BSAC 42 - A Hitchhikers Guide to the Sub Aquatic

Committee Meeting Notes - 8 March

2012-03-09T12:01:00.002-08:00

We had another Committee Meeting on 8th March and the following points and actions were discussed:

- A Dive Manager's Pack containing details relevant to the dive and the club phone will be put together - to be circulated to each dive's DM

- Dive Managers will be appointed now for the rest of the season based on the dive list to give members visibility in advance

- All members should contact the club phone the evening before a dive to find out whether the dive is still on. The DM will keep the club phone. Club phone number: 07518398845

- The website has been updated with Hints & Tips, Training Schedule, updated joining fees, new committee details and updated Dive Schedule (thanks Brett!!)

- Dive list for first dive of the season (Shoreham - April 1st) was reviewed

- Attendees and instructor support for the open water inland dives in March (17th & 24th) were discussed

- James from our favourite dive shop, Amphibian, was invited to join us one Wednesday evening to show off some of his new kit and to give new members the opportunity to ask questions and get advice about kit. Wednesday 11 April has been provisionally agreed for him to come down

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, ideas or offers of support (always welcome!), please get in touch with any member of the committee.

LDC Lectures at the Royal Geographical Society

2012-02-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

Clive organised some tickets for us to spend the evening at the London Dive Chamber lectures at the Royal Geographical Society. This evening’s speakers were Rick Stanton (world record cave diver) and Monty Halls (TV presenter and all-round nice guy).

Although a couple of us had seen Rick Stanton before a couple of years ago at DIVERSE his talk was still very interesting and went over the further diving he has done in the Pozo Azul cave system in Spain. With a cave dive of almost 10,000 m it’s pretty impressive although most of the club decided they wouldn’t sign up for the trip just yet.

Monty gave us a brief overview of his presenting gig on the BBC production ‘The Great Barrier Reef’. This was a really entertaining presentation as all of Monty’s are and the bloopers reel at the end was a real giggle. He followed it with a few pictures and a taster on his latest job working as a Cornish fisherman for 6 months which is due to be on TV soon. This looks to be a great insight into the small boat fishermen on the Cornish coast. One to look out for.

These evenings have always been in support of the ScubaTrust, helping divers with disabilities and we got a chance to hear from Barry, a tetraplegic who learnt to dive with Scuba Trust and we even got to see a short film of Barry diving in the Red Sea which really goes to show the great work that the Scuba Trust. Following on the back of our Try-Dives with Aspire this really goes to show how we can help to make a difference.

All in all a great evening followed by a beer at a local establishment before catching the train home.

Bermondsey AGM – 1st February

2012-02-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

Apologies for absence from members.

Chairman’s Opening Remarks

Talked about our Try-Dive with Aspire
Discussed our attempts to forge links with FUSION about publicising the club
Also discussed that when emails come out to the membership that it would be useful to get some kind of response even if it is a no, just to know that people have got the email

Diving Officers Report

Talked about last year’s dive schedule
Joint dives with DAGSAC and noted that there are 2 joint dives at Brighton carried over from last year
There is also a deposit from the cancelled Dover dive that still needs to be refunded to us
We’re diving some different dive sites this year, Shoreham, Salcombe, Swanage training weekends

Training Officers Report

It’s been a good year with plenty of training going on both lectures and practicals
TO reminded all trainees that if lectures and practicals are arranged for them then they need to attend or at least let people know if they are not coming
The training schedule will be set up within the next couple of weeks and the training records will be available on the internet so that members and instructors can check the lectures and practicals they require
The club have also been quite lucky with instructors helping out with training and hope this will continue for the next year

Membership Secretary Report

Club are now approaching 44 members, 30+ active divers which means that we are doing well but need to keep up the momentum
Due to the increase in member numbers we need to be a lot better at look after members data and as such on all club related emails from now on only the committee email addresses will be shown and all others hidden. This is to safeguard your information and also should cut down on the number of one word emails that bounce around sometimes.
If any member wants to contact the club then they should email a committee member and they will forward it out to the club distribution list.
The club will be following the BSAC guide lines for Data Protection.

Equipment Officers Report

Currently have 6 complete sets of kit along with a BC and regulator but no gauge or octopus. This has been down to a number of members selling or donating kit to the club
Any members with spare kit that they no longer require and would like to donate please contact the equipment officer.
As part of our commitment to training and member safety, all the club kit will go in for servicing, although it will be staggered to allow for training to continue.

Treasurers Report

With the increase in members our financial situation is better than it has been in recent years.
The pool hire is going to be increasing sometime soon although with the current membership this should be manageable so club subs will stay at the same level for this year.
As with last year we will not be rolling over any deposits with skippers so that at the end of each season we have all monies in the branch.

Nominations and Elections

There were a number of nominations for the committee this year but after all the votes were counted the only change was in the Training team where Brett became Training Officer and Clive became Assistant Training Officer.

After thanks to Teresa for the use of her Hall we retired to the Queen Vic for a post-meeting pint.

Try Dive with Aspire

2012-02-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

So we managed to get through our first Try-Dive with Aspire without losing anyone and judging by the write up on their website we did quite a good job.

There were so definete points of improvement but once we got started it really went well.

Hopefully we'll be able to make a diffrence to some people and if it gets them into diving as well them its all good.

The aspire write up can be found here Aspire Write Up and below are some of the comments that got forwarded through to us from the staff at Aspire.

'Scuba - diving was awesome, great way to have a first go - there are lot's of people who I think would be up for trying it.'

