Gwynedd Sub Aqua Club Blog

An initial recce of the freshwater diving group (to go with pictures in Carole’s previous post)

2012-01-23T16:06:00.000Z

Carol couldn't wait for further responses from Martin Doyle of Plas y Brenin and it was a lovely day the other Friday (13th) so I accompanied her to have a recce around the Afon Lligwy at Capel Curig (the potential site of our proposed river diving training)

We were both equipped with a map each - so no worries there!

We started by the Cobden's Hotel car park (all of this assumes permission etc. to clamber across fields, through woods, along footpaths etc.) Here there is very easy access to the water, a rush of water under the footbridge into a large pool, the river then divides around an island or two, to the right the water runs fast over shallow boulders, this might be a good site to see what speed of running water we can cope with as the entry point is out of the current. Also perhaps to creep towards the bottom of a waterfall and see what it's like with a safe get-out plan – (in case it's not nice).

The water was lovely and clear all along.

We played pooh sticks to time the rate of movement of water along approx. 10m, under this footbridge we got 0.7 knots or 0.8 mph - which sounds a lot slower that it looked!!

Further upstream there were more nice pools after lots of waterfalls (short ones) with possible access across fields from the roadside - or along the footpath on the other side which would be a longer walk.

In one of these pools immediately opposite the old garage with red frontage we measured a flow of 0.65 knots or 0.75 mph (figures for these sums gleaned from Wikipedia so they must be accurate - not to mention our guesstimate of what 10 metres looks like!)

Further upstream again, the banks were part of the Forestry Commission - Bryn Engan - including some mountain biking paths through the woods. By Plas Curig (as marked on the map) there was a new FC bridge and here we found a torn dry suit wrist seal lying on the path?????!!

Opposite the Bryn Tyrch there was what we decided was a riffle bit with an area of calmer water which might be deeper.

We also went to Plas Y Brenin and looked at their canoeing pool - which also looked like a good site but might be very shallow.

Hopefully we'll get more info from PyB people about depths of the water here and there, when we do our survey of the Conwy we will include shallow waters where crawling/wading is required.

The main obvious hazards we noted along this stretch were boulders and tree branches in the water

Thoughts about techniques/equipment etc. as we went along were:

For initial recce's of sites we would need a plumb line (marked in depths) to use from bridges etc.
Ropes could be used for a number of purposes:
- a weighted line for an underwater transect (as used in underwater surveys we've done at other places)
- a line across the river on the surface to catch divers swooshing off unexpectedly in the wrong direction
- a line along a piece of bank for a diver to grab and pull along if examining a short section by a bank
Also initial or second visits - just snorkelling may be best to then decide whether SCUBA gear would be appropriate
Wheel barrows and trolleys would be useful for humping gear

If we used some sort of grapple we would need to consider what if any damage this might do to the bottom - an initial snorkel might confirm whether a grapple would be of any use anyway.

It's going to be handy to have lots of shore cover

Errr - that's it

Lig

Source to Sea – an underwater ‘travelogue’ of the River ‘Conwy’ From Llyn Conwy – Merddw confluence – Lledr confluence – Llanrwst - Conwy Estuary

2012-01-18T09:40:00.000Z

Prompted by a generally expressed interest in extending our club divingpossibilities in winter, and even during periods of bad weather at sea in thesummer, at our last club committee meeting in November, Tristan Hatton-Ellis,Fresh Water Officer for CCW, spoke with enthusiasm about how we mightinformally collaborate with CCW regarding producing some interesting and,hopefully, artistic and inspiring photographs of various fresh water sites inAnglesey and Gwynedd. He talked about green fresh water sponges in Llyn Idwal,for instance, and many other unique aspects of our beautiful rivers and lakes,inspiring us with enthusiasm to go forward.

So, a couple of Sundays ago, agroup of us met in the Panton Arms at Pentraeth to chat about the possibilitiesof fresh water diving. With us was Nigel Milner, Fisheries Scientist, aonce-member of the club, and a member of the Conwy and Clwyd Rivers Trust.

