Hällebäck 4/12 2022

 Hi and ho!

This week me and my buddies headed for Hällebäck together with some people from the Lindome dive club (a club my dive club has close connections with), the weather while a bit cloudy, was quite ok for this time of the year.

Fountain anemone (Sagartiogeton laceratus)

Dive 1:

Depth: 30 m, time: 48 min, temp: 10 C

Me and my buddy decided to do the first dive towards the left side of the dive site, as the right side is better when it is dark outside. The left side has a stair-like area of cliff shelves where it in the spring usually is good for finding king crabs, but as it is autumn, no king crabs, but instead other critters were present, such as hermit crabs, wrasse and sea anemones of different species. However, on this dive I somewhat struggled to find the balance in the water, which went on the whole dive really, just couldn't find the balance i usually got for this kind of thing. The shutter trigger for the camera housing was also acting up, so have to fix that too. Either way, got some ok photos on this dive. When we hit our margin time for No Deco Limit, we started to go more shallow, while also making our way back towards the start of the dive site. 

We surfaced at 48 minutes, got up and made ready for a surface interval with hot drinks.

Close up of a bobtail squid

Dive 2: 

Depths 23 m, time: 47 min, temp: 10 C

Once we had done a bit of a surface interval, and the sun had been down for a little bit, we once more headed out for a dive. This time, we were joined by another person from Lindome dive club, while my other buddy was making ready, me and the Lindome person discussed some plans and signs, as they most likely wanted to continue the dive when we were going to turn around, and as they are a experienced solo diver, that was OK with me. So, once my other buddy was ready to go, we swam out a little bit from the pier we jumped in from before starting to descend. We quickly descended to about 5-6 m and started following the bottom outwards, looking for squids. And at about 20 something meters, i do indeed spot one (the only one on this dive), so we stayed around it for a little bit (and it probably got annoyed with us). The rest of the dive was quite uneventful, and as me and my buddy signalled to turn around, the Lindome person signalled that they wanted to continue the dive on their own, so we just left them to their own devices, as we had discussed before. Me and my buddy swam along the slope, slightly upwards and to the left side. At about 8 m, I spotted a very blue coloured baltic prawn, which I of course had to photograph, and while the shutter trigger was still acting up, I got some decent photos of it.

Me and my buddy surfaced at 47 minutes, got up from the water and started to doff our gear making ready to head home again.

All in all, this was a very nice dive day, even if the waters in the surface are cold right now at 8 C (still warm by February standards though).

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

A very blue Baltic prawn (Palaemon adspersus)

Jordfall 12/11 2022, Night diving once more

Hi and ho!

This weekend we went to our regular site of the Jordfall marina for diving, it was after some debating and thinking that we choose this site as there has been a recent slew of trawlers getting dangerously close to the dive sites in the Gullmarsfjorden area. But we decided that the risk of getting trawled was somewhat negligible with how we dive on that site, as we don't go quite that far out.

Devonshire cup corals (Caryophyllia smithii)

Dive 1:

Depth: 30m, Time: 51 min, Temp: 13 C

We waded out into the bay, and quickly understood that this day was one of those days where the surface waters was a layer dark brown freshwater, likely forming a murky lid over the saltwater, and thus allowing for night diving condition, even at daylight hours. Me and my buddy swam out to the end of the pier and started our descent there. We kept close to each other, as the visibility wa really really bad. At about 5-8 m, the visibility cleared up, though it was clear that there was still freshwater mixing, as our movements still stirred up the water, making it a bit more turbid. This continued until we hit about 20 m. As predicted, it was almost pitch black underneath the layer of brown freshwater, a typical "Gullmarsfjord-lid", and that is just how we like it, as all the critters are less skittish in "night" conditions. 

We followed the bottom outwards to the deeper mud slopes of the site, looking for squids as we went, but alas, we didn't find any this dive.

After a while, we started to make our way back towards the starting point, taking it slowly (maybe a little bit too slowly, was being a bit chased by the No Deco time limit in some spots). We surfaced at 51 minutes, got up and doffed our gear, getting ready for a surface interval.

