How many sites do you know of that are just that little bit too far to comfortably swim as a shore dive, but are often overlooked because they are too close in to justify a boat dive? How many sites do you know that would be a shore dive, except that there is no access to the beach? These sites are the gap between shore diving and boat diving that a dive kayak is ideally suited to.
Dive kayaks are the ultimate one-man dive boats. Although paddled kayak style, you don't actually sit inside. There is a person shaped indentation in the top that you nestle in. Behind you is a well shaped to hold a rigged cylinder and BC. Your weight belt rests between your knees and there is a locker at the front for all the other loose bits.
I had already been shore diving the giant kelp forests of Catalina Island's Avalon dive park for a few days. Excellent quality kelp forest and lots of fish, but I was itching to have a look at the wreck of the Valiant which lies just outside the boundary of the park, about 150 metres from shore and about twice that distance from the nearest convenient entry point. A convenient site for my first venture into kayak diving.
In principle, using the kayak is simple. If the site is an isolated beach, diving is just a matter of beaching the kayak and shore diving as you would from any other beach.
The whole thing gets a bit more interesting if you want to dive rocks or a site further out to sea such as the wreck of the Valiant. You slide off the side of the kayak, un-strap your equipment and put it all on in the water. After the dive, as the car manuals say so flippantly, simply reverse the process.
Unsure of my kayaking abilities I had a practice along the shoreline paddling up and down and getting in and out.
At the wreck site my first task was to tie on to the buoy without capsizing the kayak. Then everything went over the side, me first followed by all the equipment and my camera. It all dangles on leashes while I am putting it on.
Save for the bow and stern, which still retain their original height, the wreck has pretty much collapsed down to a few plates either side of the keel. Strands of giant kelp stretch up to the surface 30 metres above. The port side supports a fine spread of gorgonia.
Back on the surface I was now faced with the prospect of getting back into the kayak. I stayed in the water while lifting my equipment aboard and strapping it in place.
To climb aboard I reached across to the far side and pulled until my belly was across the centre of the kayak. I then rolled toward the stern so my backside rested in the seat with my feet still over the side. The most hazardous part was to then rotate 90 degrees so that my feet were on the kayak. This had to be a nice smooth manoeuvre to avoid capsizing. In "American" the whole thing can be summed up as "belly button, but and turn".
Having just been to 30 metres I was well aware of the risk of decompression illness from excessive exercise. I made a point of just sitting and soaking up the sun for 10 minutes before gently paddling back to the beach.
With confidence gained on a local dive site, the possibilities opening up in my mind were endless. Catalina has so much coastline and so many inaccessible coves. Ideal for paddling round and getting the occasional dive in.
On a wider scale, I can see the value of a kayak for so much UK diving. Sheltered waters such as those round the islands and lochs of the west of Scotland, where much of the diving is close to an inaccessible shore would be ideal for kayak diving. With good sea conditions I can also think of many opportunities to exploit kayak diving in Devon, Cornwall and West Wales.