“Look, look, over there!” In the distance, we see a flurry of activity on the horizon. The zodiac, motors along smoothly as we approach, and the full intensity of the scene before us is revealed. A frantic feeding frenzy on a huge school of sardines. 30-40 sea lions plunging through the waves as they chase […]

Written by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope Mask sealed? Check Dry suit sealed? Check. Alright, ready to enter the water, the supervisor confirms. The surface tender team helps takes the weight of my twin tanks, as a slide forward into the ice hole. The bitter cold of the 3-degree water meets my face, the only part of my […]

Written by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope “So what’s the water temperature again?” I ask as we poke around the foreshore. “Err, I think around 3-4 degrees. The coldest water I had dived in before this was around 15C, so that’s a drop of around 12 degrees! “Alright, ready to go?” asks Edd. I carefully haul the twin […]

Written by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope Note: This article describes a rescue drill, not a real diving incident “Okay, we have an emergency. Deploy the safety diver. Go, Go”, Simon says with a wry grin. The deck erupts into a flurry of activity, as I race towards the edge of the boat where my gear is waiting […]