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Dive Notes from a Small Island: Part 2 – Devon & Dorset
Mike and I had originally planned to dive in Plymouth, a couple of boat dives to the Scylla and JEL, or the reefs, but unfortunately the weather decided not to play and we got blown out. Moving on to Dorset we got a weather window to dive Swanage Pier, so taking advantage of the better conditions we decided to do a nice morning dive at high tide.
Dive 6: Swanage Pier
Site description:
The original Swanage Pier was first built in 1860, in the mid 1870’s it was found that a new and longer pier was needed for the increasing traffic, so the new pier was constructed by 1897. It was damaged in war time and from 1966 the pier was left to deteriorate for 30 years. In 1994 the Swanage Pier Trust took control in restoring the pier and making it available for local people and visitors to enjoy. As a dive site the new pier is considered better thank the old pier pilings that lies to the right hand side and it provides a sheltered, shallow dive site with easy access. It is no more than 5m at high tide and has variable visibility depending on recent weather, it is a good training site and can have lots of life both on the sea floor and on the pier posts. Parking costs £6 and it is £2.50 for each adult diver or £1 for a junior. It is also possible to take boats from here to dive the many wreck dives in the area.
The Dive:
We had 1-2m visibility and calm conditions at high tide. The sun streamed through from above us each side of the pier making navigation easy and we spent a thoroughly enjoyable 75mins pootling about looking for tompot blennies, painted topshells and velvet swimming crabs, which were in abundance!
Mike’s thoughts:
I’ve always liked critter-spotting pier dives and Swanage was really nice. The setup is about as perfect as you can get, with on-pier parking and dive shop, easy entry and pretty sheltered conditions. The sea life was abundant on the day we dove, and I managed to get several nice photos of tompot blennies. They are quite common in UK waters but being both charismatic and not terribly shy make for great subjects. The resident blennies did not disappoint as I was able to meet my main goal for the dive and get the pictures I wanted. I’d love to return on a day with better visibility as the conditions only allowed for fleeting glimpses of the pier structure through the murky water. No doubt a clear day with sunbeams shining through the pier would be even better!
BOOT 2025, the world’s largest water sports trade fair, provided the perfect stage for the launch of the new UWACAM app which meanwhile is rated at an excellent 4.8 out of 5 in the Apple App Store.
Optimized for DIVEVOLK (divevolkdiving.com) Seatouch housings and developed in collaboration with award-winning underwater filmmaker Matthias Lebo (matthiaslebo.com), this app is user-friendly and features large, clear controls, enabling effortless and stunning shots.
It offers professional functions typically found in high-end cameras, supports the LOG format for advanced color corrections, includes built-in LUTs (Color Lookup Tables) to restore underwater colors, and provides a manual mode, user presets, histogram, focus peaking, zebra function, and much more.
As an official product of Bumbayaya GmbH (bumbayaya.ch / uwacam.com), the UWACAM app has been specifically designed for use in DIVEVOLK Seatouch underwater housings. Visitors were able to experience the app live at the DIVEVOLK booth.
UWACAM simplifies underwater photography with an intuitive user interface that is perfectly adapted for underwater operation. The app offers precise control and delivers impressive results for both hobby divers and professionals.
Why UWACAM?
- Specifically developed for DIVEVOLK: Perfect integration into Seatouch housings for effortless underwater operation.
- Simple yet professional: Switch between an Easy Automatic Mode for beginners and a comprehensive Pro Mode.
- All-in-one app: Supports all photo and video formats, including LOG for professional color corrections.
- Pro Features:
- Focus Peaking: Precise focus control.
- Zebra Function: Prevents over- or underexposure.
- Built-in LUTs: Color corrections for realistic underwater shots.
- Manual Controls: Fine-tune exposure, focus, white balance, and more.
- Diver-Specific Features: Automatic color correction based on environment and dive depth, plus an optional magnetic compass overlay.
“We are excited to present UWACAM at BOOT 2025,” says Matthias Lebo, who played a key role in its development. “With UWACAM, we bring the beauty of the underwater world directly into the hands of divers and snorkelers—intuitive, powerful, and adaptable.”
Customer Reviews
Available in the App Store
UWACAM is now available for download in the App Store.
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/uwacam/id6714463099
In a video produced exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman reviews the Blade Fins from Atomic Aquatics.
For more information about products from Atomic Aquatics, visit www.atomicaquatics.com.
Sea & Sea is the home of Atomic Aquatics and other leading diving brands in the UK.
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