'Thanks very much for the opportunity yesterday, it was good to experience how the equipment feels, I did find the breathing a little strange but think I could get used to it. I think it would be great to have a longer session and maybe even run one of the first courses available perhaps over a day or weekend.'

'Thankyou for the experience.. was wicked.. I woulda stayed there hours if had had the time.... BRILLIANT...'

'Thanks for organising the Scuba session! It was excellent and I hope to do some more... maybe in Egypt next time!'

Wreck Count 2011

2011-09-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we set our sights on knocking off 55 different wrecks this year as its the clubs 55th year and we've not done too bad. I still have some to add from those dives I wasn't on but so far we're not doing too bad.

SMS Dresden - Scapa Flow

SMS Karlsrhue - Scapa Flow

Cotavia - Orkney Islands

El Gran Griffon - Fair Isle

Gwladmena - Shetland Islands

Jane - Shetland Islands

E49 1st World War Submarine - Shetland Islands

SS Tonis Chandris - Shetland Islands

Wrangels Palais - Shetland Islands

Fujikawa Maru - Chuuk

Betty Bomber - Chuuk

Emily Flying Boat - Chuuk

Futagami Tugboat - Chuuk

Gosei Maru - Chuuk

Heian Maru - Chuuk

Hoki Maru - Chuuk

Hoyo Maru - Chuuk

Kansho Maru - Chuuk

Kiyosumi Maru - Chuuk

Nippo Maru - Chuuk

Rio de Janeiro Maru - Chuuk

San Francisco Maru - Chuuk

Sankisan Maru - Chuuk

Seiko Maru - Chuuk

Shinkoko Maru - Chuuk

Shotan Maru - Chuuk

I-169 Submarine - Chuuk

Sutsuki - Chuuk

Eisen 761 Tug - Chuuk

Unkei Maru - Chuuk

WMJ Pugh USN YFR - Chuuk

Yamagiri Maru - Chuuk

Yubae Maru - Chuuk

Kyarra - Swanage

SS Pomerania - Dover

HMS Brazen - Dover

City of Brisbane - Brighton

Hera - Mevagissey

Kanteong - Mevagissey

SS Persier - Plymouth

Glen Strathallen - Plymouth

James Eagan Layne - Plymouth

HMS Scylla - Plymouth

SMS Brummer - Scapa Flow

F2 - Scapa Flow

YC21 - Scapa Flow

SMS Markgraf - Scapa Flow

SMS Seydlitz - Scapa Flow

SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm - Scapa Flow

SMS Coln II - Scapa Flow

SMS Bayern Turrets - Scapa Flow

Tabarka - Scapa Flow

Pinnace - Scapa Flow

Emperor Fraser - Northern Red Sea

Kimon M - Northern Red Sea

Giannis D - Northern Red Sea

Chrisoula K - Northern Red Sea

Carnatic - Northern Red Sea

The Barge - Northern Red Sea

Rosalie Moller - Northern Red Sea

Ulysses - Northern Red Sea

Kingston - Northern Red Sea

Thistlegorm - Northern Red Sea

Yolanda - Northern Red Sea

Alex Van Opstal - Weymouth

Aeolian Sky - Weymouth

Oceana - Eastbourne

SS Salado - Lundy

Unnamed Barge - Guardalvaca, Cuba

UB 97, UB 106, UB 112, UB 128, UC 92 - Pendennis Point

MV Karwela - Gozo

SS Stavronikita - Barbados

Bajun Queen - Barbados

Pamir - Barbados

Eilon - Barbados

Berwyn - Barbados

Fox - Barbados

Ce-Trek - Barbados
Unnamed Fishing Boat - Kuredu Island, Maldives
Balena - Hurghada

Riding the Valkyrie! - Scapa 2011

2011-09-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

So I returned to Scapa! It felt like I'd been away for ages but it was actually only a year, almost to the day. However, this trip surpassed last years pretty much from the start.

Firstly the boat was nice, not just to look at but everything was where it made sense to be! There's a big dive deck, nice size lounge with flatscreen, dvd player and collection of dvds as well as the prerequisite dive magazines and some books. From the lounge you drop down a ladder to the sleeping deck with 6 two-bunk rooms which weren't any smaller than a Red Sea liveaboard except the beds were above one another.

Back upstairs, the enclosed walkway from bow to stern has a wire to hang your dry suit on between dives as well as cubby holes for your flipflops and bits. Then you carry on to the service area with the tumble-dryer and access to the other shower room, a hatchway to the engine-room (No Entry), door way to the wheelhouse and the kitchen/dining room at the stern.

We were met by Hazel (Skipper), Dug (the dog), Rob (boat boy) and the rest of the team who had come up earlier.

When we had our briefing Hazel told us that the weather might not be too great towards the middle of the week but we'd look and see what happened on the day, (remembering my last trip I was already planning trips to the Italian Chapel, Distilleries and Stone Circles) but the next couple of days would be fine. She also explained that Saturday was a fend for yourself day so we should go and find something to eat elsewhere and suggested the Ferry Inn. Its changed a bit since last year and to be honest, although it looked nice it was blooming expensive, beer and food all London prices which was a little disappointing.

The diving for the week was brilliant, all on twin 12's except for 4 on Inspiration rebreathers which meant we all had some bottom time on even the deeper wrecks. I know some of the club still talk about doing 50m dives on a 3lt Pony and still doing 20 minutes of deco but I took all the gas I could.

