Sorry to all the regular Go Dive Blog readers, it’s Been a while since I last blogged. However this is not due to there being nothing to report, but more due to not having enough time.

The last three weekends have been spent over at the Lodge, the  weekend before last was a Dive Club Marlborough 3 day trip where we explored a few new dive areas, as well as diving the Lermontov. Titi Island was one of the new areas, this small island is 20 minutes from the Lodge heading in North Westerly direction, due to it’s off shore location it is blessed with reasonably clear water and plenty of bio diversity. Guy, Warren, Katie and Thomas found a real nice wall which was covered in invertebrate life of all forms and colours, unfortunately no one took a photo to show. We also dived inside Alligator head in search of crays, but unfortunately come up a bit short, however the abundant Blue Cod fishing made up for that and we feasted on a meal of Blue Cod and marinated mussels fresh from the sea that night.

Last weekend I hosted a group from NZ Sea Adventures from Wellington, the group consisted of rebeather divers, twin cylinders divers and recreational single cylinders divers. Paul Trainor a regular Go Dive client come over as guide as well to help with showing some of the group around the more technical dives on the wreck. The vis wasn’t crash hot on the wreck, but those who visited the engine room with Paul were blown away by the sheer size of the room and the clear water it offered.

SCALLOP AND KAIKOURA DIVE WEEKENDS

After talking to a few club members I have scheduled a number of dates where we can focus on dives based a little closer to home than Port Gore. The first one is a weekend on Saturday the 24th and Sunday 25th of July based in Picton where we will be running scallop dives.The plan with this trip is to base everyone at Parkland’s camping ground and organize a social evening on the Saturday night along with a scallop cook-up.

NOT LONG NOW TO THE SCOLLY SEASON OPENS

The second trip is scheduled for Saturday the 10th and Sunday 11th in Kaikoura. In September Kaikoura often gets a  strong upwelling which brings in very clear water, it is hoped we can coincide the club trip to take advantage of this clear water. Again the plan is to book a Lodge or cabins so we can enjoy each others company on the Saturday night, only this time with a Crayfish cook-up. The plan with this trip is to make it shore based diving so the cost can be kept down.

Strong interest has been shown in both trips and I am confident that they we will get good numbers and have a damn good time. If your keen on one or both of these trips let me know, non divers are more than welcome and there is no limit on numbers for the Kaikoura trip, but subject to boat space on the Picton weekend. I have yet to finalize the accommodation in Kaikoura so not to sure of the cost, but it won’t be to much. The Picton weekend will be $225.00pp for the two days diving plus accommodation costs of approx $60.00 for two nights. (Trip costs subject to getting 6 divers or more on each weekend)

Thanks for those who dived with Go Dive over the last few weeks and I look forward to catching up with you on the Scallop or Kaikoura weekends.

safe diving

Brent

MV Dive Marlborough has finally been relocated out to Port Gore after a engine refit and spruce up on the paint work etc. Go Dive had a trip on Sunday and enjoyed pretty good conditions on the Lermontov with improving visibility. I am glad to note that now the water temp is dropping a degree or two the plankton is dying of and the vis on the improve.

I stayed over at the Lodge on Monday and Tuesday to mow the lawns and do some maintenance on the machinery. Monday and Tuesday turned out to be gloriously perfect days weather wise,which made my trip home on Telstar on Tuesday, (the boat I have been using while DM has been out of action) a breeze.

Spiny Red Rock Lobster (Crayfish) as seen at the Long Island Marine Reserve.

In fact the sea was that flat and the visibility that good I stopped off at long Island for a dive on the reef between the two Islands. Although there was an ulterior motive for this dive, which will go unsaid, the dive turned out to be one of the best fish life dives I have ever made in over 5500 dives. The visibility would have had to be well over 10 metres, and on my decent down I could make up unusually large crayfish wandering around the bottom. On arrival I were astounded at the bio diversity of fish life, especially the dozens of large crayfish the majority of which would have been over 5kgs. The Moki were everywhere, schools of Teraki, Trumpeter, Blue Cod and Wrasse followed me around the whole dive, two of the Moki being well over 50cm in length. A very impressive experience and a reflection of the Marine Reserve status Long Island has, we really need more reserves like this as they with out a doubt improve the fish stocks in the general area.

