Stoney Cove- My First Visit

Stoney Cove Car Park

Having heard a lot of people taking about Stoney Cove being the in-land diving place to visit, I thought as I was in Birmingham for DIVE 2013 I should pay a visit to Stoney Cove which is just nearby.  Not knowing a huge amount about Stoney Cove I wasn't really sure what to expect.  Taking to a few people at DIVE 2013 I asked around for advise on the best parts to dive and what the general layout of Stoney Cove was.  I was then told the bad news, Stoney Cove is always busy at the weekend and to be their at 7am!!  That meant Saturday night's pub plan had be just a few pints!

Staying at a guest house just a few minutes from Stoney Cove we got a full cooked breakfast at 7am and made our way to the dive center just after 7.15am, luckily we got straight in and managed to get parked at the first car park along side the quarry.  If the car park is full you'll have to wait till people leave or you get the option of being in car park 2 which is a little bit of a walk with your equipment to the entry points.  After taking a quick look around and picking up the tanks it was time to kit up.  I was diving with my new Forth Element 7mm Proteus Semi-dry and my friend with his Typhoon Divemaster dry suit.  It was the first time I'd dived with this semi-dry so I was eager to try it out and to see if all the raving reviews I'd read about it all added up.

After buddy checks we were ready to enter the water, as it was quite a sunny day I was ready to get in as putting a brand new 7mm semi-dry suit on is a bit of a challenge! We'd decided to swim out to the Stanegarth marker buoy and then descend rather than navigating our way out to the wreck.  The visibility was reasonably good so we circled the wreck and then took a compass baring make towards the exit point.  On the way back we came across a few other bits of wreckage, an old land rover, a submarine and a swim through under the pub bench.  There was quite a lot of marine life about including little crayfish, perch and carp.


During the surface interval we grabbed some food and hot drinks from the little cafe near the entry points.  Everything that was on offer was very reasonably priced.  We dropped off our tanks at the filling station which had a quick turn around time, kitted up again then planned the second dive.  This time we went looking for the aircraft cockpit, so made an entry at the bus stop.  We descended down some old train tracks to around 25 meters, missing the cockpit on the way down we came across it on the way back up, along with a couple of big pikes.  The temperature at 25 meters dropped to 10 degrees but I didn't feel the cold at all so the Fourth Element Proteus was really living up to the reviews.  A full map of Stoney Cove can be found here.

I'd highly recommend doing some dives at Stoney Cove as there is so many interesting things to see.  The conditions are great for divers of all qualifications due to it being an inland quarry.  Stoney Cove also offer a full range of diving courses along with a massive range of kit hire.  I also used the ScubaStrapp for the first time which is a new diving product which should be launching anytime soon.  It has a use for every element of diving, I've also found many other uses for the Scuba Strapp outwith the water.

DIVE 2013- Birmingham NEC 26th/27th of October 2013

The Birmingham dive show is one of the biggest events in the UK for scuba divers each year.  The show is packed full of great new product releases, prize draws, try dives, great deals on new equipment, seminars from many great divers and much much more.

Tickets are priced at £12.50 and can be purchased online here or at the NEC on the day.  Please note if you purchase your ticket before noon on the 23rd of October you'll save £3 per ticket or if you're buying six or more then you'll save £4 a ticket.  The NEC is easily accessible off the M6 and M42 for full travel details follow this link.

I think apart from the really good bargains you can pick up at the show the seminars are brilliant.  There is a couple of must see seminars and you can find the full list of speakers and timings here.

We will be wondering around the show on Saturday if you wish a chat, just get in touch.  Full details of the show can be found on the dive shows website- http://www.diveshows.co.uk/

Fun Diving on Koh Tao

Fire Dancing, Koh Tao

I contacted Scuba Duba Dive looking to organise a weeks worth of fun diving on the idyllic island of Koh Tao off the coast of Thailand.  Mungo was very quick to get back to me with a quote and rough itinerary which I could adjust to my needs.  Transfers to and from Bangkok were also arranged and both journeys went remarkably smoothly (something rarely guaranteed in the case of Thai buses!)

Dive Boat, Koh Tao

On arrival to Koh Tao, I was greeted by a rep who showed me to the reception desk.  The dive instructors in office were incredibly helpful and friendly, making sure I had all the required qualifications before showing me to my room.  The room itself was one of the beachside bungalows, simple and basic but good value for such a good price.  Unfortunately during a particularly heavy rainstorm the ceiling did drip a little.