Sunday we did Brummer & F2, Monday Markgraf and Dresden, Tuesday Kronprinz Wilhelm & Tabarka, Wednesday Karlruhe and Seydlitz, Thursday Koln and Dresden, Friday Bayern Turrets and Gutter Sound.

The one day we thought we'd lose actually was really good and although a bit lumpy coming back onto the boat was all good. By the end of the week Rob was getting sick of asking me how the dive was as I loved every single one.

One of the reasons for this was that Hazel made her dive briefs so detailed and clear that I knew what i was seeing when I went down. Despite being here and doing some of the same dives as last year I saw things that I just didn't realise this time. I found the Armoured Control on ever boat that had one, we saw the guns, the swim throughs, did the penetration, got in, on and around all the wrecks in a way that I totally missed last year. I know that some of it was down to having longer bottom times but mainly it was down to know where to go, what to look for and what things would look like when I got there.

The other big plus about the trip was the food! Helen runs the galley and going hungry is just not going to happen on this boat, Lunch is always enormous, Dinner simply massive! Everything is freshly prepared and just superb. There was one diver who didn't eat meat and his food looked as good as ours and sometimes better! As one person mentioned it was like going on an eating holiday interspersed with a bit of diving!

All in all this has to be one of the best trips I've been on and I cannot wait to see what next year is like. I'm also going to keep my eye open for any slots that become available as I can't wait to come back.

A blog from Plymouth…… (Photo’s by other ?)

2011-09-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

by Kim Thomas

The Bermondsey BSAC trip to Plymouth in 2011 saw us try out a different charter from last year. This year we used “Explorer” from the Mountbatten Dive Charters, which operate their boat along with their own B&B.

What a bunch of divers

First impressions count, and with most us all arriving on Friday (at various times during the day), the B&B was probably the best B&B we have ever stayed in regardless of location. The accommodation, its cleanliness, the quality of breakfast (not a cheap and greasy!), the hosts, really were aspiring to match the quality of a boutique hotel! A really good start!!

The marina where the boat was located was a few minutes drive, or perhaps a brisk 10-15 minute walk. The air station was equally conveniently located being a few minutes walk from the boat mooring.

The Saturday saw breakfast at 8am, then a quick mosey along to get the kit on the boat. Car parked in a nearby free carpark, we were ready to depart. The wind was quite breezy, and the wave height, while not challenging in itself, the single hull, single prop boat did get tossed around a bit. Joe excelled himself at feeding the fishes!!

Would you like to touch my claws?

The first days diving saw us at the Persier at 30m followed by the Glen Strathallen at about 20m in the afternoon. The viz was brilliant! Brett found a dive reel with a bottle inflated SMB (worth about £100), in brand new spanking order…. Lars lined off the wreck with great urgency to find anyone with a big good bag. Following him back, we turned a corner to see the biggest lobster you have ever seen! In the end Lars was the only on who had a goodie bag, and it took Lars, Brett and myself to get the blighter into the bag. Mariette looked on in awe at this display of machismo!!!

Photo’s on the boat to prove, then the lobby was put back over the side…(the chances would be high that he would be a tough old beast to eat!!)

Sunday saw the weather improve, with the James Egan Layne and the Scylla on the agenda today. The viz was infinitely better than last year. The J.E L is a divers playground, and while is very different from the first time I dived this wreck in 1985, is still good fun! The Scylla was easy to penetrate, with easy routes to daylight. The skipper also unfortunately busted his GPS, and so lost access to all his marks. All dives would now need to be pre-shot….

Barry's new dive hood!

Monday saw the weather improve further still! The morning’s dive in the 30m deep channel to Devonport was a Scallop harvesting expedition, most coming up with a good haul!!. The second dive was back to the J.E. B, due to the GPS issue.

Another great dive, with a safety stop at 6m still on the wreck!

Packed all the kit and was home by 7.30pm or so!!

Swanage - 20th August 2011

2011-09-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

by Victor Grayson

10 club members made an incredibly early start for a day at Swanage. Again, everyone was at various levels of experience and the group included 3 of us currently training for our Sports Diver qualification.

The first dive – the wreck of the Kyarra (sunk in 1918) – was booked for 7.30am, with 9 of us diving from the catamaran Spike. After a very clear briefing from Pete the skipper, we arrived at the dive site, south of Swanage. I was buddied with Brett and was ready for my first dive in British seawater. Despite having a decent amount of experience diving abroad (albeit mostly on easy follow-my-leader holiday dives), the scare stories I’d heard about UK diving always being cold, dark, dull, dangerous and difficult made me apprehensive. I’m glad to report, however, that none of this proved true – entry was easy, one minor problem (a freeflowing octopus at the surface, which lost me 80 bar) was resolved quickly enough, visibility was better than I expected and with the water at 17-20°C it was not cold at all. And the Kyarra wreck is impressive – lots of holes, nooks and crannies to look into, a collapsed deck, and the thing is big – we had a good look around and still only saw about a quarter of it. Lobsters, a conger eel and plenty of fish were seen. Brett and I went down to 26 metres, clocked 35 minutes underwater, and ascended with a DSMB. Exit was easy thanks to a diver lift (truly, humankind’s greatest invention since the wheel) on the back of Spike.

Our second dive – also from Spike – was Peveril Ledges, where we used a DSMB throughout the entire 55 minute drift dive, reaching a maximum depth of 15.6 metres. I enjoyed this dive a lot, although some folks were disappointed at not finding scallops. Still, we saw plenty of crabs, and for me it was all good experience.