Even though the Lermontov has great fish-life it isn’t like Long Island, wouldn’t it be great if it was, but that would require a ban on fishing on the wreck. Maybe it is about time that we looked at a Rahui or similar for the wreck,

safe diving

Brent

Easter weekend is always a busy weekend in Marlborough, with the Omaka warbirds air show, School holidays in full swing and it being one of the last long weekends for a while before we head into winter.

I spent three of the four days out at the Lodge diving the Lermontov with a group, unfortunately the weather wasn’t that fantastic or the vis that great, but we still managed a few dives each day. The last day was pretty damn wet and windy, unlike the forecast which was for Northerly 25knts and the odd spell of rain, so we decided to call the days diving and head home early. Thanks to all the team who joined us for the weekend and look forward to seeing you back again soon and hopefully to enjoy better conditions.

MIKHAIL LERMONTOV NOW LYING IN 37M OF WATER IN PORT GORE NEW ZEALAND

The weather today is pretty windy, in fact it is that windy that we just had a tornado sweep through the street, ripping off a roof from a neighbors house three doors down. Quite spectacular watching the roof get lifted into the air and traveling at least one kilometre away, to land well up the hills that boundary our street. The remainder of it sweeping over the hill, probably to land in the middle of Queen Charlotte Sound, hopefully not landing on any boats in the area. Luckily no one was in the house at the time so no injuries.

It looks like the weather is going to remain windy until Friday, with a bit of luck the weather will settle down in time for our trip out to the Lodge next Friday/Saturday. Other up and coming trips are on  May the 7/8th and May 19th as well as those scheduled on our events calender. The July trip will be out to the Chetwodes and Titi islands, given us a bit of a break from the Lermontov etc. These are seldom dived areas so worth a look if your keen on diving some new areas and picking up a cray or two.

safe diving

Brent

The weekend is looking pretty miserable weather wise, although not cold it is going to be pretty wet and grey. Lydia has completed her season with Go Dive and is now traveling around NZ for a bit of a look before heading over to Fiji where she has enrolled on a Marine Biology course with the University of the South Pacific. A big thanks to Lydia for all her help over the summer.

The long range forecast is looking pretty good for Easter weekend and we still have some spots on the Lermontov trip on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you don’t want to dive all three days you can book on for one or two.

Keep an eye out for future news releases on Dive Fest 2011

The shop will be closed over the Winter, opening on demand only, I have to many Cressi wetsuits in stock at the moment which I intend to get rid of at  wholesale prices. These are in both mens and womens sizes so a good time to get a good deal on a quality suit. If your after hire kit or air, please call on 0800GODIVE so I can meet you their.

I am also discussing the possibility of running a DiveFest weekend in October with a few other shops and clubs, this will be in Picton and will be open to individuals, dive shops and clubs from all around the country. To date I have had a very positive response from those I have discussed it with and although it is in the early stages of planning I hope to start promoting it within a month. Keep an eye on the blog and Facebook for more details, this will be a great weekend similar to the old Top of the South Scuba Champs we had many years ago, but with a few more events, competitions and attractions to participate in.

Have a great weekend and safe diving

Brent

Finally a weekend off from being out at Port Gore, funny though the weather has been perfect for over a week and conditions all round are well worth splashing for.

My plan was to dry-off a bit, as I have  been getting a bit super saturated lately. But as always, my plan of a relaxing week didn’t quite eventuate as Lydi come down with the flue and I helped out with some training.

Congratulations to Drew Laslett from Christchurch who completed his openwater course with Go Dive last week, we also started a PADI Openwater course over the weekend as well as running a couple of DSD’s. Thomas Frech from Switzerland enjoyed his DSD so much he come back this week to continue on with his PADI Open water course. I splashed for the first time yesterday at Karaka Point in probably 2 years, and surprisingly really enjoyed my dive and revisit to the wreck of the Vara. It just goes to show that you should never overlook those dive sites close to home.

On Feb 25th Guy Drayton contributed to a blog, writing about his dive through the restaurant off the Mikhail Lermontov and fulfilling his dream of recovering a keep-sake from the wreck.  Guy is sad to say that after surviving a ship wreck and 26 years underwater, the two pieces he recovered didn’t survive the Christchurch earthquake. Luckily though Guy, Chrissie and his hound Bell are all well, with no structural damage to their house, Guy explaining that he was one of the lucky ones. We will just have to get you back into the restaurant next time your up Guy for some replacements.

