Guernsey 2007

[scottwilson]

Sorry to hear the weathers turned for you Guernsey boys, Torbay had some of the best viz Ive seen in a long time yesterday morning but by evening the eastery had picked up and the water today is brown and un divable GUTTED.

 

[Old Man Dave]

To be honest we haven't had the best of weather lately. The 2 dives I managed this weekend were after a 10 day lay off which was mainly weather related. However this time of year that's to be expected. The big plus though is that from now to next spring there should be little plankton and so the vis will be good when it's calm. I always try to go when conditions are good as if you plan to go on X date and pass on current good weather days then sods law says by X it will be shit. This tends to cause family stress when non divers don't understand the need. Even after all these years my wife can't understand why I need to go NOW not next week when its more convenient :naughty. Some people call that selfishness but you only live once and I have been known to catch a few fish which you wont do if you don't get in there.

Anyway I digress, Happy birthday for a few days ago Scott.

Lastly I thought about buying a D3 but notice it's not on the Apnea Jersy site anymore . Found this site in the Uk selling them for £147 with VAT. That's very cheap. Anyone know anything?

Suunto Watches | SureFire Torches | Leatherman | Dakine | 5.11 Tactical | Luger binoculars | ATN Night vision | Blackhawk Military | Ribcap | Dirtsurfer | Gravity | Bynolyt binoculars | LED Lenser torches | Inova Torches

Dave

 

[Pastor]

Never heard of them sorry, Robin hood sports were offering an excellent deal on the D3 a while ago, don't know if they still are, I had to email them to ask.

 

[scottwilson]

Thanks Dave. the d3 is a nice watch but I do remember a few posts on this forum about them crashing and needing sending back. I think spearheads dives with one so might be worth getting hold of him for a first hand review.

 

[Sarnian]

Dave and Ed, I wonder what the vis is like today ( Bordeaux an hour ago).

 

[portinfer]

I think that Dave metioned that it was cold last night... I think that was an understatement !

Damn it was colder than a gravediggers heart... I was looking forward to getting out before even getting in. Must be old age gaining on me.

Nice dive but as Dave mentioned it was all a bitrushed (my fault - attempting to stay warm by finning alot).

Saw some nice cuttles shivering at about 6m and a small semi-defrosted pout but apart from that nada mas...

Dave had trouble operating his fingers at the end (gloves ?! New invention I know but a million eskimos can't be that wrong ) and I had trouble with feelings below my ankle until a few hours ago (both socks looking like a collander).

Diving looked out of the question so I popped out to the Hoffe for a bit of kayak trotting...

Ed

 

[Magpie]

Trotting which resulted in?

Myself I've stayed nice and warm inside and swapped my apneasub fibre blades into my Omer footpockets from my Ice, was surprised how easy it was. Might have to wait until May to try them though.!

 

[Old Man Dave]

"my fault - attempting to stay warm by finning alot" Not kidding Ed you passed the Condor ferry and what I thought was swell was your wake.


Trotting, nice one Ed roflroflrofl but I think you'd need to borrow the lifeboat to go to the Hoffet today.

Pastor, I spent 3 months last year emailing Sue at RH about D3's but they couldn't get me one from their "cheap" source. Still got them on their web site but now at £139 (was £129) but haven't tried them since.

Dave

 

[foxfish]

Ed when the finance industry collapses you will no probs finding a job! Made me laugh anyway. rofl

 

[Magpie]

I don't see what the problem is, its a lovely day!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huikPS3Cd8U]YouTube - Flat Calm[/ame]

 

[Sarnian]

In the absence of any dive reports, here are some pics of taking my Mamba to bits on the dining table ( it's OK the other half's away!:rcard)

The problem is that I had to replace the ball bearing which seals the valve, but it doesn't appear to be stainless and has rusted, so it no longer seals - hence loss of pressure. Luckily I've had OMD to help with dismantling it - I wouldn't have wanted to touch it myself.

No I just need to see whether Interseals' 5mm / 3/16" ball bearings are close enough ( it appears to be 4.8 mm. as far as I can tell with my digital calipers) - hopefully the tolerances aren't that critical as it's only the end bit which does the sealing.

Anyone else had similar problems?

 

[Sarnian]

I don't see what the problem is, its a lovely day!