Great pipefish (Syngnathus acus)

Dive 2:

Depth: 27m, Time: 49 min, Temp 13 C

After a surface interval, we once again headed out into the water, now it had really become dark, so we were really hoping for squids this time around. Me and my buddy swam out the same way as we did the dive before before descending. When we got visual contact with the bottom, we started swimming slightly towards the right side, where we usually don't dive, in order to check for squids there maybe. After a while we once again started to swim towards the left instead, hitting the mud slopes once more. But no squids were seen by us on this dive either unfortunately, maybe it was due to the slightly mixed waters from 10 to 20 m depth that kept them away from our path.

We ended the dive at 49 minutes, got up and started make ready to head back home again.

All in all, it was a nice day for diving, even if the squids didn't show up this time.

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

Common hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus)

5/11 2022 Diversnight

 Hi and ho!

Once again, it has become time for Diversnight, the international yearly event for night diving, and like usual, me and my buddy went to Släggö in Lysekil to join up with the dive centre there at their event. This year was much fewer divers compared to earlier years, but i guess the somewhat dire weather forecast was to blame for that, with strong winds and rain being the prevailing forecast on the day. 

Goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris)

Depth: 30 m, Time 58 min, Temp: 12 C

We descended early as the wind and waves were battering straight into the bay of Släggö, making a longer surface swim undesirable this day, well under the surface, it was much calmer, though one could still feel the waves in the shallow areas. We swam along in good pace and quickly found the line that leads downwards and out on the soft bottom, so we started following it ever so slightly. Well out on the soft bottom we saw that the squat lobsters were out and about, as they usually are after sundown, and unlike daytime, they are less timid, which is nice for photography :)

As we swam along the line, we soon came to the part of Släggö at 25 m where there seem to be a perpetual haze since about early 2020 (no really, before 2020, there was no such haze down there). Either way, in this haze there wasn't really much to see, some swimming crabs and squat lobsters scurrying about, but nothing of particular interest. As we started to near our no deco time-limit, we started to make our way upwards, and also back towards the starting point, as I wanted at least 1 h long surface interval before doing the second dive, the official diversnight-dive.

We surfaced at 58 minutes, got up and doffed our gear quickly before heading up to the dive centre to partake in the diversnight cake (this is a very important part of the event).

Spiny squat lobster (Galathea strigosa), one of many

Dive 2: Diversnight official dive.

Depth 16 m, Time 55 min, Temp: 12 C

We were a bit behind schedule, but alas, it wasn't more than like 2 minutes delay for us, so it wasn't the whole world really. Either way, we decided to dive towards the right side of Släggö, keeping it shallow as we hadn't really had a 1 h surface interval, while also looking for squids, as now is the season for them. But to no avail, the squids did not show up on this dive, even though we were in the area they frequent during this time of the year. Instead, we saw quite a few Harbour swimming crabs and smaller codfish, in addition to this, we also saw at least one reticulated dragonet, a species that officially only has been seen once in Sweden (to be honest, i suspect that this is a very easily overlooked species and might be more common than one think, it just looks very much alike the other two known species in the area).

Not much interesting of note on this dive, which we ended at 55 minutes.

All in all, it was some nice night dives, though the absence of squids was a bit disappointing.

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

Reticulated dragonet (Callionymus reticulatus)

Släggö 24/9 2022 Easy diving to ease the mind

 Hi and ho!

This weekend we once again went to Släggö once again, just to have something easy to dive. The forecast told of rainy weather, but as always, there was little to no rain in Släggö (though it had most likely recently rained by the look of it).

Eelgrass anemones on a piece of eelgrass

Dive 1:

Depth: 25 m, Time: 69 min, Temp: 15 C

We swam out a bit to get closer to the cliffs before we started descending, as we did so, the seemingly good visibility on the surface did soon disappear, though it was still better than it has been recently, somewhat. I was also using my new suit, that i haven't quite gotten used to yet, which also made this dive a bit more of me concentrating on getting the balance right with my stuff. Either way, there was some stuff to see, a lot of European lobsters for example, there was a lot active on the site on this day, but as they were mainly hiding in crevices and underneath rocks, there weren't many that was good for photos.

