What was the ledge like then? Was it worth getting up early for? The England game was good just in case you were wondering! But I did have to do stuff round the house, never mind you can tell me about it on Wednesday! Ian
This weekend we were all in the safe hands of the mystery dive marshal Tom, only recognisable to those who have yet to suffer from alzheimer's. Borrowing Tony's GPS, the plan was to dive a site called "Macro" about 24 metres of varied ground and an ideal opportunity for the scallop hunters, apparently the site is just outside the nature reserve (well almost). With lots of surface current to push the SMB's along, everyone managed a real drift dive for once, with the final group almost making it back to Kimmeridge on their own power. With still a little current in the afternoon, it was decided to have a leisurely dive along the nature trail, which seemed to please most, judging by the length of dive times of around 60 minutes.
This weekend found us diving out of Teignmouth, a new site for most of us, but all were up to the challenge of trying somewhere different. The general plan was simple for Sunday (yes there was one!) to arrive early, do a scenic dive in the morning starting at 22 or 24 metres. This would be followed by a good surface interval in order that we could dive the Perrone on slack water, a French cable layer, which lies in 32 metres of water. On arrival (at the wrong slip) "plan B" started to take shape, with the portable GPS safely tucked up in bed at the Marchant household, we regrouped at the right slip, while Bob negotiated with the local dive shop. On his return we were set, the dive shop were diving the SS Bretagne in the morning and offered us the use of their shot. So once Pete returned from duties in the near by "thunder box" we set off for the SS Bretagne a cargo ship full of coal, in approximately 25 metres. With a flat calm sea we scanned the sea for anything that looked like a dive boat, and there it was about a mile out of Teignmouth, shot in place and divers already down. With a quick check with the hard boat skipper we dropped on to the Galicia, which is 15 metres to the top and 18 metres to the deck. The wreck site is spread over a large area, the highest point is at 15 metres. There is a lot of life living on and around the wreck including wrasse, conger eels, lobsters and unique to this area; pink sea fans. Despite some of the confusion over where we actually were or what we dived everyone had a great dive with lots to see, with Ken and Bob taking shot recovery to the extreme, bringing a 56 pound weight up on a SMB lift bag. With lunch over, it was decided to dive the "SS Bretagne" again! as previously there was lots of fishing boats on it and we could find that, however no luck the boats were gone. So the second dive was easy, stop the boat, fall in and have a look, the most interesting thing on the second dive was watching Ken & Bob's SMB's as they drifted apart before surfacing alone, if you have ever walked on a north Cornwall beach, then enough said.
With Tony at the dive marshal helm, he planned a trip down to Plymouth, camping this time at Brixton, just few miles from Plymouth. All the planning done, slack water calculated, we set off from Trowbridge at 7:30, amazingly we encountered little traffic on our way to Mount Batten Marina. With good conditions we headed out to Hilsea Rock in search of scenic gullies and drop off's; with only a few charter boats about, we dropped a shot and both pairs had a great dive with good viz, there was lots to see, star fish, those spikey round things etc. With the afternoon diving done we headed back for a late lunch, with a hungry Janet "Schumacher" driving us back to Mount Batten. After lunch and realising time was quickly elapsing we decided to head off for our second dives on the Mew Stone, with the second pair starting their "night dive" some time after 18:30. So after a quick call to Pete and Ian to let them know we were running late, they bravely endured a couple of cold ones in the Mount Batten bar, as the boat arrived back some time around 20:00. With the tents finally up by 21:30 we rested in the pub after a good day.
The biggest issue of the day was breakfast; with Tony's new gas cooker ready and enough food to feed the entire club, at least 6 bottle openers between us, but NO MATCHES. Eventually some other campers took pity on us and gave us some matches, so a cooked breakfast was possible and the healthy option safely avoided. With six divers and one boat we decided to go for one good dive each to avoid another late finish, we dropped the first three onto the James Egan Layne where the viz was excellent although busy. The remaining three headed back out to Hilsea Rock for another scenic dive; which once again delivered. Safely back at Mount Batton for Tony's de-brief and feedback for the weekend, Pete raised a valid point over a preference to crispy bacon (rather than the chunky stuff supplied, thanks Tony) although the sausages and burgers passed the test, (brought to you by Wiltshire Country Fayre. The only real blip for the weekend was a puncture to Pete & Tony's boat, picked up on the return trip some how.