YouTube - Flat Calm

Tom I take it you gave up the float fishing at that point!

 

[derek foxen]

Diving looked out of the question so I popped out to the Hoffe for a bit of kayak trotting...

Ed[/QUOTE]


Coincidence is a strange phenonemon...I happened to take this shot today but didn't realise you were in it till I got home Ed...R I P !!

 

[Draenog]

Foxfish, this is a bit off the subject of spearfishing but since you know a bit about marine aquaria, how difficult would it be to set up a coldwater tank with some native species? Maybe a couple of anemones, a crab, a couple of pipefish, a butterfish, gobies, that sort of thing. Could it be done with water from the sea then topped up with fresh to replace evaporation?
I think there's a thread on fishkeeping but I'm not sure where it is.

Sunfish

I kept local marine fish for years (in fact I would have some now, but have lost a vital bit of kit in a house move and waiting hopefully for it to turn up).

You can have great stuff in a tank.

The main difficulty , as mentioned by others is the temperature. As long as you've got a decent fish ID book you're fine. You just only take stuff that can tolerate warmer water.

In the South of the UK we're at the southern end of distribution of a load of species that go way up to the North, even the arctic. These will not survive warm temperatures of a tank in a house (and a chiller costs approx £500, though some people use pub beer coolers effectively).

We are also, however (and this is even more true of the waters around Guernsey) at the Northern end of distribution for a lot of species that go way down south - even to the Med.). These species can be kept comfortably, as long as you're careful not to put the tank somewhere it'll get really hot in summer.

I've succesfully kept juvenile bass, mullet, gurnard, flatties, wrasse, pipefish, gobies and blennies, marine stickelbacks, squat lobsters, various crabs, shrimp and prawns, anemones, sea urchins,feather stars, all sorts of creepy crawly invertebrates. I've hatched out cuttlefish eggs, dogfish purses (absolutely fascinating watching the embryo developing inside).

You do need to talk to your local sea fisheries regulator regarding the legalities of this (undersized fish etc..). Our local committee were happy as long as I was pretty frugal with numbers.

Feel free to email me if you're going to go for it and I'll give you some tips. Got some nice photos somewhere too.

 

[foxfish]

Getting cheaper & better all the time - Aquarium Coolers & Conditioners
Truth is I am more than happy to talk fish keeping & I do on a number of other sites!
I could start a thread if there was enough interest?

 

[ADM]

Now those prices are looking more real Foxfish, there be hope for my bodge job yet!! The 2 velvet crabs which have been living in my tank at about 26c for the last month don't seem too fussed but they haven't peeled (and they are def peelers) and I think an eel would kark it almost straight away!!

On the weather side of things, it did look a tad rough down east, don't often see surfable swell coming into Havelet!! not sure what time you were there Magpie but I had a look at the breakwater about half tide (2.30 ish) for fishing, the end looked fishable but getting there was a different matter so i went home instead.

 

[Mr. X]

In the absence of any dive reports, here are some pics of taking my Mamba to bits on the dining table ...
The problem is that I had to replace the ball bearing which seals the valve, but it doesn't appear to be stainless and has rusted, so it no longer seals - hence loss of pressure...

A speargun with a ball bearing that rusts...seems a little short sighted, to say the least.

The in-laws just got back from 5-days in Jersey (and all I got was a rather cool fish mug). Flat calm on both crossings too. Strange time of year to visit. They took their car but found parking a pain. They said they preferred Guernsey & using buses. The better half is now talking about taking the family holiday in Guernsey next year. We'll see ... I'm not getting my hopes up yet, something usually goes wrong.

(Foxfish, how is the Mamba at dealing with spear-proof giant mullet?)

 

[foxfish]

Mr x you can try out the mamba when you come over - I have 3 at the moment but I think there are a few more on the locale market at the mo?

 

[Magpie]

Yup, I think Ed is too obsessed with nice bits of wood and wants to trade his in for some planks and mine may be open to offers to make some funds for one of them camo HF2s.

 

[Jonny250]

I managed a quick dip this evening, vis was appalling. Didn't see much, but it was a pleasant enough swim with a clearish sky and bright moon, I found a spot with offshore wind so it was pretty calm. Anyone know what the 'lightning' flashes are that have been going on since around 6pm? (go on, tell me that'll be lightning then... ;-) )