MKSAC Newsletter June 2001

When it was first suggested that a group visit Edinburgh to dive in the Ocean tank with the sharks, I couldn't wait.  However, I started getting cold feet when told that friends & families could go to watch you being eaten, and my husbands main concern was whether the insurance was up to date!  So it was with some trepidation that we set off to Edinburgh.

My feelings of unease increased when the "changing room" was shared with a tank of moray eels and some snakes with feeding instructions of "feed one rat every ten days".  It wasn't helped seeing the fin of a shark breaking the water 10 feet in front of me as I entered the water.  Not wishing to allow my 14 year old son to laugh at his mum's latest panic attack I plunged in regardless.

Once I was below water and had found my "sea legs" as balance was a little difficult, I had a great time.  It was rather hard to avoid standing on the turbot and plaice on the bottom, and they had no intention of moving, I also found it hard launching myself Superman style across the tops of the tunnels.  We were allowed to touch and stroke most fish except the large sharks (I didn't want to anyway!) and I very gingerly stroked the tail of a moray eel.  Some sharks and fish even allowed themselves to be picked up.  Some of the more adventurous amongst our group tried "break-dancing" on their heads in the sand or tried to blow air rings.  It was almost as much fun watching the others outside and trying to make Christine laugh so she would use her air quicker.  A few eagle-eyed divers found a shark tooth on the bottom.

All to soon our time at Deep Sea World was over.  For those of you who didn't make it you missed a great time.