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Dive Notes from a Small Island: Part 2 – Devon & Dorset
Mike and I had originally planned to dive in Plymouth, a couple of boat dives to the Scylla and JEL, or the reefs, but unfortunately the weather decided not to play and we got blown out. Moving on to Dorset we got a weather window to dive Swanage Pier, so taking advantage of the better conditions we decided to do a nice morning dive at high tide.
Dive 6: Swanage Pier
Site description:
The original Swanage Pier was first built in 1860, in the mid 1870’s it was found that a new and longer pier was needed for the increasing traffic, so the new pier was constructed by 1897. It was damaged in war time and from 1966 the pier was left to deteriorate for 30 years. In 1994 the Swanage Pier Trust took control in restoring the pier and making it available for local people and visitors to enjoy. As a dive site the new pier is considered better thank the old pier pilings that lies to the right hand side and it provides a sheltered, shallow dive site with easy access. It is no more than 5m at high tide and has variable visibility depending on recent weather, it is a good training site and can have lots of life both on the sea floor and on the pier posts. Parking costs £6 and it is £2.50 for each adult diver or £1 for a junior. It is also possible to take boats from here to dive the many wreck dives in the area.
The Dive:
We had 1-2m visibility and calm conditions at high tide. The sun streamed through from above us each side of the pier making navigation easy and we spent a thoroughly enjoyable 75mins pootling about looking for tompot blennies, painted topshells and velvet swimming crabs, which were in abundance!
Mike’s thoughts:
I’ve always liked critter-spotting pier dives and Swanage was really nice. The setup is about as perfect as you can get, with on-pier parking and dive shop, easy entry and pretty sheltered conditions. The sea life was abundant on the day we dove, and I managed to get several nice photos of tompot blennies. They are quite common in UK waters but being both charismatic and not terribly shy make for great subjects. The resident blennies did not disappoint as I was able to meet my main goal for the dive and get the pictures I wanted. I’d love to return on a day with better visibility as the conditions only allowed for fleeting glimpses of the pier structure through the murky water. No doubt a clear day with sunbeams shining through the pier would be even better!
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
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MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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