We surfaced at 69 minutes, got up and doffed our gear, making ready for a longer surface intervall, as we had planned for night diving this day as well.

North sea Cerianthid, but this one has quite short arms

Dive 2: 

Depth: 14 m, Time: 66 min, Temp: 15 C

After a surface interval, we started making ready to head out once the sun had set, wanting to do a night dive and look for squid as the season is upon us. Well, we jumped in right before it got proper dark and descended soon after. On this dive, no squids were found, meaning that they haven't quite made their way into the bay proper, instead there was a lot of gobies about, as well as pipefish of different kinds. After about 30 minutes, i made the signal to turn around and swim back towards the starting point. 

As we neared the point were we went up, my buddy signalled me to come and look at something, turns out that something was a small eel, not something you see every day indeed. Either way, after photographing it for a bit, we continued forward and soon after started to ascend to the surface, thus ending the dive at 66 minutes.

All in all, it was a nice dive day for sure, even if it is starting to become "hot chocolate" weather :)

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

An eel!

Släggö 10/9 2022, Night diving season maybe?

 Hi and ho!

After a longer vacation from diving due to various circumstances, i once more should be back in the saddle. This week we went to our regular haunt of Släggö in Lysekil for diving. 

Close up look of a Peacock feather duster worm

Dive 1:

Depth 23 m, Time 64 min, Temp:15 C

Me and my buddy decided to swim along the wall, and man did we do it slowly, very very slowly as we were looking for smaller critters like nudibranchs. The visibility this day wasn't the best really, in fact it was quite bad, not the worst, but not the best either. As we swam along, we reached the part of the wall where there are a lot of Peacock feather duster worms on a overhanging area. I tried my hardest to get some decent photos of them, but as the current was facing our way, it was quite difficult to do. After trying for a bit, we continued onwards until it became time to turn around and make our way back towards the starting point. 

We surfaced at 64 minutes got up and doffed our gear and got ready for our surface interval

Closer look of the same Peacock feather duster worm

Dive 2:

Depth: 14 m, Time 65 min, Temp: 15 C

We took a longer surface interval this day as we wanted to wait for the sun to set and do a night dive, hoping for squid. So we waited and waited until it was starting to get a bit darker before we started to make ready. We swam out a little bit from the pier before we started to descend, the other pair descended with us as well, as they too wanted to look for squids. Well, we started making our way along the bottom, looking in all the nooks and crannies for squid (but found none unfortunately). As we made our way, I spotted a pipefish in a nice pose, so i stopped for a little bit to try and photograph it, but that's where both me and my buddy went wrong, as after a bit i looked up and my buddy was nowhere to be seen, so yeah, i did look around for a bit before i started to head upwards to the surface in order to look for their bubbles. Well on the surface i found their bubbles quickly, swam over and went down in a huff to link up with them once more, but after doing that, i had to ascend again, as i had forgotten to equalize, and it was starting to hurt real badly. After i managed to clear out the equalization, we continued the dive in a slow and orderly manner. And as it got darker and darker, the fish became more and more active, truly, night diving is the best type of diving. We surfaced at 65 minutes, got up from the water and started making ready to head back home once more.

All in all, despite some of the hiccups, it was a nice dive day, and lesson learned, keep a better eye on photographer buddies :)

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

Dragonet posing nicely in front of the camera

Smögen archipelagon 17/7 2022 Boat diving and lost fins.

 Hi and ho!

This weekend me and my friends decided to go boat diving on a whim more or less, after calling around a bit, we got some spots on the boat at the Smögen dive center, which lies a bit north of our regular dive spots. After getting up at ungodly times (for a weekend), we managed to get to the dive center with time to spare, so we could kit up in a relatively relaxed pace. After kitting up and getting on the boat, it was time to set out for the first dive.

