|
2003 Camswan Wreck - Sandown Bay - 4th October 2003 Diving from DSV "Olna". Wreck is
18.9m at low tide, allow 20m for high. Gas mix 36%, single
cylinder. I have dived this wreck many times over the past 6 years and
it is always good with marine life, lobsters and visibility. Buddy
Steve and I found a lobster soon after clearing the shot line, and many
wrasse, pollock and pout swimming round. There is a pinnacle on the
bow section that rises to nearly 14m with huge chains round it. The
wreck is broken up somewhat and cannot be entered. Viz 6m, sometimes more.
Also dived this wreck on 14th July 2001 with Keith Lawrence from UKRS.
Viz quite good at 4-5 m but quite dark. Princes Shoal Drift Dive Diving again from Olna. Princess Shoal is just east of Bembridge, IOW. Steve and I dropped in, and got to the bottom. Viz wasn't very good, 2-3m but hey, we're here now. There are a few obstructions (nothing to worry about, just low walls) but the lobsters are fairly frequent - we saw 4 in all. If the viz had been a bit better the dive would have been superb. Max depth 13.9m.
Lulworth Cove - 6th August 2003 Max depth on this shore dive is 6m. Allow plenty of time to get there before 10am, as the road to the beach is closed in the summer from April to September. When Buddy Tony and I arrived at 9 it was very foggy and there were 3 people on the beach. We eventually, after 1.5 hours, got in the water coz I didn't want to lose sight of the shore on the dive. Tony lost his digital camera for 15 minutes but luckily he found it then we did a surface swim out to a moored dinghy to try and get some depth below 3m. First dive went well, 6m - we had alot of weed to navigate and the compass work we both did was good. Viz was much better at depth and out from the beach area. Tony's a bit heavy on air and got to 120 whilst I still had 170, so we turned back and did some more compass work. All in all a good bimble with lots of navigation. Second dive was much better. We went a different way across the bay and ended up on the scallop sands and managed to get a dozen or so scallops. Viz 6-10m. we had to surface once on the return because some stupid horrible child decided that he was going to pull on Tony's smb so we surfaced, but as we were only at 3m going for the shore it was just irritating. We went down again but after a bit I signalled problems with my regulator. I swapped to my octopus but it had the same problem, they were both sucking water, so I tried to purge them several times to see if either of them had cleared. They hadn't :-( So. What about the dive tomorrow at Vobster ? No regs :-( I phoned www.O-view.co.uk and spoke to Dennis who said he would loan me a set of regs FOC from the dive school, only 3 months old, and he'd fix my regs that had taken in some sand. I also dived this site on 15th March 1998.
Vobster – 22nd April 2003 Click here to see Dive
Profiles Having researched viz reports before the day, I was
told that Vobster would be a “waste of money” and “crap viz” from a
few people. Well, the viz was
an incredible 6 metres. I was told by the person who took my money
that they had only 14 divers over the Easter weekend. I
arrived there just after 9am and my buddy Steve (Jones) arrived just after.
First in the water, we planned and dived the new sunken 42ft boat, quite
good, viz was 4 – 5 m at 20m, then along to the wall where we deployed our
buoys at 14m and could see the surface whilst we watched them go up.
