Inspirational Diver Training

2 More Turn to the Dark Side

2011-10-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well done to Craig and Ian who both finished their Mod 1 Inspiration course yesterday. It was a long week with more driving than diving due to the weather! We completed over 7.5 hours of open water diving down to depths of 30m.

Well done guys and see you in 6 months for your Mod 2 course.

O'Three Drysuit Ambassador

2011-08-10T02:29:00.000-07:00

I have been made an ambassador for O'Three drysuits! I have been wearing their drysuits for the last 12 years starting off with their original Ri2-500 suit in 1998. I have always chosen their suits due to the quality of the product and the customer service both of which are second to none.

Over the years I have always paid for my suits even though I could have received free or discounted products from other manufacturers but when you make your living from teaching diving poor quality products show a lack of professionalism and commitment to you and your chosen career.

I would like to thank Sean and Marcus for choosing me to represent O'Three as I know there would have been strong competition.

Check out their new and improved web site on the link below.

http://www.othree.co.uk/

Weymouth Diving

2011-06-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Just had a cracking weekend of diving on Skin Deeper out of Weymouth. We did an unnamed wreck christened the Conger Wreck. From the surface the water looked very clear but after entering and looking down the shot line it was clear the Plankton bloom was well and truly in. At about 30m the light disappeared and from then on if you wanted to see anything it would be by torch light. Reaching the wreck in 60m the visibility was around 5m. The wreck was a very small steamer and with a 30 minute bottom time we had managed to swim around the wreck 3 times. Not one I will rush back to.

Sunday we dived a wreck called the Snowdrop the bell was found last year by one of the divers on board. She sank in 1883. The visibility was around 8m and there was some ambient light but to see anything you needed a torch. The wreck was a steamer with the smoke stack still on top of the boiler. She is covered in Lobsters and other fish life and makes a cracking dive and is well worth a look if you are looking for a dive in 60m out of Weymouth.

TDI Combined Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures Course.

2011-05-28T10:21:00.001-07:00

I am running a TDI Combined Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures Course at Old Harbour Dive Centre in Weymouth and off their dive boat X-Dream.

The course starts on Monday 4th July and finishes Friday 8th July.

For more info please click on the link below.

http://www.inspirational-diver-training.co.uk/courses/combined_advanced_nitrox_decompression_procedures-course/combined_advanced_nitrox_decompression_procedures-course.html

Cheers

Kevin

TDI Combined Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures Course.

2011-05-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

I am running a TDI Combined Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures Course in Weymouth from 20th to 24th June. The course will be run from Old Harbour Dive Centre and on the dive boat X Dream.

For more information and prices click on the link below.

http://www.inspirational-diver-training.co.uk/courses/combined_advanced_nitrox_decompression_procedures-course/combined_advanced_nitrox_decompression_procedures-course.html

For more more info please drop me a line or give me a call.

Cheers

Kevin

New Advanced Open Water Divers

2011-04-26T04:37:00.000-07:00

Well done to Josh and Greg from O'Three Dry Suits. They completed their PADI AOW course over the weekend. We did to dives at the Cove on Chesil Beach on Saturday then 3 dives off X Dream out of Weymouth on Sunday. We had a good 5-10m visibility on all our dives which was good.

Red Sea CCR Trimix Training

2011-03-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from a very quite Sharm El Sheikh where I was running a Mod 2 Inspiration course. We had a cracking week completing 10 dives on the course 8 of them on Trimix down to depths of 60m.

I had 2 students on the course who had previously done their Mod 1 course with me. We had a good week and the guys learn't a lot. However the highlight of the week was on the last day of diving after the course had finished when we went Scootering at Jackfish Alley in Ras Mohammed where we saw a couple of Black tip Reef Sharks some Turtles and a Dolphin.

S.S. Leopoldville

2011-02-28T05:04:00.000-08:00

The 11,500 ton passenger ship Leopoldville was launched in 1927 at the John Cockerill S.A. Shipyard in Hoboken Belgium. Up until the second world war broke out she was used to carry passengers and goods to Congo. When the War broke out she was commissioned as a troop carrying ship, with some modifications and the fitting of necessary armament.