It’s been a very distressing time for most Kiwis lately as we all knew someone or were directly involved in the quake in Christchurch. But to see those images in Japan of the Tsunami and the complete devastation is just unbelievable. Mother nature can never be taken for granted and we should all give her the respect she deserves. Our thoughts are with all those who are affected by all these events. It’s going to take  quite a while for the memories of these disasters to fade.

NEW GENERATION WING AVAILABLE AT GO DIVE SOON

On the lighter side here is an image taken from a 1972 issue of Dive South Pacific magazine. Quite cool looking through the pages of these magazines and seeing faces of 40 years ago. Keep an eye out for more blasts from the past in future Blogs.

I have set dates now for trips out to October, remember winter is a good time for clear water. Check out the calender on the club page or live-a-shore page.

Safe diving

Brent

Go Dive

Dive Shack Sterling were down for a 3 day trip over the weekend. The conditions topside were a bit sloppy due to a northerly weather pattern, vis on the wreck was a bit average but inside it was very nice. 

The guys meet their goals of visiting the Leningrad restaurant and crews mess and set some new goals for their next trip down. Being able to progressively penetrate the wreck is by far the most rewarding and safest way of doing it, with a number of this group having dived it now close to 100 times previously. Having the right training, kit and attitude also helps and the first two being obtainable through PADI or TDI wreck and advanced wreck training.

Next year Go Dive will be fully focused on continuing to provide a memorable and top notch service out at the Lermontov Lodge, our retail operation in Picton will be down scaled to accessories only, with larger items being ordered on demand at internet competitive rates. Stock like wetsuits, BCD’s regs etc will be cleared out over the next few months at really competitive rates, so if your in need of a new wetty or kit give me a call on 0800GODIVE and see what we have to offer.

1000m Astina watches for sale $225.00 each (new)

Remember to that even though we are into the end of our summer the water stays warm right through to end of May and the vis will improve as the plankton’s have done their thing. I have posted dates for regular monthly trips on the home page right through to October so no excuses not to splash.

safe diving

Brent

We had a pretty busy weekend dive wise in Picton, for a change we didn’t have a Lermontov trip which made a change and gave me the chance to have a break and get a local dive in.

Lydia completed an openwater course on Saturday, the vis however in Waikawa left a bit to be desired, Nine had a Club dive out to the Koi and the Fish Reserve with Lavina trying out her new dry suit. The vis over the other side was a lot better than in Waikawa with it being round 6 metres and really warm, up to 18 degrees.

On Sunday Nine and I successfully searched for a mooring lost earlier in the month during storm, see my earlier blog. We found it in 39 metres of water. It had dragged well over 300 metres from its original position before the launch owners connected to it realized what was going on and cut it loose. The mission now is to get it back to its original position. Might need some really big lift bags.

KISS rebeather divers preparing to splash on the Lermontov

In the afternoon Nine took out another load of local divers to the Koi for a couple of nice dives. Today I am off to the Lodge with group, with the expectations of a nice days diving tomorrow, next weekend I have 5 days over their with some techy type divers one on a rebreather, so if your keen on a day or two and want to see how these rebreather thing’s work come along. We have a vehicle heading in Thursday night and Friday night, returning Sunday, Monday and Tuesday so plenty of options.

With the Rugby World Cup coming up in September/October this year we are expecting things to be pretty busy and off course this is the best time for visibility on the Lermontov, I will be scheduling later this week dives right through to October so keep an eye out for these. For those worried about the cold during winter, don’t s I will have 6 Otter Brittanics in rental this winter so you can enjoy some nice worm winter diving.

cheers

Brent

Go Dive

Hi, long time since I blogged, must be the time of year.

Things have been pretty busy over the last few weeks with much of my time spent over at the Lodge diving the Lermontov. The weather has been typical of a Kiwi summer, hot and dry and then torrential rain and wind, but at least we aren’t under water like much of Aussie.

The weekends weather looks pretty good with a brief southerly tomorrow followed by a  change to a nor-west, so Sunday is looking good for an Outer Sounds excursion. We have few club members coming up from earthquake city for a dive tomorrow and an openwater course finishing.

