The Red Arrows in Support of Diving

Well, it was a day to celebrate. With lockdown easing, I arranged a skills and drills shakedown dive in Wraysbury. So Fariborz, Reg S, Aga and I dusted off our dive kit (literally) and headed further than I have travelled in months. Now, I know how to celebrate a momentous occasion and just after we arrived, the Red Arrows flew directly over us. I am so pleased they made the effort to support us! Okay, they might have also been flying over to the mark the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force...

So, essentially the plan I had was to make sure our kit worked, we were weighted correctly and buoyancy was not an embarrassment. So, once I’d finally finished my never ending coffee, we all fitted into our drysuits (I was a tad worried about that personally...) and we approached the water.

We started with weight and bubble checks before descending to the giddy depths of 8m. Now, I like a bit of entertainment so once we got our trim and buoyancy okay, we circled the platform to prove we are not only divers but a rather impressive synchronised swimming team. My next task was to get everyone to write their names (in full, not abbreviations allowed as I’m quite mean ( Sorry Agnieszka, Fariborz and Reginald!)) in my wet notes that I placed on the platform, where the rule is, you can only touch the pencil and nothing else. Not as easy as you think! We followed this up with a bit of zero viz diving and DSMB skills.

All in all, a successful and fun dive. And it was great to be back in the water!