During a 4 year period from May 1940 until December 1944 she covered some 219,949 miles and transported 120,000 American soldiers to aid in the battle for Europe. On the 24th December 1944 at 0900 the Leopoldville left Southampton carrying 2,235 troops of the 66th Infantry division to Cherbourg. As the Leopoldville approached Cherbourg the U-486 laid in wait the U boat was equipped with a snorkel so was able to stay under the water and out of site to all on board. The U boat fired a torpedo and struck the port side of the Leopoldville, the damage caused was enormous.

An SOS was sent out and several ships came to the rescue. HMS Brilliant came along side the Leopoldville to extract the ships passengers and crew however many lives were lost due to the rough conditions causing the jumping men to miss and fall down into the icy water.

Seven Hundred and Sixty Three men died that night. The Supreme commander tried to keep everything quite in order to to keep up moral of the troops. Only in 1996 did the British Admiralty release documents that detailed what exactly happened. Since then a memorial has been erected at Fort Benning in the USA.

The Leopoldville now lies on her side in 60m, 5 miles from Cherbourg. She is still very much in tact and makes a cracking dive

For underwater video footage click on the link bellow.

Trimix Diving in the Channel 6-10th June

2011-02-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

I have booked Skin Deeper out of Weymouth to dive some cracking dives in the Channel and off the coast of France. The cost for the boat will be around £4,500 (cost could go up or down due to fuel costs). The trip is open to CCR divers as we need to be self sufficient for gas fills. I am limiting the numbers to 10 divers to give us plenty of room for the extra kit we will need to take for the 5 days.

The Itinerary is

6th June Leopoldville then in to Cherbourg & nbsp;

7th June wreck north of Guernsey ( decide max depth ) then into Guernsey

8th June HMS Limbourne then in to Plomanach

9th June HMS Charybdis then in to Guernsey or Alderney

10th June dive Illinois then home

To book you place email me or give me a call. But as usual you are not on the boat unless you have paid your deposit. Deposit of £200 required.

Cheers

Kevin

O'Three Goes Nitrox

2011-01-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Well done to 8 of O'Three's staff and friends who completed their TDI Understanding Nitrox course. We spent today learning all the aspects that make a safe Nitrox diver from Oxygen CNS tracking to analysing and marking of your dive cylinder.

Well done guys and see you all soon for longer bottom times!

Cheers

Kevin

Busy few Days

2011-01-26T06:29:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,

Well the new year finally got going for me as far as diving was concerned on Sunday!

Martin D and Martin P both did their Mod 1 Inspiration courses with me. I must have done a good job as they both came back for more! On Sunday they started their Mod 2 course we covered all the theory aspects of the course and had a discussion on equipment configuration which gave them ideas on how best to set up their rebreathers so to carry all the equipment needed to safely dive to 60m. They now have the next few weeks to fettle with their kit and practice their in water skills before we all fly off to Sharm El Sheikh for some serious diving.

Monday saw me take on a role reversal rather than being the educator I was the student, as I was attending the first day of the Sentinel rebreather user course run by Phil Short at Vobster. We covered assembly and disassembly of the unit preparing the unit for diving and the pre dive checks required for safe rebreather diving. We also touched on the theory of the course which is very similar to the Inspiration. It was an excellent and an informative day. I will no doubt be spending more time with Phil and the Sentinel in the very near future.

Tuesday and again I was learning new tricks this time at Sea & Sea I had a days instruction in the Ocean Reef Full Face Mask (FFM). This was to enable me to go away and teach others that want to learn how to dive using the FFM. We spent several hours in the classroom learning how to set them up and the benefits of the FFM one of which is the ability to communicate with your buddy, students and the surface. We then moved to the pool and put all the theory into practice. Within a few minutes I had the FFM fitted and I was under the water we tried to flood them and all that happens is air is released and this keeps any water out. We did removal and replacement and with a quick press of the purge button the mask was empty of water. Lastly we tried out the underwater comms these didn't work to well due to the confines of the pool and the signals bouncing off the pool walls.