Llugwy Widens

To begin with we were considering both lakes and rivers, and SnowdoniaNational Parks have given us permission in principle to dive Llyn Tegid (Bala).

Across pool below Cobden bridge

However, after last night’s meeting we came away with the beginnings ofan exciting project, that to our knowledge has never been done before in the UK(I stand to be corrected here…) – which is to dive the length of the RiverConwy, and produce an underwater ‘travelogue’, consisting of written records,slides and videos of the various environments encountered – riffles, pools,gorges, waterfalls, tidal reaches etc., ranging from a couple of meters only to5-10 meters deep, and the aquatic life, both plant and animal, that we hopeflourishes in them. Not dissimilar to Seasearch in that aspect. On the waywe’ll be learning about invasive species that are threatening native ones, hownot to cross contaminate, and how to dive with and against the flow in fairlyfast moving water at times. We will obviously use our well- won judgement fromdiving in the sea, and keep well clear of those places which look toodangerous.

View of defile under Cobdens bridge

We are now in the throes of researching everything we need to know aboutriver diving and pulling in the experience of BSAC HQ, in the person of JimWatson, Safety and Development Manager; old and new members of the club; andenvironmentalists from all corners of the two counties, this to produce anoverall plan/presentation, templates for risk assessments, set up a programmeof safety and skill training sessions, walk the banks, talk to anglingassociations and landowners, get permissions to dive, and generally get to knowAfon Conwy.

We have walked the banks of Afon Lligwy in the meantime, which looked tobe a suitable training site, with a wealth of information we could tap intofrom Plas y Brenin. Nina is setting up a template for risk assessment, both forgeneral hazards and specific sites; Liz is working on a presentation we can usefor other concerned organisations about the club and its history and activitiesto date, Mike is working on equipment and skills/techniques needed, Kathryn isproviding us with information about biodiversity in the rivers and intertidalareas, and Nigel is helping us with general info about the Conwy and itswaters, plus permissions and introductions to interested people/organisations.

Rocky section upstream of Cobdens bridge

We will hopefully come away from such a project with a wealth of newskills and experiences, and material which will serve to raise awareness bothof ourselves and the general public about the largely unseen life in ourrivers, the threats to that life from pollution and hazards from tipping, andhow important all water is to life’s continuing existence.

Please get in touch with one of the following club members (telephone/emailsavailable from list of club members previously updated and distributed byHelen) if you’re interested in taking part in this project, which we hope toget underway by the spring. Besides divers of varying adventurousness, we willneed shore - I mean ‘bank’ – support crew, so there’s a role for everyone.

We will be calling another meeting for those of you who are interestedin the next couple of weeks, and brief field trips to reconnoitre both theLligwy and Afon are anticipated, before we take the plunge and start skills training.

Thanks

Liz Healey

Kathryn Birch

Mike McCann

Nina Hamilton

Carol Horne

Dive Trip Skomer 2011

2011-08-13T22:55:00.007+01:00

Myfyr, Mark, Kevin and Carol enjoy a cuppa courtesy of the Skipper!

The Skomer 11 head off to the pub!

Many thanks to Mike McCann for organising. It was a great few days diving and the weather was FAB!

Vis was really good - a luxury we're not used to!!

Cable Bay 12th June 2011

2011-06-12T18:27:00.010+01:00

Carol and I went on a Route March with Nina this morning

Wait for us!!!!

It was a very nice bottom - as they say - with lots of these

Carol and Nina

Once again our Dive Marshall very cleverly arranged a fresh water rinse for us on emerging from the briny

Porth Eilian

2011-05-12T17:33:00.000+01:00

Had a nice dive with these lot yesterday
Saw lots of these
And one of these

That's all

The slate wreck Pwllfanog

2011-05-07T10:18:00.005+01:00

Here is a pic of the slate wreck surveyors - in one of the ally boats - before they were painted orange - left to right - Jeremenemenemeney Caroll !!!!!, Sid Wignall - famous explorer - ran lots of world wide surveys - including to Panama (John Stubbs went as well) looking for Francis Drakes coffin - a lead coffin which was chucked over the side - no-one has ever found it! Next is Cecil Jones - a psychologist originally but threw himself into marine archeology and marine biology and surveys of any sort, then Andy Jones great stalwart of the club - secretary, TO etc. during the 70's and 80's - now living in Oban, next is Anne Carroll and finally Ellis Jones the vet.

