The icemen cometh

Hardly has it been 3 days since we were last at Capernwray, we were back again - this time Tuesday 23 Feb. As we pulled into the carpark and made our way up to the shop to register, we heard an almighty cacophany of noise. Are they blasting again, I asked myself. No, when we looked over the balcony, both ribs were out traversing the length and breadth of the quarry in an attempt to break up the 1.2 cm topping of ice which covered the whole of the quarry. 'And we're going to dive in that?' asked Paul. Paul remarked that as it was his first open water dive, it was a bit like a baptism by fire. Not quite, Paul, baptism by ice I think is more accurate!

None the less, Ariel, Paul and myself, Wendy, kitted up and made our way down to the slip. The whole of the training area and beyond the roped area was covered in large plates of ice, more than a cm thick and up to 40 -50 cm diameter. So large that we could float our fins on them. As Ariel tried to acclimatise his face, he had to avoid the large ice cubes. We quickly did a weight check for Paul then descended to the 2m platform. Large trout swam gracefully around us and played chicken as they dodged us at the last minute. It was rewarding to see how relaxed Paul was as we worked our way back and to the 2 training platforms. There were a couple of lost buoyancy moments, but nothing he couldn't handle, especially given that by now, fingers were not working at their best. I tried to give an OK signal, which came out more like a deformed Q! After 30 minutes, I think we all had had enough and ventured our way out - slowly ascending to prevent the ice cracking on our heads as we emerged. The big grin and bright eyes that lit Paul's face told me that he really had enjoyed his first open water dive and was ready to go in again. Not before retiring to the cafe for some hot chocolate and a big bowl of chips, however.

Second dive we knew what to expect - it was going to be cold out there! This time, we had the double joy of donning the ice cold hoods and gloves. Nothing could delay that moment when we would immerse ourselves again. This time, we finned over the 2 training platforms and made our way to the horses, first of all Lord Lucan then Shergar. Both lads rode the one-time Grand National favourite, Paul even throwing in a bit a lasso-ing! The guys then showed how techie they could be by using Shergar as a tunnel and expertly avoided the edges (well almost!)

Made our way over to the Dreamer and another sunken boat that I didn't recognise, back past the Red Devil, pausing momentarily to hover over the edge to see what was down in the depths, then back to the 2m platform which Paul and Ariel used for drills to complete OO1. Gently we made our way back to the shallows, again the friendly fish came and went adding to the enjoyment. Again we slowly surfaced to avoid crashing through the plates of ice. As we finned back, the gentle chink-chink of ice reminded me of wind chimes. As I dekitted back at the car, I found 2 large chunks of ice had stuck between my BCD and suit. Where's the G&T when you need it!