Newsletter 4 – October 2005

Dive report - 7/8/9 October 2005– Plymouth

The only dive in October and a very enjoyable weekend.

Some of us headed down on the Thursday – some took a lot longer than others by going South then West instead of South West! But they did at least avoid Southampton…..!

The plan was always to dive the James Egan Layne and the Scylla at some point over the weekend and luckily some of us got two dives on each.

Ever since I’ve been in the club I’ve heard mention of this infamous wreck (JEL), which turns out to be the most dived wreck in Britain

Day 1 Friday’s diving was calm, warmish and very quiet, we had the wrecks to ourselves. There were only 6 of us and the viz was good.

The Wreck of the Scylla – obviously extremely intact as it only went down in 2004, we swam along the deck –it is impressive. There is plenty of marine growth, although not a lot of fish. I did ‘spot’ my first John Dory and there were also wrasse, cod and some starfish.

2^nd dive was on The Wreck of the James Egan Layne – A lot of structure, some broken up due to over usage perhaps? You can hit the bow at 6m and the wreck sits very high off the sea bed - huge sides! Another John Dory spotted (or the same one?), a few crabs, wrasse, a smooth hound and small shoals of fish (sorry didn’t have fish ID slate with me).

Somehow one diver managed three dives today because of a weight check problem – nothing to do with all the pot noodles eaten.

Because these wrecks are not too tidal you get back earlier than usual and a nice touch was the B&B providing a light snack on our return – pies, quiches etc scrummy.

Day 2 Unfortunately the weather played a part on the Saturday. Our numbers had swelled to 8 with Mick and John joining us but the combination of wind and rain made for an unpleasant journey to The Wreck of the Scylla – resulting in some no dives. Mick was heard to say I’m never diving in England again! John almost got in. Everyone got wet today although it wasn’t necessarily in the sea!

On the basis that you are better in than out, some of us jumped in. On this dive me and my buddy headed to the bottom. The viz was not as good as yesterday, thanks to the weather, but it was still ok. We swam along the keel poking our heads into the various compartments and swim throughs (going through the odd one). There was a big conger under a plate at the stern and you can swim under the rudder /keel section. A lot of water movement made the safety stop very interesting (bouncy! bouncy!).

And then there were 2, the 2^nd dive was the Breakwater Fort just inside the Plymouth Breakwater. The weather took its toll and only two ‘hardcore’ divers ventured around the fort - a dive to around 10m round the bottom of a Martello tower – loads of junk, a couple of small wrecks and loads of pipes or were they cannon barrels?

Viz was atrocious in places if you kicked up the silt – (don’t stray from the fort) but otherwise a couple of meters was the norm. Some conger, wrasse, crabs, gobies and starfish could be seen. After the dive Mark F said to me “that was really Sh1t” – er we were still down for 40 minutes!

So the first dive – a different wreck today The Wreck of the Rosehill. A flattened wreck in the 30m range. Despite inaccurate nitrox fills for some divers, which could have restricted depth, there were no problems. The fact that a fishing boat was on the wreck gave cause for some concern but in we went. There was good viz on one part of the wreck, yet other divers had poor viz. Plenty of ling and conger on this wreck and two divers came across a large bone – er shall we stay away from this area? On a personal note, this turned into a ‘proper’ decompression dive and as I was diving on air, I was caned with ascent time and deco stops. A 20 minute dive (descent and bottom time) was followed by 12 minutes of ascent and deco. Ouch! It was a really good dive although we knew it was time to come up when we found the fishing lines bobbing up and down and we didn’t fancy becoming the catch of the day. In hindsight perhaps we should have given the lines a tug!

The second dive was back on The Wreck of the James Egan Layne – the weather was a bit rougher and the viz was not so good - did the stern section this time then had to locate the main part of the ship 10m away on a compass bearing. Followed the sides and deck of the ship – same aquatic life as before plus a dogfish.

Conclusion - a good weekend bearing in mind most of us had not dived at Plymouth before. Plenty of nightlife as well for those that want it – apparently John R appeared very keen to visit the Barbican area of Plymouth as he heard there were a few 'sights' to be seen. More keen in fact than going diving. An eye opening experience apparently!

Lessons to be learned

l Ebay – Caveat emptor or whatever - beware of buying torches off ebay they are liable to flood (although this may have been an isolated incident).

l And with those modern green force umbilical torches – make sure you remember you need all the other parts as well as the battery to use it!

l Non diving related – Oil - before a long journey check your oil but remember to replace the filler cap otherwise oil can leak onto the B&Bs driveway as well as all the way down the A303. Also on a motorbike keep the dipstick tight otherwise oil can leak onto the B&Bs driveway and as for a van with a dodgy oil filter - oil can leak onto the B&Bs driveway. Needless to say the B&Bs driveway needed some degreasing and I’m sure our hosts got the impression that because we live near Dagenham we drive knackered old fords (or is that just mine?).

HSD NEWS

October 30 saw the second batch of sea cadets do their ‘try dives’. The assistance is appreciated – a big thanks to all the club members that gave their time in preparing the kit, taking the cadets in the pool and putting the kit back. The treasurer was reportedly seen smiling again because of the numbers in the pool.

Saturday November 26 Fireworks at the farm £7 a ticket per adult includes supper.

Friday December 9 (not Sat 10^th) – Dive Club Xmas do – Railway Pub – Hornchurch

Tickets are on sale £10 each includes Buffet, DJ

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