At 3pm most of us did a third dive under Swanage Pier, staying very shallow at 4.4 metres (we couldn’t have gone any deeper without a shovel), and seeing shrimp and lots of fish. One day I’ll dust off my guide to British sealife book and learn the names of all these creatures. The sun had come out in the afternoon, and was illuminating the sea floor either side of the pier – very atmospheric. Or hydrospheric, even.

On the surface, between dives, some of the group went down the road to forage and to listen to sea shanties at the Lifeboat Week event nearby. In the distance we could see the Bournemouth Air Show in progress. The set-up at Swanage Pier seems pretty good – the car park is properly marshalled, there are trolleys to use and the dive shop on the pier filled our cylinders between dives. And the place is popular – there were dozens upon dozens of divers visiting, many doing training around the pier, others going out on the several trips that Spike made that day.

The drive back – past the amazing Corfe Castle and adjacent village – is impressive, too. All in all, a successful day out, a great introduction to UK sea diving for 2 of us, great weather in the afternoon, and a chance for us Sports Diver trainees to get 3 dives signed off.

Training in muddy puddles!

2011-06-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

We tried out Holborough Lakes the weekend before Lundy.

This was a new site for all in the club although it is close to Leybourne which some people have used before.

The entrance to the lake is hidden away behind a petrol station and through a guard post as the area around the lake is being built on.

The lake is a reasonable size with a river feeding into it at the top and a weir at the bottom so there is a bit of flow but nothing that you really feel. You only really notice it when the novice you are diving with hits the bottom and disappears into a cloud of silt, as it soon drifts away. It has a good concrete ramp, a pontoon and a large kitting up area with tables.

There are a few platforms at different depths for training as well as various boats, cars, mopeds, tractor tyres which are all roped together so you can follow them round as well as being buoyed.

There is silt on about half of the bottom and the rest is clay and as long as you stay off the bottom then visibility is good. A good test of bouyancy and loads of life, mainly Perch some other small fish and tadpoles although Pike are reported as being in there somewhere.

Quite a few people turned up and we ended up with 9 divers and surface cover. All in all a good day as it was only half-an-hour away so we were all home early afternoon after 2 dives.

Thanks to Dave, Paddy & Steve for assisting and taking people in and thanks to Teresa, Joe, Victor, Ken & Anna for turning up.

Chuuk May 2011 - The Dave Rankin Story

2011-05-31T01:38:00.000-07:00

This is Dave's trip report on Chuuk, unfortunately he lost his photos but I'll get some from Andy and Ross and put them up on the website on their own gallery.

Monday 9^th May, the day has finally arrived when Andy and myself are off to Truk Lagoon. Months of talking about it, booking flights and stopover accommodation, packing and weighing bags, unpacking bags and discarding hopefully unnecessary kit and reweighing has come to an end – we are off.

First problem, I get a text from Andy saying that the M25 is at a standstill. Traffic reports say up to 2 hours delay. This is not good, we have a flight to catch. However, with a bit of luck he manages to get off the motorway and get to me via the lanes of Kent and Surrey, still not a lot of time to spare though.

We arrive at the airport, deposit bags and go for a coffee. So far so good. We say goodbye to my wife and go through security.

2^nd problem. My torch in my hand luggage causes problems. Because the x-ray machine cannot properly see the batteries, they want me to dismantle it. No problem I say, you get me the tools and I will gladly do so (my tools are now somewhere deep in the bowels of Heathrow along with the rest of my dive kit). First security man refers to his supervisor, who says ‘we need to see inside the torch’ I say ‘get me the tools etc etc’ , 2^nd security man says ‘I need to refer to my supervisor’ eventually after seeing and speaking to the 3^rd supervisor they agree to let me take the torch through in hand luggage. Hint, pad well and pack torches in hold luggage.

3^rd problem. Whilst all of the above is going on Andy discovers that he has left his sweat top in the coffee shop. I phone my wife, who manages to retrieve his top and give it to yet another security person who passes it through the x-ray machines and into the safe hands of Andy.

At last we board the plane for the non-stop overnight flight to Singapore. We have 3 seats for the 2 of us so we can stretch out a bit, watch some movies and try and get some sleep.

Hint, Singapore Air is just the best. If you are awake they feed you and provide drinks. Result!.

We have a two night stop-over in Singapore, and what a lovely place it is. We managed to cram in a fair bit in our time there, and it’s reasonably cheap to eat out if you avoid the restaurants, and go to the markets and eat with the locals. Curry and drink approx £2.

Thursday we transfer back to the airport for another Singapore Air flight to Manila. We discover the delights of a Singapore Sling. 2 of those go down very well, thank you very much.

At Manila we meet up with Ross who has flown out a day later via Qatar, and after multiple security checks, form filling, passport checking and rechecking we board the Continental flight to Guam. 3 hours of nightmare, seats are cramped, food is rubbish and the attitude of the attendants a complete turnaround compared with the Singapore Air girls. At Guam we transfer yet again to another Continental flight which will take us to Chuuk.

Same uncomfortable seats, same moody attendants, and an inflight meal (bacon roll) which was served with as much finesse as you would experience from a burger van at the side of the road.

At last we arrive at Chuuk airport – it’s hot! humid! and dusty.

We retrieve our bags and load them into a wagon for transport to our hotel for the night. The driver apologises for the state of the road, which is being dug up so they can put drains in. The speed limit on the island is 15mph, if you could do that it would be a miracle. I don’t suppose there was more than 10 metres of tarmac anywhere. Pot holes the size of bomb craters and full of water and nobody seems to care.