There were 10 or so divers there throughout the day, one pair practicing a
cave dive through the tunnel. On the next dive I wasn't sure about the
tunnel, I went into it for about a metre and came out again but will
probably do it next time. (Not exactly the Mexican Cenotes is it ?) Wraysbury Lake, near London Heathrow, Friday 4th April 2003 – First two dives of the year Buddy : Keith Manning. Weather : Stunning. Not a cloud in the sky, air temperature 18 degrees plus Water Temperature : 8 degrees (Our computers said the minimum was 6 degrees) Our “Icebreaker” for this year, Keith and I pondered on this lake or Lulworth Cove as a first dive. Having done freshwater diving in Westhamptnett Lake (near Chichester) a couple of summers ago it was pleasant to do fresh water again. However I have never been in the water at this temperature. But, overall, Wraysbury is a good start for a first dive of the season, check things out, realise how heavy all the kit is and how much of it you need, all this in comparison to diving in, say, Mexico. My main purpose was to deploy my new self inflating dsmb I bought at the dive show and to use my new dive bag. Met up with Keith at the site, it looked like we were to have the pond to ourselves. We registered as lifetime members (new procedures) with the Dive Centre and started talking about our dive plan. There are quite a few objects that have been sunk in the lake of interest, according to the chart. Keith was prepared with all the navigational paperwork and we decided to enter on the steps, look at the bus and the milk float, then out to the container and back to the platform with steps, our exit point. The lovely coloured chart, by the way, is not to scale. We started to kit up and I’d got my trusty blue trolley to carry the bottles and stuff. An essential piece of kit for me. We went and looked at the entry point to find out how the viz was and to feel the water temperature. Keith said “it doesn’t feel that cold to me” so I looked at him, smiled, and put my fingertips in the water and thought I was going to faint at how cold it was, but of course I didn’t really show my feelings and just mumbled with a brave face “yes I know what you mean” or something equally as stupid. What I actually thought was “Christ, it’s bloody freezing”. It was at this point I realised that a good idea would be to wear my lifetime Marks and Spencer Fleece I live in over the top of the 100 thinsulate. I am very pleased I’d bought it with me. So, we struggled into the kit, did our checks and I’d decided to put my fins on in the water, it was easier. Always check your fins are on properly. Next, buoyancy check. Keith was fine, I wasn’t. Try as I could I couldn’t get down, even Keith tried to pull me. So I had to go back for another 2 kilos, of which I had conveniently placed on the water’s edge by the entry point just in case. I was also pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t at all cold. I thought I’d cracked it, we started off on our navigational bearing according to Keith’s slate and his compass. I checked my compass too. Viz wasn’t too bad, better than Horsea on a weekday. We completely missed the bus and the milk float, but saw a huge Pike. Keith was going along a bit too fast to get a good look and fanned his hands to stop, which immediately stirred up the silt. No more Pike. So then we had no idea where we were. It was at this point that my left fin strap came off. I managed to secure it but then the right fin decided to come off completely and I panicked a bit trying to get hold of it in the worsening viz. I signalled to go up (we were at about 6m). Also at the back of my mind I wondered where the hell we were. My ascent and buoyancy were absolute crap, my dive computer screaming at me. Up and down I went, letting the air out as much as I could in my suit blah blah blah……..at the surface we sorted it out. I’d not put the fins on correctly. There is a little bobble just at the heel of the drysuit boots where the fin strap has to be over the bobble, as I know, as I have worn my fins many times correctly before. So, down we went again, looking at the slate for the bearings for the next object. The first thing we noticed was a huge anchor that wasn’t on the chart. Then, nothing. After 25 minutes in the water I suddenly started to get very cold, so we decided to ascend near the edge of the bank. Out on the platform we de-kitted and left everything there except the bottles which needed re-filling. One hour break, then the next cunning plan was discussed to improve our navigational skills. This time, the Black Cab and the Listing Sharon were pencilled on to the slate. Then, back to one of the training 5m platforms where we were going to put up our buoys. Well, we not only found a taxi but a huge statue, something else that isn’t on the chart. Had a look in the taxi, then found an old plastic dinghy, then a scooter. We never found the Listing Sharon. Still, we found the Camper Van and some other strange sculptures not on the chart. Unchartered wrecks, no doubt, and there are plenty of those in this pond. Then the 5m platform. If there was one stunning story about this little tale is that my new self inflating buoy and Keith’s dsmb deployed without hitch and with success, so there was at least one highlight of the day. Keith then reported that his hands were very cold as he’d changed his gloves from his thick 5mm to 3mm. In final conclusion I would go back to Wraysbury without hesitation. It’s cheap – a day’s diving and one air fill is £7.50 including tea or coffee. But, bring your own lunch as there didn’t seem to be much on offer at the Centre, no wonder as we and two other divers were the only people there. But, I wouldn’t go on a weekend – a Wednesday, Thursday or a Friday is ideal as it’s the best viz. What I have discovered personally is that I am not interested in diving anything below 8 degrees either, so that has saved me the cost of a new thinsulate 300 or equivalent. 2002 Sunday 1st September,
Waldren’s Drift, 14.3m 14.3 max depth. I hadn’t done drift dive for a while since Weymouth in June so this was welcome. No nerves this time and Keith and I had spent a good hour talking about our plan and how to go about it. What worked was this: Sunday morning I obtained some soft plaited rope from our yard at home about 12mm thick and heat sealed the ends. Tying a bowline to the SMB and another bowline in the end to make a loop meant that we were not “tied” but attached to not lose each other. This time Dave didn’t need to help me with my gloves. I’ll be independent one day. He put the SMB in the water after we splashed in and after a couple of minutes whilst Keith sorted his reel etc we got to the bottom. Varied sea bed, large boulders you swim around and things to see. Viz not so good – 4-5m but good enough. I found a huge scallop and put it back. We saw lots of dogfish, crab and the usual wrasse. The tide, as it was neaps, was hardly 1 knot so we finned and thoroughly enjoyed the whole dive. I thought at the stop on the way up about the hot chocolate that would greet me on the boat!
