Sardine Run Day 4: Into the water

There was a glorious sunrise this morning, as we skirted out of the river mouth. The surf looked flat enough (to my very untrained eye) but watching the boat in front of us seemingly make a bit of a pig’s ear of their launch made me wonder if my eye needed more training. But Harvey negotiated it with little bother, leading me to believe a) he’s a good skipper and b) my eye is trained a little bit. … More Sardine Run Day 4: Into the water

Sardine Run Day 3: Into the Boat

As with most diving holidays, there’s an early start involved. Why Mother Nature decided the best things should happen at stupid o’clock in the morning is beyond me. But we’re up at 6.15, for breakfast and a 7.20 boat launch. It’s still dark. My wetsuit it too tight, and I’m walking like a neoprened Quasimodo. Im wearing a stupid red beanie hat, and I feel daft. But the adrenaline is more than making up for it. … More Sardine Run Day 3: Into the Boat

A Scuba Diver’s Guide to Snowboarding

At the start of the year, I was asked to partake in a cultural exchange. My boyfriend, an avid skier bought me lessons for Christmas: sheepishly admitting his present was, at that time, more for his benefit than mine – he loved his ski holidays and wanted to take me with him on the next one. Now, at that point, I fully admit to being a little apprehensive. My only skiing experience to date at age 14 had ended in a disagreement with a fence, and on top of that, aren’t holidays for going diving anyway?? Having had no prior knowledge of exactly what a skiing holiday consisted of, I was a little unsure. However, after realising the potential for a skill swap hiding in this opportunity, I agreed to try out snowboarding … More A Scuba Diver’s Guide to Snowboarding

A Whirlwind Romance: Diving the gorgeous Red Sea Wrecks and Reefs

It’s 10.30am on a Thursday, I’m in a bikini, and I’m swimming in the bluest, calmest ocean I’ve ever seen. I’m above a shallow coral reef, and the water is so clear I can see the bright golden sand at the bottom, occasionally broken by the shadow of a small school of fish. The sun is already tingling my skin. I’m watching people jump off a boat into the aquamarine water and I’m wondering what I’d possibly be doing at work this week instead. Probably forecasts, or sending out another spreadsheet. But I’m not. I’m swimming in a gorgeous coral bay in the Red Sea, although it could be the Maldives, and I can’t think of any better therapy than this. … More A Whirlwind Romance: Diving the gorgeous Red Sea Wrecks and Reefs