Dahlia anemone, a closeup

Dive 1: Buskär

Depth: 26 m, Time: 62 min, Temp: 17 C

We rolled off the boat into the water as one does, and after gathering up on the surface, we started to descend. The visibility on this site was pretty ok, if a bit grainy at times. As we neared the bottom, we started to slow down a bit and began swimming along the wall like we had been instructed to do. On this site, there was a lot of plateaus at different depths, differing types of bottom (though not proper soft bottoms, at most it was shell gravel). On the walls, there was a lot of soft corals and different species of algae. I noticed quickly however, that there was some issues with the camera trigger switch, making it a bit hard to take the photos, but i managed to get some at least. After about 30 minutes, we began turning back towards the starting point. At the safety stop, we all deployed our surface marker buoys in order to show the dive boat our position, but as we descended, all three of us almost got jellyfish on us, though I was the first one. We got up at 62 minutes and was picked up by the boat.

Striped flabellina, a species of seaslug I've never seen before.

Dive 2:

Depth: 22 m, Time: 61 min, Temp: 17 C

After a nice surface interval with lunch and snacks. We once again got onto the boat and headed out for our next dive. 

As we rolled in, one of my fins somehow came loose and dropped off my foot and into the depths. Well, after a quick reconvening on the surface, we immediately began descending in order to try and find the fin. Apparently, i need to be better at signalling what is wrong (i guess so?) because it took a while for one of my buddies to realize exactly what was wrong. I think they got the message when i stomped at the bottom with my finless foot in front of them. After about 8 minutes of searching, we managed to find my fin, and at this point, i was a little bit tired from swimming against the current with only one fin, but nonetheless, i decided to continue the dive as i could relax once i got my fin on. As we continued the dive, there was a lot to see, I observed several nudibranchs of note, as well as some spotted sea hares hiding among the algae. 

As we started to head back, we once again became aware that there was a current, and quite a strong one at that, strong enough so that one would struggle to swim against it, either way, both me and my buddy deployed our surface marker buoys to show the boat out positions while we were at our safety stop (we also had to grab onto the seafloor in order to not drift away)

We surfaced at 61 minutes, got picked up by the boat and started to head back to port.

All in all, it was a super nice day of diving.

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

A group of Orange-clubbed seaslugs feasting on the bryozoans on a kelp leaf.

Släggö 10/7 2022 Warm waters and forgotten gear.

 Hi and ho!

This weekend we went to Släggö in Lysekil once more, as i had forgotten my diving hood there the previous time we visited the site. As the day was quite nice, with good winds and not to high temperatures, it was a good day for diving.

We divided into pairs, kitted up and got ready to head out.

Armed bullhead, a slightly more skittish bottom dwelling fish.

Dive 1: 

Depth 28 m, Time 65 min, Temp 15 C

Me and my buddy swam out a bit before starting to descend along the cliff wall. In the surface waters, the visibility was relatively ok, but as soon as the thermocline was hit at about 5 m, the visibility became a bit more hazy in my experience. We followed the slope and the wall outwards and downwards, soon finding our way to the dive helmet that has been put there as an art piece. We continued further beyond the helmet for a bit before turning around and slowly making our way back towards the entry point. We soon found the line that goes from the helmet and up to the entry point, so we started following it until we could see the ladder back up to the pier from underwater. We surfaced at 65 minutes, got up, and made ready for surface interval with food.

A Great pipefish hiding among the algae.

Dive 2:

Depth: 21 m, Time: 65 min, Temp: 15

The second dive, we decided to do a bit more shallow and maybe more towards the right side, over the soft bottom area instead of the cliffs, but, as the soft bottom was a bit boring this day, we soon turned towards the cliffs again. Soon after we turned, the second boat that has been sunk in the area (small motor boat) started to come into view. After circling around it for a few minutes, looking for things hiding in it or underneath it, we continued on our way towards the cliffs. Not too soon after finding the cliffs, we turned around and started making our way back towards the starting point, though this time we didn't find the line, and thus subsequently got a bit lost on the way back, after peeking up on the surface to get our bearings at the shallow part, we quickly got back on track and found our way to the ladder once more. 

We surfaced at 65 minutes, got up and made ready to head home.

All in all, it was an ok dive day, even if there was a little less photogenic stuff out and about.

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

Common dragonet posing for the camera.