I have now got a couple of days doing paperwork getting all my HSE stuff in order, then on Sunday I am off to O'Three for the day to teach nine of the staff how to safely dive breathing Nitrox.

Cheers

Kevin

Its been a Good Year

2010-12-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

I know the year is not quite over yet but due to a sore knee (old war wound) my diving finished back in September! But thanks to the good old NHS I will be back in the water by the middle of January.

Well where should I start? The season really got started for me in March I had booked Ian Taylor's boat Skin Deep for the first and last weekends for some weekend diving out of Weymouth. However things were not going to go to plan as at the last moment I decided to go out to Sharm to see an old friend Aaron Bruce for some personal development!! I booked for 2 weeks meaning I would miss the first weekend out of Weymouth but then I was asked to stay and do some work, teaching a couple of Inspiration courses meaning I would miss the 2nd week in Weymouth. My presence was not really missed and every one had a great time feeling their way around the M2.

Four weeks later I was back in Sharm delivering an Inspiration for one of Aaron's colleagues and to do some more teaching, an open circuit trimix course. This was the last time I would be in Egypt despite being invited several other times.

Well the weather back in Devon was improving day by day and the underwater visability was getting up to 10-15m so training conditions were perfect. Over the next few months we did several Inspiration courses and a number of Open Circuit courses of varying levels. As the days grew longer we managed to get out and do some of the medium range trimix wrecks out of Plymouth. Gems such as the Medina, Untiring and the Unicorn. But these wrecks were just the tip of the iceberg compared to the trip we had planned to Malin Head, Ireland. Here we had 3 of the top 10 wreck dives in the world with the Justicia, Empire Heritage and Audacious all of them spectacular in their own way.

However if I thought I was not going to be blown away by more spectacular wrecks then I was was wrong we had 2 more aces up our sleeve. In September I had a trip of my own planned to dive out of Plymouth but before that we had 2 days diving out of Newquay on the wreck of the Armenian a White Star Liner that lies in 95m. We only managed to get 1 dive on her due to the weather but that dive will stick in my mind for a long time. Moving over to the south coast and Plymouth we were quickly going to go from hero to zero with a dive on HMS Seabed on the Saturday and Sunday we were totally blown out! But there was still Monday when we were due to dive the Afric another White Star liner and yet another memory that will not be lost any time soon.

I would like to thank all of you who joined me in my adventures this year. I look forward to more of the same next year and making more new friends and dive buddies.

Have a great Christmas and a cracking New Year.

Malin Head August 2011

2010-10-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys

You will recall I posted recently (see below) regarding a return trip to Malin to dive with Michael on the MV Rosguil. Michael has confirmed his price at 520 euros a day up to 20 miles with a surcharge for fuel at cost after that. I have booked the boat for 10days with the intention of diving 8 days with 2 days set aside for bad weather. These days will cost 250 euros each. I require a deposit of £400 (non refundable unless you fill your space).

The following people have confirmed.

Martin Davis

Ger Dooley

To book yourself on the trip please email me and I will send you my bank details to pay the deposit money. The boat can accommodate 10. If there are still spaces left on the 1st December I will open it up to the forums.

I will be planning some build up weekends prior to the trip which I will keep you all informed of.

Cheers

Kevin

Red Sea Trip Confirmed

2010-10-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

We are going to Sharm El Sheikh on the 10th March for 7 days! We will be diving with Werner Lau dive centre who are offering their Buddy weeks at this time (Buy 1 get 1 Free on dive packages). So 2 people can do 6 days diving 12 dives for a 264 euros. We are staying in the Tropicana Tivoli Hotel which will cost you £145 for a twin room. The hotel is in the Aida area of Sharm which is around a 10 minute taxi ride into Naama Bay. However there are plenty of restaurants within a short walk of the Hotel.

While we are out there I will be running a Inspiration Mod 2 course and my friend Aaron is running a Mod 3 course. We can accommodate 4 divers on each course and there is currently 1 diver on each course. If you would like to join us for the course please email me for prices.

