Sandviken 12/3 2022 Sunny with a chance of cold water.

 Hi and ho!

This weekend we decided to go to the spot furthest in of our somewhat regular dive sites, Sandviken, which is also located a little bit more off the side so to say. 

Angular seaslug (Goniodoris nodosa) 

Dive 1:

Depth 29 m, Time: 45 min, Temp: 5 C

We swam out for at bit before descending into the waters. This time, the waters were quite clear, though with some slight salinity differences that could be seen in the absolute top layers of the surface, manifesting as a slight blurriness when the waters were stirred.

We soon found the bottom and started following it outwards and to the left where we found the cliffs, which we started to follow the instead. After a little while, I spied with my little eye two cracker-like shapes jutting out from the wall, these turned out to be Prawn-cracker sponges (Axinella infundibuliformis), something I haven't really seen much of outside of this site. We continued for a bit longer until one in our group signaled that we were to turn around. So back we turned, making our way towards the starting point. At the safety stop, we trained a bit with deploying surface marker buoys, which went rather well considering the circumstances of the waters being cold and our lips being numb from this cold. We surfaced at 45 minutes and got up, making ready for a surface interval in the sun.

Prawn-cracker sponge (Axinella infundibuliformis)

Dive 2: 

Depth: 26 m, Time: 39 min, Temp 5 C

After a surface interval, we once again headed out for a dive, though only two of us this time, as the third in our group had gotten a bit too cold and choose to sit this dive out (which is fair, it was rather cold in the waters). This time we swam out a shorter bit before descending, following the soft sediment slope out and downwards until we found the walls, which we then proceeded to follow. After a while, it became painfully evident that I had not completely warmed up during the surface interval and was starting to get really cold, so I signalled that we were to turn around and swim back, making the dive maybe a bit shorter. At the safety stop, I once again choose to deploy the surface marker buoy for training purposes, which went well enough in my opinion.

We surfaced at 39 minutes, got up and made ready to head home again.

All in all, it was a super nice dive day, even if the waters are still very cold

So until next time! Keep on swimming!

Hairy brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)