Whatever shortcoming the accommodation had this was made u

p for in the quality of the dive instructors.  I dived with Brad and Rob, both of whom were very professional when it came down to our safety but also make diving a lot of fun!  During my week there I saw variety of different reefs, even when the weather conditions weren't favourable and the ships captions were relunctant to visit reefs too far away.  One of my favourite dives was where we visited a wreck, absolutely incredible to see and a memory I will keep for a long time.

I would definitely organise another diving trip through Scuba Duba Dive, they made it so easy for me, especially as a lone, first time traveller.  I would also highly recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable company to dive with, weather its for fun diving or attaining higher PADI qualifications.

Charlotte Cutler, 18, UK

Olly's time on Koh Tao learning how to dive

Olly has recently returned from a trip learning how to dive with us on Koh Tao.  Below is a review of what he had to say about his time on the island.

"I contacted Mungo at Scuba Duba Dive about 2 months prior to the planned holiday, our tailor made package was quickly organised and confirmed. It is comforting to know that all of the money I invested into a holiday is protected through both the TTA and ATOL.

On arrival at Koh Samui Airport the transfers were waiting and were prepared to take us to the Lomprayah Ferry. The transfer to Koh Tao was quick, pleasant and easy using the Lomrayah Fast Cats.

On arrival at the pier staff from the hotel were ready to pick us up. Koh Tao Regal Hotel is an odd place, long dark corridors, and questionable interior design in the lobby but looking out to a fantastic looking pool and bar area. The concerns were quickly alleviated when we got to our rooms which were quite frankly fantastic. Okay they weren’t spotlessly clean and a few maintenance issues but the room was huge, with an ensuite that included a Jacuzzi. But overall the view was special, looking out over the beach and across the bay. The balcony was a lovely place both to refresh yourself in the cool morning air and a perfect vantage point to watch the sunset over Thailand in the evening.

On arrival at the Dive Resort the company were expecting us and were ready with the paper work so we could enlist upon the course. All the instructors were extremely friendly and knowledgeable, they would happily assign different instructors to different abilities so that no one was leftwaiting. I did my PADI Open Water, PADI Advanced Open Water and PADI Wreck Speciality. Throughout the courses I never had more than 6 in the group with 3 instructors but I mostly had 2 instructors to myself throughout the week.

Another bonus of the resort was that they could find instructors that speak various assortments of languages. We had a Russian trio in our group, who were given a Russian speaking Dive Master for translation.

During my time in Koh Tao I dived at Mango Bay, Twins, White Rock, Sail Rock and HMTS Sattakut, the latter using that for my wreck spec. The coral and sea life is abundantly colourful and diverse at all sites. Diving on and inside HMTS Sattakut was an experience I’ll never forget. With visibility varying between 5 meters and 30 meters on different dives, I truly got a sense that the same boat was an entirely different wreck.

Koh Tao is a place that I will miss, and I wish to go back sometime. Although it is an isolated little island the society is not at all closed and tight knit. The varying array of restaurants from all corners of the world were fantastic. I do not think I had a bad meal the whole time I was there. Everyone is friendly and helpful and the internet provisions are fantastic. The climate was exceptionally comfortable, around 30-35 with a constant sea breeze ridding the island of the expected humidity. Also if there are any problems Koh Tao has a good medical centre and everyone was more than happy to go out of their way to help you.

One of the more unexpected highlights was Koh Samui airport. The departure lounge is basically an outdoor shopping street, with various brands and restaurants. The architecture was quaint and well thought out. Spending a few hours at Koh Samui Airport was a pleasant way of ending our holiday."

Interested in learning how to dive?  Get in touch with us here

View from Koh Tao Regal Swimming Pool

Business Enterprise Award

Recently Mungo Finlayson, the founder and managing director of Scuba Duba Dive picked up an award for Business Enterprise in his home town of Banchory.  Scuba Duba Dive isn't the first business that Mungo has run from Banchory.  During his early days of secondary school Mungo ran a mobile phone accessory business.  Mainly importing accessories from China and Hong Kong then selling them on either via a online market place or to his wide database of wholesale clients.  Mungo had a niche at being able to find accessories which weren't yet for sale in the United Kingdom and importing them before any other sellers.  Before exams Mungo's trading business ceased trading due to the amount of time it was taking up.