Congratulations to Manuel who finished his PADI Deep course week. Talking about training we now have access to Cuda DPV’s these are the real McCoy when it comes to scooters, Lance who is up from Queenstown is now running courses for those who want to learn how to use these machines. They are fast and a hell of a lot of fun, great for cave diving and wreck orientation dives . I hope to post some dates for a try-dive and course with these in the next week.

I am also working on scheduling a club dive out to Outer Islands like the Chetwodes etc soon so keep an eye out for that. We will soon have access to another boat capable of cruising at 25/30 knots so thees islands will be easily assessable for our Lodge in Port Gore.

There is still a couple of spaces left on our Lermontov  Anniversary week in Feb, we have a number of members coming up from Christchurch for this event, some happy to share travel costs if your keen on a ride or sharing costs in your car.

Have a great weekend and safe diving

cheers

Brent

Hi everyone.

I hope you are not too stressed out about christmas and are having a nice December.

I tought a PADI Open Water Diver Course with two sisters from Christchurch last week. They had a great time and did really well! Congratulations to Ruth and Rebecca! Hope to see you around for some more diving throughout the year.

Other than that, we have been quite quiet, so feel free to call up and make a booking

On the other hand, we already hav a few bookings and enquries for trips and courses in January so if you’re planning to dive at that time too, make sure to ring up or send us an e-mail to hold your spot.

One of our divers, Claire, made a video from diving the Lermontov and put it up on youtube. Check it out!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9gxvTYgiso

Still need some chrsitmas presents? The christmas special for this week is a voucher for an Open Water Diver Course for NZ$495.00 (instead of $595) (valid on scheduled weekends only. Let us know if you wanna know more about it.)

Other ideas for presents are mask, snorkel, wetsuit, other courses, underwater camera, torches…

The weather forecast (see below) isn’t the greatest for the weekend. However, it’s only rain, the winds are not too strong and the temperature is also not supposed to drop too much. So it’s still possible to come for brilliant dives for us. We are definataly going out if we get any bookings.

Have a great weekend and I hope to see you around.

Lydi

Tomorrow

Friday 17

Rain, with some heavy falls about the Sounds. Rain retreating to the Sounds and western ranges in the afternoon and fine breaks developing elsewhere. Northerlies, strong in exposed places.

 

Saturday 18

Remaining rain clearing during the morning and long fine spells developing. Northwesterly winds, strong about the Strait at first.

 

Sunday 19

Rain setting in during the morning, with heavy falls possible about the Sounds and western ranges. Northerly winds.

Sorry to all Go Dives regular Blog readers, it has been a while since my last blog. Fact is I have have been as busy as a lizard drinking over at the Dive Lodge with trips/charters etc.

Conditions have been up and down on the wreck lately, with it being more up than down. Last weekend we had fantastic vis of 12 plus metres and ideal surface conditions the week before the vis dropping down a to 5 meters or so. Go Dive has hosted groups from Welling Dive HQ, the States, Nelson Underwater and Wellington clubs as well as our own Dive Club Marlborough members.

LOOKING ALONG THE PANORAMA LOUNGE IN THE LERMONTOV YESTERDAY

Tomo is fast becoming legendary for his cooking and for his choice of hats. Speaking of which finally made its way back to the Lodge this weekend. Katie completed her PADI Wreck diving course, while Ryan and Julian completed their PADI Advanced Openwater course.

I am picking its going to be a long, hot, dry summer, so looking forward to some good diving and wearing my crocks. The next few weeks is full with groups from Auckland and Christchurch, the later doing their Advanced Wreck diving course which I am really looking forward to running.

 BOTTLES OF PORT, GIN ETC IN THE LERMONTOV

The only down side of such a good few weeks is that divers from a visiting charter boat have admitted to removing a permanent line that was placed through the Restaurant, which I used for guiding trained & experienced wreck divers. The unknown and unexpected removal of the line contributing to an incident that had the potential to be fatal. The divers who removed the lines were misguided in their actions, diving outside their normal environment and have been spoken to since. The take home message here though, is never follow a line unless you laid it or are following someone who did lay it and never enter a wreck unless you have the right training, experience, dive plan and equipment. If we all follow this simple rule then we won’t get paranoid divers chopping out other peoples lines.

On that sober note, until next time.

safe diving

Brent

Go Dive