DOTTY AND LLYN

Birthdays - always an excuse for a chance to dive and Julian's was no exception. We decided on a couple of night dives at Dorothea and then see what the next day brings.

Night dives at Dotty are always fun, the site was as stunning as ever with a clear sky and absolute calm.

Sunset at Dorothea

A great couple of relaxing dives followed. Initially I felt a sense of disappointment, the water visibility was only a couple of meters but, at about 10 meters, the algal bloom cleared and the visibility opened up.
A warm bowl of soup at half time helped warm us up ready for a second dive through the tunnel opposite the entry point.
The next morning after a banquet of pizza and beer we got up early and headed up to a new destination Llyn Padarn. This is a large lake next to Vivian quarry. Every time we have driven past saying 'We must dive it'. so it was time to do so.

Julian's Nissan backed up and blocking the lake entry point!

Panoramic view from the lakes edge.

The lake looked crystal clear and after the overnight campers left we backed the car into a convenient gap and started dive preparations. Once in kit and find that we had blocked the only entrance to the lake for boats and canoes!

View over Lake Padarn

One of the canoeists moved the car and we entered the water not knowing what to expect.
The water was clear till about two meters and then the visibility dropped to about 4 meters. The lake bed was covered in a fine silt which, by judicious prodding, we found to be about two feet deep. we followed ridges and furrows finally starting a descent. On our way there was an interesting selection of canoe based detritus, paddles, about twenty wellies and a car. We saw a little life, some small fish but nothing major, however the slate made for interesting topography and the need for navigating carefully made for a good dive but the best was still to come.
As we descended there was a sudden change in clarity and it was as though we entered a bubble. the water became Gin clear. We just stopped and looked round in wonder. It made the dive. After a while it was time to head back to shore.

Hopefully this shows the difference in visibility.

On our return we surfaced to the bemusement of the canoeists who had not expected two people to appear from underneath them.
This is one site that we will be returning to soon, taking in a couple of different entry points.