The Truk Stop Hotel, is basic, but appears to be clean (didn’t look too hard). So rather than stay around the hotel, the 3 of us go for a walk. The local kids are friendly, calling out to us from the ‘jungle’ that edges the road, always smiling and asking us to take photos of them – which we do – before giggling amongst themselves and running away. 3 local guys chop down coconuts and pass them to us so that we can drink the sweet milk inside, surprisingly refreshing.

Back at the hotel for a meal a couple of beers and an early night, but didn’t get too much sleep, thanks Ross!

Next morning, after breakfast, we transfer to the SS Thorfinn, an ex Norwegian whaling boat, which is lovingly looked after by the owner Captain Lance and his Chukese wife. Because there are only us 3 and a couple from Milton Keynes we get to have a cabin each, another result.

We unpack our dive gear and after a briefing by the skipper on dive rules and dive times we have lunch and then get ready for our first dive. Thorfinn offers up to 5 dives a day, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm. So fitting in the food, pastries and cakes at 6am, breakfast 7am, lunch 1pm and dinner 7pm and snacks in between times, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for catching the sun.

I am not going to give a description of each of the dives that we did, there are more than enough books and info on the Internet for me not to have to report on each of our dives. It is enough to say that I have seen more portholes, telegraphs, helms, light fittings, shell cases and ammo in one week than I have seen in all my other dives over the years put together.

By following our local dive guides, we penetrated deeper into the wrecks visiting engine rooms, cabins, holds, shafts and passages than we would have done if we were diving alone.

Each dive ended with at least a 2 minute stop at 18mtres, a 3 minute stop at 9 and a 10 minute stop at 6 , this is in addition to what was shown on our computers.

The longest Ross and myself hung on the line was approx 60minutes thanks to our Suunto Geeko computers which penalised us heavily if we ventured below 45 mtrs.

Day 1	Fujikawa Maru	28.9 mtrs	54 mins
	Betty Bomber	19.9	54
Day 2	Nippo Maru	39.1	44
	Kiyosumi Maru	26.9	65
	Sankisan Maru	25.2	67
	Emily Flying boat	16.8	35
Night dive	Sutsuki	14.5	45
Day 3	Hoki Maru	52.1	44
	Heian Maru	30.8	77
	Gosei Maru	36.7	49
	Futabami	22.4	55
Night dive	Hoyo Maru	24.5	51
Day 4	Seiko Maru	52.1	66
	Yamagiri Maru	30	52
	Unkei Maru	38	84
Day 5	Shotan Maru	45.5	41
	Kansho Maru	31.8	52
	Yubae Maru	28.2	42
	Tug Eisen 761	14.7	39
Night dive	Kiyozumi Maru	29.8	48
Day 6	San Francisco Maru	46.9	48
	Rio de Janeiro Maru	35.7	56
	Shinkoko Maru	34.1	44
	WMJ Pugh USN YFR	13.8	42
Night dive	Fujikawa Maru	28.6	50
Day 7	Submarine I-169	41.1	46
	Shark feeding	21	56

These are my max depths and my times, Andy and Ross will have recorded similar but different figures. On day 4 Ross and myself decided to let our computers de-fizz after the 3^rd dive, as they were requiring us to perform massive amounts of deco. which meant the others sitting in the boat for ages and us not getting much of a surface interval.

All of the transport to and from dive sites was by fast aluminium hulled ribs with twin 150hp engines pushing us along nicely so that each dive site was no more than 15minutes from the Thorfinn. We each had a seat locker for our kit, and the entry into the water was either jump, backward roll or walk down between the engines. Recovery back into the boat was by taking fins off and climbing a ladder situated between the engines. A drop tank was always available at 6 metres in case anybody had a shortage of air, it was never used.

Our last afternoon aboard was taken up by drying our kit, and having a walk on one of the islands, Dublon, where we could see the remains of the Japanese occupation and see how the locals are making use of the infrastructure and buildings left behind after the war.

Our return to the UK was a reverse of the outward journey, Continental Air from Chuuk to Guam and Guam to Manila and Singapore Air Manila/Singapore/Heathrow.

Same sort of bad and indifferent service from Continental, same excellent service from Singapore Air.

Andy and myself said goodbye to Ross at Manila as he was flying out by Qatar Air to Doha and had booked himself into a hotel for the night as his flight was the next afternoon.

We on the otherhand had about 11 hours to kill in the airport. Hint – avoid Manila airport at all costs if you have longer than 30 minutes wait. It must be the worst airport I have ever had the misfortune to visit.

The only bar in the airport closed 10 minutes after we got there so we couldn’t even drown our sorrows.

We made up for our experience in Manila on the Singapore to London leg, a couple of beers, and 4 very nice Singapore Slings helped the 13plus hours go a little bit quicker than it would have done otherwise.

Hint, top deck on an Airbus 380 is very comfortable and quiet.

So was it worth it?
Yes.
Would I go again?
Yes
Would I go on Thorfinn again?
Yes
Is there anything I would do different next time?
Yes – avoid Manila – find another route into Guam.

The standard cylinders offered on Thorfinn are 220 bar 11ltr tanks. Ross and myself had pre-ordered a 2^nd 11ltr tank and twinned them up. Andy had the option to do the same but wisely didn’t. All of my dives were completed on one tank, so if there is a next time, I would just use a single and maybe take a pony cylinder for one of the deeper wrecks, justincase. I would also beg, borrow, or hire a dive computer that wasn’t a Geeko!.

