The strong Northerly winds wiped out any chance of diving North Norfolk. An alternative was to go to Gildenburgh Water in Eastrea Cambridgeshire to do some open water training.

With Covid measures still in place we had booked a four hour slot, 12-4pm. We arrived early so that we could not only set up our own kit but kit for Larry too, the casualty in the rescue scenario. The weather wasn’t very nice, overcast and a little windy. There were only 4 other divers using the site when we arrived, so it wasn’t very busy.

The first lesson was a Dive Leader lesson where Jane had to perform a Controlled Buoyant Lift (CBL) from 15 metres. At the surface she had to give 10 rescue breaths and then tow Larry to the shore, remove his kit and lift him to dry land. Once in a safe area she could perform basic life support while requesting the Oxygen kit was assembled. She then had to give oxygen enriched basic life support.

• Dive: 1
• Divers: Simon, Jane
• Max Depth: metres
• Dive Time: 7 minutes
• Water temperature: 12 degrees C
• Viz: 0-1 metre
• Dive details: We entered the water at the training area and rolled Larry in, towing him to the buoy that marked the location of the bus. We slowly descended the shot line to the roof of the bus and lost sight of each other, the viz was that bad. I spotted Jane’s torch light and we descended further, moving down towards the front end of the bus until we reached the desired depth. Larry was placed face down on the bottom and I had to shine my torch on him so that Jane could see where he was. Jane performed a CBL and I ascended with them. It was a short dive but there really was nothing to see. The lesson continued as planned and Larry made a full recovery.

The next training dive was an Ocean Diver lesson with Claire.

• Dive: 2
• Divers: Simon, Claire
• Max Depth: 9.9 metres
• Dive Time: 45 minutes
• Water temperature: 13.7 degrees C
• Viz: Less than 1 metre
• Dive details: We walked down the steps into the shallow water and put on our fins. Claire completed mask clearing exercises at the 2 metre and 6 metre platforms followed by Alternative Source ascents. At the 6 metre platform we had an audience of several perch who came within touching distance. We followed the line to the double decker bus which only came into view as we were almost there. We returned to the 6 metre platform said goodbye to the fish and ascended.

• Dive: 3
• Divers: Jane, Julie
• Max Depth: 18.5 metres
• Dive Time: 17 minutes
• Water temperature: 9 degrees C
• Viz: quarter of a metre
• Dive details:  We surface swam out to the buoy of the newly located Skyvan, took a compass bearing for our planned exit point and descended the shot line. It very quickly became cold, and considerably colder the deeper we went. The poor visibility and darkness at depth meant that we didn’t realise we’d reached the Skyvan until we were upon it. With the silt stirred we moved off the Skyvan and swam alongside it all the way around. With our torches we could make out where the windows were, but we definitely wouldn’t recognise it again! After a full circuit, and with only dark murky green to be seen surrounding it, we took the decision to ascend the shot and surface swim back, rather than following the compass bearing back to shore. Our ascent included a 3 minute safety stop.

• Dive: 4
• Divers: Simon, Claire
• Max Depth: 16.1 metres
• Dive Time: 25 minutes
• Water temperature: 11 degrees C
• Viz: Less than 1 metre
• Dive details: Stride entry and descent straight down to the 6 metre platform. We did several Controlled Buoyant Lifts followed by Claire towing me to the buoy marking the location of the Skyvan. We descended the shot line to the Skyvan and as we descended it felt really cold and dark. The shot line was silty and the skyvan was even worse. We had to ascend because it was almost 4 O’clock and we had to leave.

This was Jane’s 3^rd dive of the day, and Julie’s 2^nd dive of the day. On our previous dives, it had already become apparent that there was not much to be seen due to the extremely poor visibility that day. Other divers were seen leaving the site early, most likely due to poor visibility. Our previous dives had been useful from the perspective of completing dive training and gaining experience, but we wanted to see some fish! So, we went back onto the water for one more dive, in an attempt to see some, and to make the most of the air left in our cylinders. We kitted up on the bank and carried our fins to the launching platform. Once fins were on and we were ready, we strode into the water, signalling ok once afloat.

• Dive: 5
• Divers: Jane, Julie
• Max Depth: 7 metres
• Dive Time: 22 minutes
• Water temperature: 18 degrees C
• Viz: 0.5 metres
• Dive details: We descended to the 2^nd stage training platform, as other LSAC divers had reported seeing fish there earlier. The visibility was still really poor, like pea soup. We were glad of our torches, not only for seeing fish, but also to keep each other in view! We saw numerous brave and ‘diver friendly’ perch and they seemed as keen to look at us as we did them. There was also a small crayfish sheltering in the top of the ‘seahorse’. On the platform there was another crayfish, slightly larger this time. Julie pointed a gloved finger towards it. The crayfish responded by touching her finger, as if ‘tasting’ it. It clearly was unimpressed, though, as it then backed off. After a short dive around, Jane signalled to ascend.