Setting the scene

Before I start blogging about my marine activities I thought I should start by explaining how I have ended up in the water.

For those of you that follow my other blog, An Orkney Ringer, you will know that I am a trainee bird ringer with the Orkney Ringing Group and a keen bird watcher.

However at the of last year I saw an article about the work of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group (BDMLR) and how they were looking for more volunteers in the North and West of Scotland and the Scottish Islands to become Marine Mammal Medics. Volunteers didn't need to be divers to take part in the rescues.

Having been involved in the rescue of a porpoise last year in the bay near to my home I decided that I would volunteer to become a medic. So I booked myself a place on the course being held over in Thurso in April. Details of the course can be found here Marine Mammal Medic Course.

To take part participants need a drysuit, so the next step was to get one of those sorted out. I spoke with a friend who was into canoeing and other watersports and asked him about drysuit suppliers. He recommended DAM Watersports who would do a custom made drysuit for a resonable price. So I contacted Andi who sent me all the details and I ordered a Rescue 3000 series drysuit.

While I was waiting for the drysuit to be delivered I started thinking about what else I could use the drysuit for. I had always fancied a go at snorkelling but been put off by the sea temperature up here. Even in the summer it isn't that warm in the water. Now with a drysuit on the way it opened up the possibility.

A couple of weeks ago there was a talk by Penny Martin to the Orkney Field Club called "A Window onto Underwater Orkney" which was an illustrated talk on the marine life found in shallow waters around Orkney.

This was a very interesting insight as to how much marine life there was just below the surface of our costal waters. For more information take a look at the Underwater Orkney website.

With the arrival of the drysuit, the next step was to get the gloves and rock boots that I would need to do the medics course. I decided that I would also purchase the basic kit needed to start snorkelling - mask, snorkel and hood.

Now I have all the kit I'm just waiting for some reasonable weather to meet up with Penny and take my first steps into the water.

So watch this space for the next installment.