Dive Fest 2011 - Bermondsey Strikes Back

2011-05-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

We're on the way home. Dive Fest concluded. We came, we saw, we dived, we photographed, we ate, drank, sang and danced! Ok, some of us did.

Picture of Lars creeping up on a dogfish

The 2011 Dive Fest was just as enjoyable as last year, although the hard boat was a nice change. Although our skipper on the rib last year was brilliant, it was pretty tiring.

We had dives booked Friday, Saturday, Sunday afternoons and Monday morning. Unfortunately because of the wind Sunday and Monday got blown out but both Friday and Saturday were blinding! Great weather, flat calm and 10-12 metres viz on every dive. The only minor down side was that with dives in the afternoon we missed the Beach Olympics and other events on in the afternoon but we did get to sleep in and Lars & Mariette provided some fantastic bacon for breakfast butties.

Aquabatics

Kim, Lars and I all entered the BUIF Splash-In photography competition on Saturday and just managed to get our entries in by 7pm thanks to some fast driving by Clive and Kim. We're still waiting to see if we won anything!

Plenty of live to see, we even had squid on the Kantoeng wreck, a first for most of us. We also managed to kill off the last of our Dive Leader qualifications for Lars, Mariette and I, with the exception of Shot Recovery by Bag.

Either very close or an enormous squid!

The rest of Dive Fest was a good laugh, Top Hats & Tiaras party on Friday, (we all dressed up), Suunto Sci-Fi Curry Night on Saturday (we didn't find out until late so didn't dress up) and Hog Roast & Barbecue on Sunday. We even had Peter and Egus arrive and although they didn't dive with us they did do a Try-Dive in the pool!

Weather on Sunday was a bit lairy so we ended up going to the Eden Project and then to Fowey to get a cream tea and take in the Aquarium. With the weather continuing badly on Monday we all headed home.

Well worth getting up early for, and it wasn’t too cold!

2011-03-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

For many of us this was the first dive of the year. 13 divers – at various levels of experience and with various reasons for going – piled into cars on the last Friday of March, and made the journey up to Leicestershire. Getting up early (4am!), setting off early (5.45am!) and getting there early (8.15am!) is definitely worth doing – traffic on the way up was no problem, and we had our pick of places in the Stoney Cove car park when the gates opened at 8.30am. Kim had the day well planned.

The weather couldn’t have been better. I’d heard stories about previous wintry club trips to Stoney Cove, but today there was none of that – we had sunshine and 19 degrees, and a dry car park surface to gear up on. Admittedly the water was still cold (someone mentioned 9 degrees at the surface, 6 degrees further down), but the good weather helped us deal with this (as did short dives and – for most of us – drysuits). Ross, who gave 3 of us a lift, said it was his best ever visit to Stoney Cove.

I was buddied with Clive, who briefed us trainees very clearly on the exercises we were going to do in our 2 dives. In the end, I didn’t get to do all these exercises, due to a curtailed first dive (a result of me not getting my weighting right), and a shorter second dive (regulator free flow), but I got the chance to get more familiar with my equipment, practice buoyancy, iron out some problems, and learn from my errors. Underwater, I saw some of the wreckage at the bottom of this former quarry, as well as fish (perch, according to the signs in the car park). Back on dry land, everyone was very helpful and willing to share tips and knowledge about equipment and maintenance (this is one of the great things about club diving with people at different levels of experience), and I got to know the set-up at Stoney Cove, where I’ll no doubt be diving again one day.

Other divers were doing instructor exercises, and testing new kit configurations. We’d finished our second dive by 1pm and were all off by 2pm, travelling sustainably in 5 cars packed with people and gear.

I’m a rusty diver and new to this club, having only joined a few weeks ago when I began my Sports Diver training. So far, so good – it’s great to be diving again, with a nice bunch of people, getting sound advice and training from club members. I expect my next dive trip to be just as worthwhile (and hopefully sunny!) as this trip was.

Victor

August Bank Holiday in Plymouth

2010-08-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

TODAY MINUS ONE

Most of us set of to the long drive to Plymouth on the Friday before the diving. Almost all of us chose the A303 route.

For me, after Anna arrived at 10am, a slight deviation of the southern section of the M25 takes me into Dorking for an air fill. However, they chose that day to close the shop for the morning, so Plan B was quickly hatched to get an air fill in Plymouth.

The M25 was up to its old tricks and decided to present an hour traffic jam to get from Leatherhead to the M3 exit, so a detour via the A3 and over the “hogs back” to pick up the connecting dual carriageway via Farnborough saw me back on track.

Then we got to Stonehenge! All stop again! After getting underway again, a pit stop at a Little Chef was required (Note to self! Avoid little Chef in the future!!).

Eventually we arrived in Plymouth at 4pm, which seems to be the arrival time of most of us. A recce took us of to Queen Anne’s Battery for an air fill and to check out the car park for the next mornings boat loading exercises.

The evening saw everybody doing their own thing for food, so for me there was only one place to go! Cap’n Jaspers where a Jasperizer filled an empty hole in my tummy! (Jasperizer – a quarter pounder cheeseburger, AND a quarter pounder bacon burger in one big bap!)

The evening finished with a session in the Dolphin pub.

TODAY

Everyone turned up at the QAB for 8.45am for those that hired bottles to collect, plus all the kit to be loaded on the boat. The boat was right at the end of the pontoon, so was a fair old trek.

Once loaded, we were away by 10am, first to dive the "Scylla", with the "James Egan Layne" in the afternoon.