If you require any further information then please email using the contact form which can be found by following the link below.

http://www.inspirational-diver-training.co.uk/contact/contact.php

Cheers

Kevin

Red Sea Trip March 2011

2010-10-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I am planning a trip to Sharm El Sheikh from the 10th - 17th March 2011. It will be open to Open and Closed Circuit and Open Water to Trimix divers alike. The beauty of diving in the Red Sea is you can see as much in 9 or 90m. I am not going to go into prices here if you are interested email me and I will send you details. We will be diving with a company called Werner Lau who are offering something called their Buddy week where 1 person pays and the other is free of charge so making a very reasonable week of diving. I am planning on staying in the Tropicana Tivoli I have stayed here before and for the cost is a lot of hotel. The hotel is located in the Aida area of Sharm which is both quiet and a short ride to Naama Bay. I have a friend who runs his own transfer company so the trip from the hotel and airport will be arranged in advance. I lived in Sharm for around 12 months + have spent many more weeks out there on holiday so if you have never been there before you can be reassured I will look after you. Sofnolime and rebreather cylinders are available from the dive centre.

The price you pay is the price of the trip I don't put anything on top. If you would like to do any courses while we are out there that can be arranged.

If you would like any more info please email me on the the contacts page.

http://www.inspirational-diver-training.co.uk/contact/contact.php

Cheers

Kevin

Ann And Chris TDI Mod 2 Inspiration Divers

2010-10-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Well done to Ann and Chris who have just finished their TDI Mod 2 Inspiration course. Unfortunately due to the poor weather we had to finish off the diving in Chepstow quarry making their last dive to 58m on Sunday with a total run time of 80 minutes. They are now going to consolidate their training over the winter to be ready for a busy season of Trimix diving next year. Well done guys see you next year on the boat.

Cheers

Kev

White Star Liner SS Afric

2010-09-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

We dived the SS Afric today a White Star Liner 26 miles out from Plymouth. After Sundays dive was cancelled due to the strong winds I was pleased to see a fairly calm Plymouth sound as I dropped down the hill that leads to Fort Bovisand. There were 8 of us on the boat and we loaded quickly so we could get underway, the trip out to the site took around 2.5 hours. On arrival Danny (our skipper) spent a little time to study the layout of the wreck as we wanted the shotline around the stern of the wreck. The shot was dropped and the divers 2 by 2 dropped into the water. I was the last one of the boat and quickly dropped down the line through the different levels of water clarity until I reached the bottom in 75m. On the bottom I had caught up with the 2 pairs of divers who descended before me, one pair had clipped on their reel and were already leaving the line and heading towards the stern. To save time attaching my reel I decided to follow along their line. We quickly came to the stern where her 2 large props sit either side of the rudder that is still turned to port (left) where her crew had tried to avoid the torpedo that sunk her. I swam over the prop shaft and around the back of the rudder then ascended up and over the stern to the deck. The wreck is sitting on her starboard (right) side so swimming over her port side railings you are looking down her wooden deck into the gloom and back towards the seabed. The wreck is in excellent condition but covered in fishing nets and is very similar to the Armenian which I dived on Friday. The pair of divers I was following decided to head back to the shot having not laid my own line I was now stuffed I could either continue and risk not getting back to the shot or cut my dive time short and follow them back, I chose the later as I had already racked up 60 minutes of decompression time. The trip back up the line was uneventful but long. Another cracking dive racked up and one that I will be visiting again soon.

SS Armenian

2010-09-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

We dived the SS Armenian on Friday out of Newquay. She is 50 miles out and in 95m. The trip out was 3 hours long and fairly lumpy by time we reached the dive site we were all ready to get off the boat! I was diving with a trimix of 10/62 giving me an equivalent narcotic depth of 30m in my inspiration and carrying 2 eleven litre bailout cylinders with 14/54 and 30/35 these 2 cylinders would get me to 22m if the poo hit the fan then the remainder of the gas I would need would be lowered down on a pre planned signal.

As we descended it got darker and darker and on reaching the bottom we needed torches to see however the visibility was a good 10-15m. The descent took us around 6 minutes with the shot dropping down into the inside of the wreck. The decks and superstructure had long since collapsed exposing her boilers. We swam towards the stern coming across a large winch where we crossed over and explored the other side of the wreck. There were port holes lying around everywhere I picked up 2 with the idea of sending them to the surface but I had second thoughts knowing that the time it would take to rig them up to a lifting bag would probably mean another 20 minutes of decompression at 6m.

