Hazards of winter diving

This is a very frustrating time of year for divers living in northerly latitudes, who prefer diving in the sea rather than in quarries and other inland waterways.  You arrange a day's diving: check the tides, find an interesting-looking site, get your buddies signed up, book the boat, or make sure your own boat is seaworthy and the trailer is safe; maybe you even book accommodation.

Then the weather turns nasty and the day's blown out.  It's happened to me twice already this year (though I must admit other people did all that prep work both times).

I have a pool-tested drysuit, but I want to check it really is dry now and I can't do that in 3.6 metres of water.  I have all my kit clean, dry and lightly oiled (well, I've rubbed beeswax along my drysuit zip and siliconed the O-rings of my torch and camera housing, anyway).  I've packed the whole caboodle into the car twice and had to take it out again.

All I want to do is get wet - and not in chlorinated water.  A pool is no substitute for the real thing (the wildlife's not up to much, for a start, and what you do find in there doesn't bear thinking about).

Our main problem has been the wind, as it was for so much of last year.  Last weekend the forecast was for Force 4-6, with gusts of up to 45mph.  That's no fun, nor is it safe for wee rubber boats or divers.

In the event I was quite glad we didn't try diving last Saturday.  As I walked my dogs in the woods (to avoid the worst of the wind-chill) the sleet came on.  The very thought of being out in a small boat in the middle of the North Sea in sleet is seriously unappetising.  There's no protection from the elements in a RIB and a drysuit can only provide so much weather-proofing: rain's bad enough, but sleet is beyond horrid.

So I'll possess myself in what little patience I can muster and pray for a sunny, calm, dry spring and summer with brilliant viz, in total contrast to last year up here.  One out of four would be good, but I'm going for the set.  We're due a break....

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