Picture taken at Pwllfanog in 1978.

Owain in mud - Llanberis 1979.

Thanks to Liz Healey for the pictures and the info.

Trefor Pier April 17th 2011

2011-04-17T14:28:00.005+01:00

Gethin enjoyed his first UK sea dive!!

This fish is actually alive - it was having a nice sleep before Tommy woke it up!!

Thanks to Mike McCann for organising a nice dive and even arrranged the weather - how kind!

More Segontium

2011-04-03T11:36:00.003+01:00

As it happens, Don (see earlier blog) was in our house last night knocking back the wine and he began rambling further about the Segontium - she was built in Holyhead and went down in 'suspicious circumstances' - all her nets were out and anchors also - it was rumoured she was pulled down by a mystery sub?? and had deployed all anchors to try and slow it down

The aforementioned non-ferrous prop has since been blown off by 'persons unknown' ??!!

First Boat Dive of 2011

2011-04-02T18:13:00.008+01:00

The first boat dive of 2011 - current was a bit stong though! Everyone left with a smile anyhow!!
The first group out were Myfyr, Carol, Tommy, Mike and Nina.

The gang kit up!

First Dive site: Maen - y - Fran and Rhoscolyn Beacon
Kevin goes out to Catherdral Cave with the 2nd dive group

The Segontium

2011-04-02T12:04:00.008+01:00

During our Dive Planning meeting on Thursday night, the possibilities of diving the Segontium were discussed. This reminded me of the first times we dived it. We went out on a trawler with a fisherman who had mysteriously lost nets somewhere and tried to pull them up but only succeeded in nearly pulling his boat under. Don and Dave H dived (into the mouth of the net!! aaarrrrggghhhhhh!!!!!), also Andy B, Frank and Graham Scouse were there. It was a rolly day:

Don clings on!

Graham and Frank relax amongst the nets

So abit later (or it might have been before the trawler)

we found it in our boat and had a lovely dive: good vis, flat calm, found slack, big lobsters etc. but sadly Jeremenemenemeny was not there so we drew our impressions of the wreck on a paper napkin in the pub to show him what he had missed:

We dived it another time when Jeremenemeny was back on one of those days when you couldn't tell where the sea ended and the sky began:

On this occassion (or was it another one?) Dave and I missed the wreck and I remember swimming along a flat murky bottom in an increasing tide, not knowing where we were in relation to the wreck and not daring to surface in case we were swept into the nets!! Happy days!!

Jeremenemenemenemenemeny's Celebration

2011-03-31T18:10:00.013+01:00

A toast for Jeremenemenemenemeny is proposed by Mr Wood

Where's my dinner????

Wojciech, Aleksandra, Suzanne, Kevin and Woody are still smiling.....

Aaarrrr - that's better

(Kevin leans back to make room for his tummy and reveals Dave!)

Our future divers (currently forming the Nintendo Club) - Elen, Tomos and Cerian

Helen embarrasses Jeremenemeny by telling him how brilliant we all think he is.......

(Tommy, Hazel and Sue listen carefully)

Jeremenemeny looks bashful

(also starring Nia and Ann and others previously mentioned, and Caroline and Martin leaned back too far)

(This is taking ages - I'll finish the story later)

from Lig

Ice Times

2011-03-14T18:43:00.006Z

I have just returned from my field season so I thought I would share a view of the Antarctic summer. The view is not so different to a UK dive, you will see dead man's fingers and a sponge, but there are a couple of differences. Most of the animals in this picture are two species of sea cucumber, the pink one and the brown one. All of them have their feeding tentacles out and are making the most of the plankton bloom. For most of the time I was there the viz was appalling, often 1-2m, but that is summer, when the algae are making the most of 24 hour daylight. There is also a sea spider, a pycnogonid, on the dead man's fingers. This is one of the groups that are very common in the Antarctic and species are larger here than anywhere else. In the shallows there are more mobile fauna, including this nudibranch and the fine clear filaments are the feeding tentacles of a polychaete worm, a group that is also very common around Britain.