Mullbery Wreck, 31st August 2002 Pagham Bay. This is the first time for me with Dave Applin’s boat Eclipse on their new charter RIB from Selsey. Always nervous about a boat I haven’t been on, my first impression was that it would more than do the job of taking divers out in a comfortable scenario with adequate room. Arriving at the site after a 30 knot whisk my new buddy Keith Manning, (whom I had contacted through the Dive Eclipse diver’s Q & A forum) we discussed our dive plan again and Dave helped me on with my second glove (nice man is Dave) and we splashed in over the side. The wreck is buoyed and maintained by Dave and the chain is quite thick. Near the bottom of the shot there are some sharp concrete enforcements which have to be avoided. The viz was fantastic IMO. 10m ! Keith had done this dive twice before so he was leading. We started heading north-east from the shot to the main part of the wreck, which is basically a concrete oblong mass that used to be a floating harbour in the war, that has broken up. Marine life, shoals of different fish, corals and dead mans fingers are abundant in this wreck which has a voluntary “ecosite” order on it, which means, take nothing, leave only bubbles. Some areas where other divers had been the viz shortened to 5m but this wasn’t a problem for us. The wreck is approximately 58 metres long and we managed to get round it twice. There are other bits of wreck to see off the site that are now marked by ropes (courtesy of Dave again). Would make a very interesting night dive knowing what I do of the cuttlefish and squid that come down at certain times of the year and it is definitely a dive I would do again and again. Ideal for novices and a good second dive for experienced alike. Hopefully there are photos to follow, but I can’t be sure! The only surprise was that when we boarded the boat we were offered hot drinks – tea, coffee and hot chocolate with biscuits! Luis Wreck, 3rd
August 2002, Ventnor Bay, IOW
Boxer Wreck, 3rd
August 2002, Sandown Bay, Isle of Wight. Excelsior Wreck, 14th
July2002, Langstone
Harbour, Portsmouth, 13.4m. Durdle Door, 18/19th June 2002, off Weymouth. 20m drift. Unfortunately the viz may have been good at the top but sadly not at the bottom - about 2m at best. Lots of scallops too ! Last time I did this dive in 2001 it was 18m viz. My husband wanted a scallop feed which I was able to provide but only managed 36 mins on the bottom on the first, and 20 mins on the second. No viz on the second. Buddy Darren Porter. Velox, 14th July 2001 Solent. 15m ? Didn't have the computer so borrowed one off
Buddy Keith Lawrence. Udder Rock, 23rd June
2001. Cornwall James Egen Layne Wreck, 23rd
June 2001. Cornwall. Basket Rock, 22nd
June 2001 & 18th September 2003. Hannafore, Looe, Cornwall. 5m. Desperate to get in the water before hospital appointment in August 2001. Viz about 3m. 12th June. Westhampnett Fresh Water Lake,
Chichester, Sussex. 6m. Dives # 65 & 66 6th June, Ore Wreck (or near it) off
Littlehampton, Sussex. 20.5m. Dive #63
|