We spent 20 minutes on the bottom which gave us a total of 80 minutes of decompression over 60 minutes of that at 6m.

This was a great dive the size and condition of the wreck is hard to put across. I will definitely be going back and paying her another visit next year.

Not the Armenian

2010-09-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Diving out of Newquay today with the plan to dive the SS Armenian a P&O Liner that was sunk in WW1 carrying a cargo of Mules for the frontline. She is 50 miles out of Newquay in a depth of 95m. When we arrived at Newquay harbour the conditions did not look promising and when the skipper turned up he confirmed my fears. The back up plan was to dive a wreck in 40m. For those of you that are not trimix divers that is a bit of a problem even on a rebreather as my breathing gas was totally unsuitable as my main bailout (emergency cylinders) were mixed to get me from 95m to 22m then the rest of the gas would have been lowered down from the boat on a predetermined signal. Oh well we were there so we made the best of what we had. The trip out was lumpy to say the least but we were on site within 40mins and in the water after another 30mins. The visibility was about 25m and very light. The wreck was a small steam powered vessel that was very broken and had been picked clean of any brass a long time ago. I spent 40min on the bottom and for that I had 35mins of deco to do. I could see the sun reflecting off the surface from 30m. Tomorrow we try again but looking at the forecast I am not optimistic but we will see.

Joe's an Advanced OW Diver

2010-09-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

Last night we did a night dive at the Chesil Cove to complete Joe's Adv OW course. We did 5 dives in all a Deep, Wreck, Search and Recovery, Navigation and last nights night dive. Three of the dives were done out of Plymouth one out of Babbacombe but due to less than ideal visibility at Babbacombe the night dive had to be postponed. As Joe lives in Weymouth we decided to do the night dive there and we were not disappointed. We saw Cuttlefish, Lobster, Edible Crabs and lots of Pollack to name but a few.

Well done Joe.

Weymouth Diving

2010-09-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Just spent the last two days diving on Skin Deeper out of Weymouth. We dived the Avalanche on Wednesday. She was a three masted steel sailing ship and lies on a silty sea bed in 51m. She is very broken and at her highest point is about 6m proud of the sea bed. The wreck site is covered in bottles of all different shapes and sizes and masses of broken crockery all part of her cargo. She sank in 1877 after being involved in a collision with the boat Forest with the loss of all aboard. The wreck is covered in shoals of Pollack and numerous Lobsters that seemed to get bigger and bigger with each one we came across. Visibility was poor at 3-4m and very dark.

Today we dived the wreck of the Salsette one of the UK's most famous wreck dives and it did not disappoint. She was a P&O liner that once held the Blue Ribbon for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic but now lies on her port side in 46m. The shot line was just behind the the bow her anchors are still in place so we started here and then headed along her port railings down to the stern. Like the Avalanche she was covered in shoaling Pollack and some large Bass. We reached the stern after 25 minutes where her rudder casts a huge shadow the starboard prop is missing. We then finned up along the hull following a line of pristine port holes. The vis today was 6-8m. The Salsette sank in 1917 after being struck by a torpedo.

TDI Inspiration Course

2010-08-21T04:27:00.000-07:00

Just finished an Air Diluent Decompression Inspiration course with Martin. It was a busy week but much was learned. We did 90 minutes in the pool and 8 dives finishing off in the quarry at Chepstow because of poor weather meaning our boat out of Plymouth was cancelled. Martin picked everything up really quickly but even with a very strong diving background admitted that diving a rebreather was completely different and required more thought and discipline. However the benefits far exceeded the extra effort required.

Cheers

Kevin

Malin Head probably the best wreck diving I have done!!

