KYRENIA, Northern Cyprus

by Bo Walsh

As a novice diver and a relatively new member of the club it was with a great sense of anticipation and some trepidation that I prepared myself for my first diving holiday.
Before this trip my diving experience consisted of two try dives (the second of which encouraged me to join Kingston & Elmbridge BSAC), one dive in the Great Barrier Reef (a PADI tourist-oriented day trip) and a day's diving in Kimmeridge Bay courtesy of Michael (Coster), Lesley and David (an experience which I will never forget and for which I am eternally grateful!). Oh yes-and not forgetting the pool training sessions that I attended throughout the Summer as part of my Club (& Sport) Diver training!
The trip was being organised by one Chris Knight. I paid attention to the pre-trip information (brief), even ringing Chris up from Mike's Waterfront Ware-house asking for tips on what I should be looking for in certain pieces of kit / equipment-this was in-valuable as being a novice it is quite bewildering to choose between the vast array of gear available.
So now I had begged, borrowed or bought the equipment I needed, I had an up to date passport, clothes, sun-screen and enough money to buy the odd souvenir and a beer or two - I was ready for the trip - or so I thought!
It suddenly became apparent after speaking to Chris a week or two before the departure that in fact I was not ready due to one very important factor - I was not actually a "qualified" Club Diver - yes - I had finished my pool training and was confident that I could use the equipment and - yes - I had actually done a little diving - but - I had not passed the Club Diver exam or completed my open water training under qualified instruction. PROBLEM!
I was, needless to say, a bit concerned that I had signed up (and paid) for a diving holiday that might well consist of some shallow water diving and a lot of waving cheerily from the shore as the rest of the team went off diving the depths of the Med. I thought - "Oh well - at least it would be a week off work and a chance to catch up on some reading and perhaps catch a bit of a tan!".
Or - in other words - I should have checked what the training requirements were for the trip - i.e. Club Diver means more than just doing the pool training!
After pulling (what is left of) my hair out and several frantic conversations between myself and various members of the club - a solution was found - I could do my open water assessments and the exam at the Dive Centre with the agreement of the Dive Centre's Chief Instructor. Oh and just to complicate matters I had one theory Lesson to be signed off - Buddy Diving - luckily I was given an ad hoc one to one tutoring by Barry Vincent (cheers Barry - do I still owe you a pint for that?) before I took the exam.
The nine members of the holiday team were myself, Chris Knight, Barry Vincent, Helen and Graham Evans, Jim and Stella Harrison and Kevin and Eraina ("Baileys") Keepin.
We set off in various groups for Stansted airport on Sunday 27th October - yes - the day of the storm, which looked like it was going to present problems of its own - walls being blown onto cars for instance

Northern Cyprus is about a four hour flight from England - made interesting because you have to go via Turkey - no direct flight. And made the more curious by the fact that it is considered an illegal point of entry into Cyprus by the Greek authorities in the South. The way round this obstacle is to have a piece of paper stamped by the passport officials instead of your passport (as this would prevent you from visiting the Greek side).
We arrived at Ercan airport and were transported to our accommodation at the Villa Club Holiday Village (studio apartments & villas) in what can only be described as a jalopy - that's if you can call an ancient dust-covered van complete with curtains which would not look out of place in a '70's sitcom - I won't even describe the driver! We were to discover that quite a lot of the transport in Northern Cyprus was up to this standard!
We arrived at our new home at about 5 a.m. Monday (7 a.m. Cyprus time). Just enough time for a snooze before breakfast (optional).
That afternoon Chris introduced us to Asim - the Chief Instructor of the Diving Center and he gave us an outline brief of the week's diving program. Helen and Eraina were not going to be diving and listened in to find out about times of departure, return, etc.
I was introduced to Asim (who on first sight looked a little like a pirate - bit unnerving that!) and he informed me that I would be assessed by an instructor for my Club Diver open water requirements and would be given the Club Diver exam that evening and would only be allowed to dive with the rest of the group if he was satisfied that I was capable (and had passed the exam) - so no pressure - eh? I certainly learnt very quickly that diving is a highly organized activity and that everyone involved has to know what to do, where to go, how to store kit, who is in charge, etc. - much akin to a military operation (or so I imagine?).
For the first two days I was left in the expert care of the Dive Centre's instructors and was put through my paces and was able to demonstrate that I could safely use my equipment and carry out the drills necessary to become a Club Diver. This was all carried out in shallow water and I became well acquainted with the waters around the small island which lay just off the shore from the Amphora Dive Centre in an area known as The Landing Bay - thus titled after the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus.
By day three I had passed the open water assessments and yes - even passed the Club Diver exam (which I was forced to sit under exam conditions whilst the rest of the gang were imbibing a significant quantity of Efes (Turkish beer- yum!) and other alcoholic delights at the Villa Club's pool-side bar! I had to go through a verbal scrutiny from Asim to check on some of my answers in the exam and to see if I understood clearly the basic principles involved. I had made it through and now I could dive up to the maximum depth for Club Diver and could join the rest of the group.
By the end of the week I had completed eleven dives, including one night dive - I really enjoyed this dive and found it to be the most relaxing - seeing cuttlefish, pink-eyed shrimp and sea-cucumbers amongst other sea-life. I have memories of leaving the accommodation by Land Rover, being taken to the Dive Centre, kitting up, entering the boat, dropping into the blue sea for the dive and seeing various fish - Turkish Wrasse, Amberjacks, Grouper, Squirrel-fish, Octopus (2), Velvet worms (or velcro worms as they were renamed!), seeing remnants of Amphorae - the Venetian pots used for transporting wine, oil, etc and lots of divers bits and pieces (steady!).
I felt that I had accomplished something - not to say that I was now a proper diver, just a novice who has had a great introduction to a thrilling sport.
For example there was Chris "Major" Knight with his military background and wealth of diving experience (who lost a weight belt and redeemed himself by retrieving it on a return visit to the same dive site - impressive!) and there was Jim Harrison who fervently described his experiences in the printing industry, I think Jim had the most expensive wee in history too - on our first visit to Kyrenia Jim had to spend a penny and went into a public loo (which sounded like a Victorian horror story) only to be charged 5 million lire (a bit on the pricey side eh Jim?).
I won't mention Stella's unique style of re-entering a boat (RIB) from the water - the phrase "all hands on deck" springs to mind - or the incident in Nicosia when the little boy who was trying to earn money by weighing passers by in the street on a set of bathroom-scales - it was just coincidence that as we approached he looked up in Stella's general direction, he picked up the scales and ran!
My experience to Northern Cyprus was really enjoyable. The weather was great, the sea was 24°C and the visibility was very good. The Turkish Cypriots were accommodating and the local town Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish) was full of shops, bars and restaurants - not to mention barbers shops - (several of us partook of Turkish style shaves complete with cut-throat razor and stinging lemon). The harbour is a busy area and the town castle hosts a museum of the famous shipwreck (dating back to 300 B.C.) the site of which was one of the dives that my compatriots visited!
We visited Nicosia, the divided city, complete with UN buffer zone, and wined and dined most evenings. One of the incredible experiences was one evening meal - the bill came to 31 million, 47 thousand and 571 Turkish lire and this was not the most expensive meal we had (nor indeed expensive - about £12 if I remember rightly!).
I could not have made it or had such a good time without the help and support of my fellow club members I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I did - cheers Guys & Gals!!!

Amphora Dive Center
Kingston & Elmbridge BSAC Branch