For the few that stayed on Monday, a shore dive from Hope Cove completed another good weekend of diving.
Yet another sunny weekend for once and with 9 divers keen to make the most of the weather we set off to Kimmeridge, with two boats and a doughnut. And yes; once again we decided to look for that elusive wreck the Black Hawk, Sunday was our lucky day, with 2 other shot lines on the wreck already. Although Tony, always up for the challenge decided to put his own shot line in just to make sure. With a firm surface current we dropped the first 3 ready on BWM down stream of the shot, but even a pair of mares fins are unable to defy physics. Second time around they were on the shot and down to the wreck where visibility was pretty good helped no doubt by that current. The next pair in found the shot and the wreck (you see it does exist Pete H) having seen most of the wreck, they decided to have a drift back to Kimmeridge. The others were not so lucky and opted for a drift dive from the start, so the Black Hawk remains unseen by a few, sorry Bob. Whilst having a leisurely lunch Pete and Tony were out playing on the doughnut finishing just in time for a gentle exploratory drift dive on the point of the bay area.
No echo sounder one radio and a GPS with a mind of its own, what could possibly go wrong? In fact apart from John taking his usual scenic route via Honiton, everyone met up in the car park early ready to dive. Apparently John's road atlas was first published some time before the A303 was built, John is on the look out for a "Janet & John A to Z" please help. So with no echo sounder working, a quick vote and we decided to dive the "baggy" twice being fairly sure of the depth. With a shot line attached to the wreck and a little current, all divers managed not only to find the wreck, but stay on it, even John. As usual the "baggy" did not disappoint, with pretty good viz, not too busy and stacks of fish to swim through and around. Then it was straight back for a quick lunch and back out for another good dive and once again everyone found and stayed on the wreck, no drift dives today unlike the charter boats using our shot.
Another trip to Portland for the few that braved the weather reports; for once the shipping forecast seemed to be a little wayward. So with conditions pretty calm out there, we headed off to try Grove point, which provided a slight drift dive over some interesting rocks. So much so that after a quick lunch break we set off once again to a similar spot a Grove point. All in all, a good day's diving for everyone and all finished by three o'clock. From: ian (Original Message) Sent: 15/07/2003 17:28 Sunny but windy, could describe Tony who was running the dive, but that was the weather, we decided not to beat through the waves to reach the St Dunstan and decided to drop the non trainees onto Saw tooth ledges which Tony was confident of finding having been there for the last three weeks! The local hard boat skipper was so fed up of seeing him he rammed B.W.M causing some damage ( to be paid for)! The Instructors and trainees did some training around High Ground then back for lunch and a chance to watch John B showing off to the surrounding divers and tourists with some small boat gymnastics!!! All out to dive Pollack Rock p.m which was a great second dive, loads of life and some more training. Tony enjoyed it so much he gobbed and hit me full in the face after surfacing, Lovely, Diving officers privilege he said, Git!
Where do I start? This week we set off to dive out of Lyme Regis, 16 divers including 4 guests and 3 boats. It was a fine sunny morning, with everyone arriving early and keen to get out and dive, (apart from Sean who clearly lives in some parallel time zone). After a quick briefing from our joint marshal's Tony and Ken, taken from the Glastonbury management handbook, we were set. First dive was Saw Tooth Ledges some 5 miles out of Lyme Regis, which everyone found, with good visibility and lots to see. Mean while back on the boats waiting for their first dive in shallower waters some were starting to suffer from the rolling boats. With all the first dives out the way, we tried to head back for lunch and terra-firma for those still suffering (Pete H), but "Jaffa" was now down to one engine. So it was a late lunch arriving back a Lyme Regis some time after 2 o'clock. After lunch things were starting to look better, the sea was calming, so we headed back out again this time with just 2 boats looking for the "baggy", Tony dropped a shot in almost as soon as he hit the marks (a lucky hit obviously) our luck had changed. Everyone kitted up and another great dive with lots of life was had by almost everyone! Ken & Paul however clearly had other ideas, they dropped on to the wreck, stepped back to admire the view and promptly drifted off the wreck. But even so I'm sure they had lots to see as the drifted around the edges of the wreck. So with all the divers back on board we headed back to Lyme Regis, some time after 6 o'clock, only to discover that the trailer lock for BWM was stuck. Then the fun really started, searching for spare keys, WD40, contacting 24 hour lock smiths (that don't work Sunday's). In the end the harbour master came to our rescue from the local pub with his universal key (4lb hammer) and freed the lock. So finally at some time after 8 o'clock the final boat was recovered and on its way home, a long day for the boat towers!!!
