martin