In 2002 the competition was under threat from earlier in the week. The weather did not look promising on the previous Thursday, with big swells and windy conditions. Friday the sea started to calm down and low and behold, Saturday was calm enough to dive! The day started with overcast conditions and drizzle, but no one was complaining as long as they could get in the water.

The films were handed out at 8am on the Saturday morning and the photographers then set out to capture the wonders and delights of the Marine Reserve! The conditions were okay for close up macro shots, but with the overcast conditions, wide-angle shots suffered from lack of natural light. Typically as the deadline arrived at 2pm for handing back the films the sun came out and the afternoon was a scorcher!

The Marine Life Category was by far and away the most popular category ranging from small sea gooseberries up to speedy squid and imposing jellyfish.

Fewer entries were in the Diver Scenic and Reserve Atmospheric categories owing to the weather conditions and the visibility being reduced to about 6-8 meters. These two categories portrayed the Voluntary Marine Reserve in all its glory!

The John Goldie �Most Humorous Shot� in memory of local diver and photographer John Goldie attracted more entrants this year. A lot of thought and planning went into this category and produced some hilarity throughout the slide show audience.

It was good to see a substantial number of beginners (someone who has not been placed in a competition or been published) enter the competition. This is a promising sign, and lightens the competitive nature of the competition, as in the end it�s all meant to be a bit of fun and joining in is what it�s all about! The slide show on the Sunday evening was extremely well attended with over 100 locals, visitors and divers alike all voting with enthusiasm.

After the voting had taken place, light refreshments were served in the Marine Reserve Visitor Centre at the Old School in St. Abbs. The audience enjoyed the new display of underwater photographs and an array of seashore creepy crawlies in the seawater tanks.

Once the votes had been counted up, the winners were stated. The overall winner was voted from all the category winners by a count of hands. It was extremely close but Jason Gregory�s Octopus made a worthy winner. Category winners and all competitors are to be congratulated on their fantastic results and for braving the weather forecast for what turned out to be another successful �Splash-In�.

Thanks to this years sponsors:

• Beaver.
• Deep Blue Dive Centre.
• Divers Warehouse.
• Dive St. Abbs Boat Charter, Alistair Crowe (Lazy G Diver).
• Oceanic.
• Rock House Dive Centre, Billy Aitchison
• St. Abbs Boat Charter, Peter Gibson (Selkie).
• St. Abbs Dive Centre & Post Office.
• Scoutscroft Dive Centre.

2002 Competition Results

Marine Life Portrait

1st Prize

Jason Gregory, Octopus.

2nd Prize

John Naylor, Jellyfish.

3rd Prize

Len Deeley, Anglerfish.

Diver Scenic

1st Prize

Brian Jubb, Diver / Kelp Forest.

2nd Prize

Len Deeley, Diver / Brittlestar Bed.

3rd Prize

John Naylor, Diver / Wall.

Reserve Atmospheric

1st Prize

Bert Lee, Surface shot of the Billy Aitchison�s Blue Shark.

2nd Prize

Edward Bower, Kelp.

3rd Prize

Paul Bury, Balan Wrasse and Dead Man�s Fingers.

The John Goldie Most Humorous Shot

1st Prize

Paul Taylor, I knew I had forgotten something!

2nd Prize

Keith Pritchard, Cathedral Rock that famous St. Abbs dive site.

3rd Prize

Len Deeley, I knew I should have turned left at Gibraltar!

Best Beginner

Keith Pritchard

Overall Winner

Jason Gregory