The sun was out, and the sea was reasonably calm, but the viz was shite. You could never make out much definition or appreciate these wrecks when you really couldn’t see much further than the end of your arm.

However, these represented the first real challenge to Anna, who was rather anxious at the beginning of the day.

To get in the water, it was a backward roll of the gunnels, and to return a side mounted lift allowed a rightways side step onto the boat over the gunnel. Sounds awkward, but actually worked very well!

With the low viz, not much could be seen of the "Scylla", although we did enter the wreck by visiting the bridge through a hole in the roof.

The "James Egan Layne" was also a pretty low viz affair, but visibly more interesting with a sense that the wreck was being penetrated (without any of the risks). A very good wreck for a novice!

The end of the day saw us meet for a meal at the The Glassblowing House. A real find!. The good was mostly seafood, and was extraordinarily good! Surprisingly also very well priced. 10 people = £225 for a variety of 1, 2 or 3 courses.

THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY

Sunday wasn't kind with the weather. It was not un-diveable, but with a rather strong wind at 20 knots, it was lumpier that the Saturday.

Today however saw us off to dive the "Persier", a wreck in 20something metres. We declined to let Anna know how deep, but with better viz, her conclusion was "this is the best dive so far!" Introduced Anna to the game of squeeze the sea cucumber!

The second dive of the day saw us in the deep gullies of "Hilsea Point". Again the viz was better than the day before, but the current still managed to wash about a bit. Still lots of cuckoo wrasse, urchins, sea cucumber and starfish!

The evening saw us all at the "Himalayan" for a ruby murray! It seemed however a party of 10 caused their food ordering/delivering to table procedures all went to pot!! While the curry was great, it came out only £15 cheaper than the meal the night before!!

THE LAST DAY

The weather was hot! The wind speed was 3 knots, so the sea was flat calm!! By consensus we agreed to do the "Persier" again. The weather was fab, although the viz wasn't quite as good as the day before. I took my camera this time also.

The second dive of the day was an un-named 50ft fishing trawler (complete with toilet! Although the enclosing cabin was no more!!) on a rocky reef. This provided a few more photo opportunities!

Back ashore, it was the de-mob moment to get the kit off the boat and pack the cars. Lars and Mariette set off back to London, as did Ken. Anne caught the train home with her dive kit in my car.

A Hoilday in Cornwall

2010-08-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

This just a bit of light hearted musings about my holiday in Cornwall with my daughter.

Friday 6th Aug - Set off at 5.am. Stopped for brekkie at about 7.30, and then again at 8.45 just before Exeter for a half hour powernap! Arrived in Penzance at 11.30. Wandered around Penzance for a hour or so, then off to Marazion so Rachel could wade her feet in the sea. Off to Tesco's for supplies, then at 3.30pm checked in to the apartment. Crashed out.

Saturday 7th Aug - Off to Porthcurno, and wandered around the Telegraph Museum for a few hours in the wartime underground bunker. Then down to Portcurno beach, where Rachel changed into her wetsuit for a few hours splashing about.

Sunday 8th Aug - Off to Prussia Cove, one of the top 10 snorkelling locations in the UK. Needless to say, I'm quickly in the water, while Rachel explores all the rookpools.

Monday 9th Aug - The weather has turned as it is raining, so we are off to Paradise Park (an aviary for exotic birds), where we watch a falconry show that include an Eagle Owl, and a Bald Eagle.

Tuesday 10th - MY BIRTHDAY, but still pissing down with rain. We visit St Just to wander the various art galleries,then off to the Lizard Peninsular, then Coverack, then St Keverne. Off to Roskilly Farm to have a steak BBQ dinner.

Wednesday 11th Aug - The sun has got his hat on again!! Off to a beach in Porthgwarra. Very small and we followed a pantechnicon down this tiny lane to get to it. More snorkelling.

Thursday 12th Aug - The last day. Off to visit Botallack Mine near St Just. A National trust owned area of former tin mining with some spectacular North Cornwall coast line. Then off to Cape Cornwall, where we spend time in the Coast Watch lookout, complete with radar and the biggest binoculars I've ever seen, that could see the Scilly Isles! Lastly we wandered around Mousehole (home of Stargazey Pie! Christmas Eve in Mousehole is a place to and time to visit!!!)

Friday 13th Aug - Set of at 8.30am to head home.

Try Dive 2010 - with Bermondsey BSAC

2010-08-10T04:07:00.000-07:00

The annual BSAC Try Dive event kicks off in September and we're aiming to make it the best one ever for the club. With that in mind if there's anyone you know of who would like to have a go then get them to register here. Once they have registered then all they need to do is turn up and have a go.

There is more information on our website.

As a way of involving the whole family we're also offering anyone who wants to do it a Try Snorkel so we can get everyone involved.

If nothing else it should be a lot of fun for everyone who comes along and hopefully some people will decide that we're the club to help them join in the sport.

We have a few poster and promotional leaflets available so if you know of anywhere they could go just let someone on the commitee know and we'll get some for you.

To dive or not to dive, that is the question...

2010-07-30T00:36:00.000-07:00

It seems it's time for the annual debate on where we should be diving. I was flicking through some old minutes from AGMs and commitee meeting's and this seems to be a regular thing. Quite funny really as the comments are almost identical.

Overall I think we've had a good spread of dives and the issue seems to be more along the lines of members not coming but then part of that problem is that with a smaller membership and less active divers its a bit difficult to please enough people in every dive to fill a boat.

I completely understand some members prefering certain types of dives but over previous years when plenty of different dives have been available they weren't filled and this just ended up costing the club money which kind of defeats the object.

