Hi…it’s been a few weeks since my last blog. To be honest it’s been pretty quite up here in Picton and with bad weather predicted over the next few days, looks like diving is going to be best left for a week or two.

Thats pretty predictable for August though, which is commonly the month we get those late winter storms, I think it’s mother nature saying "don’t get to comfortable boys" winter isn’t over yet.

Things are looking pretty good for the Spring though, with November nearly fully booked for the Lodge and September being booked for both the Lodge and expedition trips which will be reviewed as they happen. Cloak and dagger stuff, if you know what I mean.

Blind line practice in prep for deep wreck penetration

Expect a few changes this year in regards to club trips offered and the way Go Dive retails kit. More about this in a few weeks, but as always to the benefit of club members and customers

Labour weekend is the next long weekend for all of us and for the first time it isn’t booked by a group, I think it has something to do with those who chase a peanut shaped ball around the park being on that weekend. So if you aren’t an armchair warrior and want to get wet that weekend, come out to the Lodge. Remember to, that it is the best time to dive the Lermontov vis wise.

safe diving

Brent

Due to bad weather we had to postpone our scallop weekend, however I plan  to reschedule so keep an eye out for the new dates. Picton fortunately missed out entirely on the snow over the weekend, having only to put up with a bit of rain and the cold conditions the polar blast brought with it.        

On the bright side spring is now closing in on us, as is the Rugby World Cup. With the majority of games that matter being in October, many are booking  their early season trips to the Lermontov in September. This summer with Tomo being away, I will be looking for help with group trips to the Lodge, as there is now a pretty big group of club members who dive regularly at the lodge, I have decided this season to offer club members the first option of helping out in return for free trips.

DIVING THE MIKHAIL LERMONTOV

Here is what is involved: Meal preparation, surface support while divers are in the water, launching the "Little Lermi" possibly skippering her and keeping the Lodge clean and tidy. Any diving will be as a buddy diver, unless you are a qualified Divemaster. In return Go Dive will cover all your costs including any reasonable fuel costs to get to Picton or the Lodge and all diving. Keep in mind that although I will endeavor to make sure you get at least two dives a day this may not always be possible. The only pre-requisite is that you are a club member, first aid trained and have been out to the Lodge at least once and have a good understanding of how everything works out their.

I can also offer those who are interested, a discount on any advanced PADI or TDI training, this may include Adv Wreck, Divemaster, Adv Nitrox/Deco procedures courses. Training would take place when time is available on the trips you help out on, or on other trips where you come along in a non-help capacity. This will be a fantastic opportunity to get some great dives in at no cost to you and advance your diving/boating skills.

If your keen then give me a call on 0800 GODIVE or email me at info@godive.co.nz I  have a couple keen  already but are hoping to get a few more, so we have a regular group of club members helping out.

safe diving

Brent

After a week of wild weather we were not expecting to much of the weekend away at the Lermontov Dive Lodge. Karen and Kim two guests from Aussie who traveled down from the North Island were told at nearly every stop, that they were wasting their time heading down to dive the Lermontov and to expect wild weather, huge swells and big currents.

Calm conditions over the Mikhail Lermontov Wreck

Its funny how others who haven’t even dived the Lermontov or even in Marlborough become experts at predicting the weather in areas they know nothing off. Contrary to all these so called expert opinions we had two days of flat calm conditions with hardly a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky. A testament to how lucky we are to have such an awesome wreck parked up in such a sheltered location.  As for the huge swells and currents, the biggest swell I have ever experienced over the wreck is not much more than a metre and as for current, well maybe a knot if your unlucky. Another misconception many come with is that the wreck is deep, when in fact most of the diving is done within the 27 to 14 metre range, with the maximum depth being 37metre’s.

The trip last weekend was one of those classics where everything goes to plan, all the divers were experienced Lermontov divers or wreck divers, the weather was great and there were no equipment issues other than Air NZ loosing Aaron’s bag and the van over heating once or twice, oh yes, and Aaron not being able to locate any scollop’s on the scallop dive was a major disappointment, since he was the only tasked to gather up a feed.