After exams Mungo started another business, this time it was a partnership with three friends. The partnership specialised in designing and hosting websites.  ReplicaHost was run successfully for 5 years but it became a joint decision not to renew any of the contracts due to everyone going their separate ways.  At the end of the 5 years each partner came away with a profit.  Hopefully we will be seeing some more awards soon for Mungo and Scuba Duba Dive.

Pictured Mungo Finlayson receiving a Business Enterprise Award from Provost Jill Webster

The Great Scottish Diving

This summer in Scotland we've had some spectacular weather with some days hitting over 30 degrees.  Usually the Scottish summers are very hit or miss, sometimes just having a summer of rain.  With the weather being so good it meant I had to benefit from it, that meant getting back into Scottish diving in a wetsuit! 

Portknockie Harbour

North East Dive's Boat

Conger Eel,

I've spent many an evening this summer diving in the North Sea with some great dives.  I think the weekend just past has been my best day of Scottish diving.  I was on a day dive trip with North East Dive out of Portknockie Harbour, which is near Banff in North East Scotland.  It was another stunning day and as we arrived at 10am there was children playing on the beach, this is

Scotland at the start of September!

Standard Lobster

Gearing up into my wetsuit we headed out of the harbour to the Moray Wreck, which is a scattered wreck lying at around 29 metres depending on the tide.  There isn't a huge amount left of the wreck but that didn't stop there being a lot of marine life around the wreck, especially in the boiler room.  As we went down the shot line hardly being able to see a thing I wasn't convinced this was going to be a good dive but at about 20 metres it just open out to about 5-10 metres visibility, a true Scottish dive.  We saw giant lobsters, conger eels, giant crabs and plenty of fish.

Giant Lobster

 During the lunch interval we went back into Portknockie harbour.  It was so warm my wetsuit managed to dry off during the 2 hours we spent back onshore.  Tanks changed over it was time to head out for the second time, this time we were diving Caple Rock.  Gently cruising out the harbour we came across 7 dolphins just playing around in the bay, another example of how vast Scottish wildlife can be! 

Caple Rock is a gentle reef/rock dive with plenty of life about.  The current was up so there was a slight drift which is always good fun.  Overall the day was a great success and I never felt cold in my 5mm wetsuit!  I urge those who are qualified divers who haven't tried cold water diving to give it a shot, it's defiantly worth while!  North East Dive in Banff run weekly diving days from their boat, all excellent value and excellent fun! 

More cold water diving, Boddam Quarry, Peterhead

Boddam Quarry, near Peterhead, Scotland

Geared up ready for the dive

I did my first ever cold water dive in Boddam Quarry back in May 2009, while I was doing my PADI Dry Suit course.  I'd only done a handful of dives in the quarry since then.  So I thought it was time to head back and have another explore of the quarry.  I rounded up two friends who were keen to dive the quarry.  We were all going to be diving in wetsuits after recently diving other local dive sites with the water being 14 degrees, there isn't a huge amount to see in the quarry but it is good for getting used to diving in lower visibility waters and cold water.

We all geared up and did our buddy checks before jumping in.  Initially jumping in the water didn't feel too bad.  So we descended down too around 12 metres, the visibility to start with was terrible but after about 8 metres it started too clear up.  On the bottom there was loads of interesting things including a game of noughts and crosses and a television.  After we explored that area we swam further into the quarry, finally finding the famous burger van that Boddam quarry has!  Having a play around the burger van was good fun.  The burger van was at around 14metres and the water temperature was still around 12 degrees so defiantly bare-able.  Afterwards we decided to find the bottom, swimming into the middle we found 21 metres but didn't stay around for long as at 21 metres it was 6 degrees and in wetsuits wasn't all that fun!  So we ascended up slowly along the side of the quarry to go find the noughts and crosses again.  Little play around and then it was time to find a spot to do a safety stop, as after 25 minutes everyone was starting to feel a little cold.  Safely stop completed we ascended up to the surface, the surface water felt like a hot bath compared to the water at 21 metres deep!

I really recommend Boddam Quarry for getting yourself used to diving again, testing out new equipment or just a place for some dives when the local seas are too rough.  We had a good day out but maybe should use 7mm wetsuits next time!

The view from Boddam Quarry