Where have we been? Not in the cold water, that is for sure. Despite Covid, we still have divers braving the green water of NL. But not without some hesitations. Social distancing has had some impact on the way divers socialize at the sites. There has been less enthusiasm to linger at the sites and do extra dives. As the weather turns and the seas get warmer we hope to return to the good old times. During this most recent dive against debris we had a sniff of the good old times. DMT Alain L and course candidates Chelsea B and Jack K opted to do an extra dive and snag some debris. I am not a native Newfoundlander but have lived here for a good while. I am a CFA. A "come from away." And let me tell you, I can complain about the weather with the best of them. Today we experienced three seasons. Had it snowed we would have experienced a whole year of seasons. We started with a milld spring day and a cool breeze. As our day progressed the breeze abated and we enjoyed a warm summer like feeling. That nice weather lingered until we jumped in for our dive agains debris. We left the beach and did a short surface swim in flat calm seas and this it was "game on." The dives against debris feel like an easy scallop dive, the difference is that you cannot eat your bounty harvested during a debris dive. Student divers practically apply their dive planning, buoyancy, u/w nav, and awareness skills during the dives. Simply put, these "real" dives are a lot of fun. The turn was called as divers were getting chilled after a long day beneath the surface. Yesterday at depth the water temp was 1 C. Warmed up to a balmy 4 C today. We surfaced into an autumn storm. The skies were dark, the almost absent breeze had turned and now a strong cold wind was blowing in from the north. Sea swells were almost a metre. Hats off to the students for competing their course successfully and I applaud them for diving against debris.
From the My Ocean Community
My Ocean is a growing community of conservation leaders. Together, our actions add up to global impact for our ocean planet.