What a mixed weekend. In summary:
Diving = Good
Camping = Bad

Anyway, the diving was superb. We (being me and a couple of diving clubs from all over aberdeenshire) were camped out on Mill SHore, which is a bay that sits between Cullykhan and Pennan. Decent weather, except on Sunday where is pissed it down. Not fun.

Anyway, on Friday I dived the shore at low tide with a Norwegian named Nina (Nice girl. Complimented me on my diving skill). Whilst there was not too much to see (as we were diving at dusk), there were some things of note, such as a tiny ikle little place about 2cms long and perfectly camoflaged on the sand (was blind luck that I saw it) or the little shore crabs that liked to bury themselves in the sea bed. Some big pollack decided to turn up later as we were leaving. The cause of this was revealed to be a couple of dolphins that had come into the bay the moment we had gone under, but obviously they had steered clear of Nina and myself. Obviously, were were a little gutted. To console myself, I made the 20 minute scramble over the low-tide rocks to Pennan, the the hope of getting a bit of nightlife that the tourist board would have you believe is omnipresent throughout all Scotland, the remote parts (like Pennan) in particular. Imagine my suprise (well, apathetic sigh) as I entered the Pennan inn to be greeted not by a furious maelstrom of celtic musicans and red haired dancing women, but a man in the corner. With his dog. And the pub closing. At half ten. Bugger.

Saturday morning saw the tide right out into the bay, and as such was a bit too shallow to make a worthwhile dive. I left for a perticularly stressful day at the aquarium, returning in the evening for a dive. This one took me 7m down, through some good rocky cliffs that were littered with Dead Man's Fingers (a type of coral) and a tiny crag filled to the brim with squat lobsters. The dive ended with a short jaunt about the kelp reef where I saw another of these blue Lion's Mane jellyfish (this is a local oddity - the Lion's mane should be an orange colour) that seem to litter the Moray Firth. Thankfully nothing got stung.

By Saturday night the beach was packed with tents, mostly erected by Aberdeen University students. I entered the raffle that was put on by some diving shop or another, and came away with a new mask. A new pink mask. Pink. Let me once again emphasis the fact that the colour of the mask was indeed Pink. (Pink is shit. Official.) A massive bonfire constructed of old fenceposts was soon set ablaze, but mercifully no-one proffered a guitar and began to sing folk songs. I massacred some marshmallows then went to bed, but only after experienceing the heart wrenching terror that is trying to piss in a pitch black portaloo.

Sunday brought my first boat dive. Chris and I stowed away on a RIB (Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boat), and did the 15m dive down to the wreck of a ship of which the name escapes me. Begins with a "P". It was really just a pile of girders with one huge boiler left over. I then proceede with my first really big ascent, which has to be the most terrifying thing about diving, as you have to keep dumping air from your dry suit to stop the ait from expending in the suit and sending you careering upwards to the surface and one big Bend. But it came off without a hitch, and on the way back to shore I saw some Puffins and Gannets. Which was nice.

Today I dived with Carla at Macduff. There's a really big cave just meters into the rock shore with coral, baby Cod, huge crabs and an even bigger lobster. It's also a lot deeper than most people would expect. So there you are.


A not to people unfamiliar with diving: It is a very pysically labourious activity.

I ache all over.

Even writing this is giving me a heamorrage.

ow.