2010-07-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

We started our 6 days of diving with the wreck I most wanted to do, the conditions were perfect so it was off to the Justicia 30 miles out to sea. The Justicia was a white star liner, she sits in 70m of water upright with her bow being the main attraction. The shot was just behind the Bridge which has collapsed down into the hull. Just forward was the bow sat upright as if it was still ploughing its way through the sea with the anchors in place and the deck hand rails intact. A truly amazing sight. Going back to the shot I travelled across rows of perfect portholes all clinging to the hull, passing these I came to her massive boilers. 30mins done it was time to be heading back to the shot. Hanging at 6m with the rest of the gang we had a visit from a 1.5m Porbeagle shark, it swam behind the guys on the deco station then back towards me. It came to within 2m of me then turned and headed off. It doesn't get better than this.

Day 2 we were of to dive the Empire Heritage she was a freighter nothing special, until you see the cargo that she was carrying. Sherman Tanks, Earth moving Lorries and other war goods. She sits in 66m and the vis was a good 20m like the day before. The shot was just in front of a row of boilers. I could see her mast which looms above the wreck a good 15m and at the base of this I caught a glimpse of my 1st tank. In some places they were piled 3 high like a childs toy box just tossed aside. 30mins gone and time to head up. Decompressing on the deco station I glanced down into the blue and there was a 2m Porbeagle just swimming around beneath us. What are the chances of that 2 cracking dives and sharks on both.

Day 3 The Roscommon another freighter this time the cargo was crockery, Lino and cable. Not quite as glamorous as the Empire Heritage. The selling point of this wreck was another intact bow with anchors in place. She was in 75m and another cracking dive.

Day 4 UB89 a German WW1 submarine. I had watched a video of divers on her the day before and new what to expect. I was not disappointed most of her pressure hull is gone exposing the inner hull which in places has disappeared over time giving you good views inside her torpedo room and engine room. This has to be the best sub dive I have done.

Day 5 HMS Audacious one of HM finest battleships. She is upside down in 65m vis was the poorest of the week at 10m!! We were diving her gun turrets today, these are truly massive and the shells that they fired are bigger than a 15ltr cylinder. You could spend a whole week on this dive and not see all the sites.

Day 6 HMS Audacious the stern. The highlight of this is the propellers and rudders which are all still in place. The hull is broken and entering the wreck is easy some of the other exposed sites are the Clarkson Cases these are about 1.5m tall and .5m wide they were used to carry cordite and are made out of brass. This was a great dive to finish off our week just the sheer size of the wreck makes it a special dive.

I have to say a big thank you to Michael our skipper and Heather his wife who looked after us in the B&B a warmer welcome you would find hard to find. I have booked again for August 2011 for more of the same and to do some of the deeper wrecks.

Cheers

Diving Malin Head

2010-07-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have just finished diving some of the wrecks off Malin Head, which has been a truly amazing week. We dived classics like the Justicia, Empire Heritage and the Audacious and some not so well known wrecks of the UB89 and the Roscommon. The visibility ranged from 10-25m with the water temperature being 9 degrees on the bottom and 15 at the decompression station. The group was made up from guys from the UK and Ireland and all but 1 were diving Inspiration rebreathers. Depths ranged from 62-78m and bottom times were 25-35 minutes with total bottom times averaging 2 hours. If the cracking wrecks were not enough we also had the company of a Porbeagle Shark on the 1st two dives swimming around us on the deco station. We dived off the boat Rosguill skippered by Michael McVeigh and stayed at Michael and Heathers B&B The Fisherman's Cottages in Downings. I can not praise Michael and Heather enough for the welcome and generosity we received while staying and diving with them. I have booked again for next year so that says it all. I will write some more about the diving in the next week. Picture above is of the Gun of the UB89 a 2nd WW german submarine.

UK Wreck Diving Trips

2010-06-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

There are still places left on two of this years UK dive trips. Both trips are in September and they are.

Diving on Skin Deep out of Weymouth on the 1 & 2nd Sept we plan to dive the Avalanche in 50m and the Salsette in 45m both classic UK wreck dives. The cost is £45pp a day.

Diving out of Plymouth on Red Alert on the 17, 18, 19 & 20th Sept we are planning to dive wrecks in the 60-80m range. The cost is £400 per day for the boat divided between the divers.

If you are interested in booking on these trips then please give me a call or email me.

Cheers

Kevin