Trish, Paul Trainors wife become the first diver to dive the Lermontov using the newly released Gem semi closed rebreather, Trish was getting well over an hour on her dives using a 10 litre cylinder. Kim and Karen Woodcock from Perth Australia dived the wreck for the first time and loved it, they both hope to come back some time with a few Friends to spend more time. Bruce Curlow and Aaron Bolton were the other two in the group, both have dived the wreck numerous times, with it being Aaron’s 9th trip with Go Dive. They explored areas like the restaurant and crews mess.

Thanks to everyone for diving with Go Dive and making the weekend such a huge success.

It was sad to hear of the accident where two divers lost their lives up in Lake Te Puke Auckland last Friday. What is nearly as sad is how some people use the social networking sites like facebook to give their opinion on such accidents when they don’t have a clue on what went on. It was quite amazing hearing what some idiots were saying within only a few hours of the news being released and the missing divers still not have being located. Lets keep our opinions to our selfs and let the professionals do their job, especially when life’s have been lost and many people are grieving.

 PS: Scolly dive is still on this coming weekend, it should be a lot of fun and we hope to have a cook up Saturday night and a few beverages to wash the scollys down with. I can taste those scollop’s cooked in our our special way already.

cheers & safe diving

Brent

Go Dive

It has been very quite over the last 4 weeks with not a lot happening dive wise. But with the scallop season only a week away, I am sure we will see a few getting out for a splash.

I am looking forward to our Lermontov trip next weekend, there are still 3 spots available if your keen. The following weekend is our Picton based hunting and collecting weekend, so keep that one flagged in your diary. Currently there are a few spots for both days.

Lermontov Dive Lodge, Port Gore, New Zealand

This weekends weather looks a bit blowy, with strong North Westerly winds right through to Monday. The visibility is looking really good at the moment though and should remain that way right through to summer when the plankton comes away again.

Remember to if you are after any new kit or know someone that is looking, give me a call first as I am currently clearing all the stock from the shop. Also, now is good time to service those regulators and BCD’s etc, again give me a call and I will give you an estimate for this service, you might find it a lot cheaper, even with freight costs than more local dive shops if your from areas other than Picton.

safe diving

Brent

Its been a bit quite this week with no dives going on. I have been working out in the Sounds and have noticed that the water is starting to get very clear.  A good sign for our up and coming Scallop weekend.

Unfortunately it appears that a few more of our club members in Christchurch had property effected by the latest shake, I hope that the damage wasn’t to severe and that you guys get some sort of respite from all this trauma shortly. I hate to say it, but I am glad that I no longer live in Christchurch and can only say that it takes a lot of courage to live under constant threat of aftershocks.

The Scallop and Kaikoura weekends have been getting a bit of interest, with Kerry Henderson offering the use of his boat for the Kaikoura trip in September, as well as Guy Drayton offering his. These will both be damn good, affordable fun weekends and a great way to get the dive season rolling for everyone.

The July 16/17 Lermontov trip has two places left on it if your keen, expect some good vis and if your interested in rebreathers Paul Trainor will be their with his KISS, he is the NZ agent for these units, ask him about the GEM a semi closed rebreather which is as easy as open circuit to use, but extends you bottom time by two thirds. Paul is very knowledgeable on these units and can help explain some of the misconceptions some people may have on rebreathers. We are looking at doing a try dive weekend some time in the early summer with the GEM so put your hand up now if your keen.

safe diving

Brent

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

Congratulations to Ryan and Shupiwe who have just completed their PADI Rescue course with Lydia and Go Dive this last weekend. The course took 4 days and included theory where stress management, O2 administration and accident management was discussed in group workshops, followed by 4 open water sessions, these concluded with two accident scenarios where the students were assessed on their ability to manage a typical diving incident.

The Rescue course is without doubt a must do course for any serious diver, especially if diving in environments like we have in New Zealand where professional emergency response can be hours or even days away. The course also qualifies Dive Club Marlborough members to a greater discount on kit purchases and is a giant step closer to becoming a Club Safety Diver where you can get free diving.

Bolshoi Lounge Mikhail Lermontov. Photo courtesy of Dan Farnham

I am off to the Lermontov tomorrow for a days diving and a stay over at the Lodge, the weather today is magic with tomorrow looking to be even better. The Easter trip still has places on it and I have one spot for a club Safety Diver to come along FOC. If your keen on this trip flick me an email or call on 0800GODIVE, if you want to put your hand up for the FOC spot and help with the trip again email or call.

Have a good week and safe diving

Brent