Trip Report - The Farnes Islands

Saturday

On Saturday at 5 in the very early morning, at the time when the first sun beams touch the white crest of the waves of the North Sea, Elena was standing in front of the blue immensity staring at the horizon line, waiting for the boat that will take us to a wonderful and mythical adventure in the untouched Farne Islands... Then the alarm clock rang for the 6th time and she realized with a cazzo that it was already 7.30, that nothing was ready and that we would never make it for 8 at the harbour...

A few cazzo later, at the harbour on time :-) we all climbed on the boat and departed under the sun and the gliding gannets for our magical trip. The first diving in the uk seas for us, little former trainees, was amazing... the cliffs falling into the sea with the urchins disposed like little decorations here and there, the kelp undulating with the movement of the waves, and the SEEAAAAAAALS! Unfortunately Morag couldn't help herself from producing ultrasounds in the presence of seals (to express her happiness, evidently), which was a bit annoying for us but we still like her at the end of the day. Almost everybody met seals under the ocean... Everybody but the poor little Sarah who reported in her diary that day: "Dear Diary, Today is the 9734th day I haven't seen a seal under the ocean". It's very sad.

Sunday

The next morning we were all fresh and energetic at the time to wake up because we only drank orange juice and blackcurrant squash at the pub on Saturday night (except Debbie who drank lager shandy, but she's crazy). Unfortunately the skies were dark grey and the rain pouring so hard, that we could hardly see the white flash from the lighthouse of the Farnes... Other divers not as cool as us were cancelling their trip because they were afraid. Doubt invaded our little community... This is when Ele pronounced these now famous words : "Well if you want the salami, you have to kill the pig first". Then Sam said "Cazzo, you're right" and we all jumped on the boat. Most of us now still wonder what she really meant... we will probably never know.

By the time we arrived at the islands, the skies had already opened up, and it was a wonderful sunny day again, and we were all laughing meanly at these stupid divers that had cancelled their trip. Puffins, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars were flying all around, which was quite amazing. (Morag produces ultrasounds in the presence of puffins as well). The trainee Stephen Thompson forgot to bring his drysuit (ah! These trainees!) so he had to stay on the boat and did some dive marshalling. But well, we told him that if he went on like that he would never get his Ocean Diver qualification... That day we dived under a guillemot colony and a lot of us dived with them, which must be so amazing, but Carwyn and me missed them, so we did a kelp fight instead. And in the night, we all went to The Olde Ship and forgot about blackcurrant squash.