The seals in the Antarctic attract some summer visitors and it seems that every year we see more and more orca. We would often see them 3 or 4 times a day, which really stops the diving.

However, when you see pictures like this, when they are feeding on seals, then it is quite easy to see why we prefer to stay out of the water!

Boat Handling Course November 2010

2010-11-10T11:00:00.001Z

The day started really well - the engine on the boat was flat - but a kind chap from the boatyard gave us a jump start! Some eejit (nobody from our Club!) had parked their 4x4 in the car park - which flooded with the rising tide. Jeremy alerted the Police who must of got in contact with the fishermen as they came speeding down the straights to rescue the car! After an eventful first hour - we got the boat going and Tommy, myself, Kevin and Myfyr did the most of the practical element of the BHC, usually the water was flat calm so we couldn't do the rough water element!! Good fun was had by all, the previous days lectures worked wonders - "which side of the buoy should be??" The rest of the gang have got all this to look forward to!!!

2010-10-17T21:22:00.003+01:00

Just thought I would share my favourite picture from a couple of trips to Pulau Aur, an island in the Jahor Marine Park off Peninsula Malaysia. Just trying to get the hang of my compact camera's (Canon Ixus 980) new flash (Inon D-2000). I was mainly using the flash on automatic and the limited range of f-stops was frustrating. Fortunately the flash is much more sophisticated than the camera and has enough manual options to compensate for the limitations of the camera. I have a lot of learning to do and need some patient buddies...

Jump

2010-10-06T21:41:00.002+01:00

This is my first experimental posting with one of my favourite pictures for anyone who recognises MacClouds Maidens off Skye

Wreck dive - Kincorth

2010-08-23T21:19:00.004+01:00

Had a really good dive this Sunday, on the rib (first dive) was Woody, Jeremy, Wojciech, Phil and myself. Launched off Traeth Bychan and went to the wreck of the Kincorth. Its the wreck of a steam trawler which has been broken into two, unfortunately all hands were lost when she sank in 1941. We dived the stern section, this was my first deep wreck dive in the UK, although it was very dark, with the help of Jeremys torch, I was able to see the nice anenomes and lots of fish! Details of the wreck are all written up in the Underwater Guide to North Wales Vol 2. We retured to shore and picked up Carol who then went to dive with Phil and Wojciech in the shallower sheltered waters between Treath Bychan and Red Warf Bay. The weather was fab too which made the day even more enjoyable.

Great to meet everyone!

2010-08-20T12:45:00.003+01:00

Hi GSAC

As a new member, just to say it's been a pleasure meeting you all so far, and the diving has been a laugh....plus I'm learning so much. Thanks, Kevin, for introducing me to the club! So far, 17 dives under my belt. Learnt PADI Open Water in Aliwhal Shoals, SA, which, although it sounds great, was like being in a washing machine once we went into the ocean (beautiful, although didn't see as much as I'd like to have, as it wasn't exactly a leisurely experience!!)....not sure how I managed it at 60, and remember sitting in the RIB thinking, 'what exactly am I doing here ?'after a particularly fraught dive....perseverance and pride won out.

Haven't got much to share re diving yet, as I haven't done much!
But given the opportunity, thought I'd post one of my favourite photos, even if not about diving, it's about inventiveness!!

Welcome to the Club Blog!!

2010-08-19T10:49:00.000+01:00

If you've got here then you've reached Gwynedd Sub Aqua Clubs Blog page - welcome!!
We want all your diving stories, pictures, tales from the deep etc. and anything else you'd like to share. Please join in the fun!!