Another trip down to Kimmeridge to may be finally locate the wreck of the Black Hawk, after a shaky start of not being quite sure if we could get all the boats there, all seemed to be going OK. Bob as Chairman played the "no phone card?" for the first time this year, so we were all set with 12 diver's wanting to make the trip. Having all arrived safely, on time and at the right location, we were then informed by the Coast Guard that the ranges were closed due to firing and would not open until 13:00. So once again the Black Hawk was going to elude Bradford divers. All was not lost as we were able to find an alternative dive site (obviously part of the plan B dive plan prepared at great length the night before) round to the left a bit. A few of us were lucky enough to see a couple of Common Ray's and on the whole everyone seemed to have a good dive. Unfortunately for Bob, he forgot to play the most important card of all "the non leaking dry suit card". So after a lazy lunch sitting in the sun, we set off with a dedicated Cox (thanks Bob) and dived the nature trail which as always did not disappoint.
at bit late I know......... Just an even eight managed the trip last weekend, with Rich H not diving, but organising everyone and speeding in the harbour (no wake please) For the first time in ages the visibility was good and even better there was a lot to see. While Ken and Pete were diving they reportedly watched as a fish took the bait from a fisherman's hook, although Ken was actually trying to take a bite himself, but the fish was quicker!! New dry suits were tested for the first time and seemed to be working OK, which was a little disappointing, as some of us prefer the semi-dry dry suit!
A great turn out this weekend with 17 divers keen to explore the Hood and a drift dive in the bay. Unusually the visibility on the Hood was quite good, nearly 5 metres in places wow! Thanks to Caroline for organising and marshalling the day, with 3 boats and 17 divers to manage, a lot to do, but everything worked OK For those of us that have experienced Pete & Tony's boat (below & above the surface), with a new prop fitted its now working fine. However in order to remain in the limelight, Pete has moved into pre-season dry-suit servicing, please contact Pete for further information on how he can improve your early season dives!
Our two day bank holiday trip to Burgh Island was cut short by; yes unreliable weather. Instead we opted for a Hope Cove shore dive, driving down in Paul's bus trying to out run Ken's Jeep took a mere 2 hours. Visibility improved throughout the morning, hence Tony (dive marshal) offered to provide shore cover first, probably from the comfort of the bus. No pub lunch on the way back though, just a brief trip to Trago Mills (for some unknown reason) and an insight into Tony's text messaging skills! If that's any thing to go by don't expect to read the dive marshal report until October!
After all the careful planning leading up to Sunday and considering all the options, the weather had the final say. With a forecast range of Force 4 to 8 an inland site was the only option left, for those hardy enough to dive. This weekend was the busiest so far, with 12 members making the trip down to see the delights of Vobster Quay. Those not training managed to find the newly sunken 40ft boat which is apparently the "highlight" and not to be missed, leaving those training a chance to see the odd car or bike amongst the silt. Vobster Quay even provides suitable conditions for next test trial Tony's boat
Last weekend we actually managed to get two boats wet, the day started well enough using Paul's local knowledge of the A350 (don't worry the road is still open Wilson), anyway after a detour towards Kimmeridge we finally arrived at Portland. The weather looked ideal, with the sea flat and calm, the perfect condition to test the boats out. Tony obviously took this as a personal challenge, testing his and Pete's boat to the extreme (sorry Pete!!), if nothing else he proved that RIB's really are very difficult to sink!! however hard you try. As for the diving, everyone enjoyed yet another near tropical dive at Durdle pier followed by a relaxing spin around the dredger, to finish of another good day. Not to be out done by Tony's boat handling skills, Ken managed to flood his torch, if you need a job doing.... After the mornings diving everyone from Tony's boat, took a long lunch as Tony set off once more with Ken to test that boat, Tony was last seen washing off the boat with a couple of gallons of petrol.......
The first two diving experiences of 2003 are now safely in the log book. So far both trips to Chesil beach, just to confirm that, yes the water is cold (verified by Ian's new shinny Suunto Vyper, 8 oC apparently if anyone's interested yawn!!!!!!) Ken even managed to find and harass at least one "dog fish" still living at Chesil, although finishing in the pub on Sunday proved equally enjoyable