I think the one thing which could make a big difference to both the diving situation and the club as a whole would be to increasee the membership which is what our plan is for the next couple of months and as always any and all suggestions will be gratefully received.

At the end of the day this is suppoesed to be a fun club but currently it seems to be an awful lot of work for very little reward.

Ok, going to do some work now.

My musing on a few of my dives!

2010-07-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

I've been trawling through my old red dive logbooks

My 20th dive on the 4th August 1988 was to 35m on the Eddystone Lighthouse. My bottom time was 11 minutes. Add to that a 3 min stop (simulated) at 10m and a 5 min stop (again simulated) at 5m, my comment in my logbook was "DECOMPRESSION IS BORING".

My 22nd dive was the "James Egan Layne". Top dive back then!! The 23rd dive was "Le Poulmic", another good wreck. I also did a compass bearing exercise.

My 34th dive was Hilsea Point, which to date is one of my most memorable dives! Gin clear water, and a fabulous site of deep gullies.

My 50th and 51st dives over the Spring Bank Holiday in 1990, were under Brighton pier with a very good looking Mandy Caitlin (she was husband hunting!!!)

July of 1990, saw my first trip to Scapa Flow, and my first dry suit dive! Dived the Koln without a weight belt (my logbook just says "buoyancy problems")- another diver in our group ended up in the Aberdeen pot!!

May 91, saw my first visit to the Far Mulberry, on an inflateable launched from the beach at Bognor. This is where i saw my first (and so far only) Sea Mouse. If you think i'm pulling your chain, just google it!

May 91 also saw my first visit to Pembrokeshire and Skomer Island

July 91 saw my 2nd trip to Scapa Flow, diving with my girlfriend at the time. My first dive on the block ship "Inverlayne", where the whole dive is inside the wreck.

93 saw a trip over to Normandy where we got raided by French Customs at about 2am in the morning!

93 also saw some fabulous diving to the Manacles off Cornwall's Lizard Point culminating in dive 152. My last until 2004!!

When drown doesn't look like drowning...

2010-07-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

Dave sent out this great link to Mario Vittone's webpage with this article on what the actual signs of drowning are. http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/ - have a look and you'll see that it's not quite the Baywatch episode you might have thought....okay I know you don't watch Baywatch but you get the idea.

This is something anyone who goes to the sea (all of us I hope) should at least read and understand.

Cheers Dave

Sunny Day in Selsey

2010-07-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Great little dive on Saturday off Selsey Bill on the old Mulberry Harbour.

First time any of us had been on the boat and it was a pretty good one, plenty of room although as it was scheduled for another 2 I'm not sure where they would have sat.

Weather was excellent and on arriving and hitting the water in true Bermondsey style we all did our own thing. There was a bit of confusion about who was were but in the end we all had a nice little dive, didn't lose and kit and Kim and I managed to get to the landing craft about 200m to the north. We did manage to upset a couple of photographers though who were on the same line to the craft but found some small creature on the way and while they were photographing we torpedoed past.

Trip back to shore was fast and furious and the tab back to shore from the RHIB was interesting but all in all a good dive.

The only thing I would say about it though was that it was a long way to go for just one dive but it was a very nice day.

Red Sea - Get Wrecked Diving Day Five

2010-06-05T02:21:00.000-07:00

Onwards ever onwards

Final dive on the Thistlegorm this morning and what a dive it was. There was a slight current which apparently explained all the larger fish around today but we had Tuna, big Batfish, Jacks and Tevallys. It was just jammed packed and even the Morays were in good form. Barry found a couple of Crocodile fish sleeping under a coal wagon and there was a very large black and red Lionfish as well.

I now feel like I have at least visited the Thistlegorm.

Came up and had breakfast and now we’re off to the Kingston on our way back.

The Kingston was a nice wreck, very battered and covered in coral but with just a bit too much swell which was tiring everyone out. We spent about 15 mins on the wreck then headed out along the reef towards the mothership. This was quite a nice drift with plenty of sealife and some enormous table corals. We stayed at about 10-12 metres for almost the entire time and ended up almost halfway back to the boat.

Only 3 dives today and the third was a choice between the Liveaboard Emperor Fraser and the Dunraven. Joe and I decided to do the Dunraven because after seeing the pictures of the Fraser it was pretty stripped and battered so more of a novelty dive than anything else.

When we first dropped in the current was headed away from the boat rather than back towards it and this meant we got pushed towards a group that we followed for a bit before they explained that the wreck was the other way. We finned for a bit and then found it and had a good swim through the upturned hull and out the far end. We saw some big Napoleon Wrasse and then swam round the stern and the prop to be met with a lot more current so went over the wreck and back inside for a rest. I got a bit of a shock as a Giant Moray decided to free swim right past me and the first I knew was when I saw the tail pass me. I spun round to see what it was and this head just looked at me from about half a metre away but seemed a lot closer. Then we started to deploy the DSMB but as we did a couple of big Napoleon Wrasse turned up and then another Moray. I dropped down to take a picture and then ended up surfacing with only 20 bar. Note for next time.

Dinner this evening was a traditional Sunday Roast although with stuffed Aubergine, Courgettes and Peppers. Fantastic as always.

Red Sea - Get Wrecked Diving Day Four

2010-06-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

Off to the Thistlegorm

Wasn’t as sunny this morning when we got up, very hazy across the horizon and even after the dive it was still a bit overcast.

First dive this morning was the Ulysses, Chris went down first to lay in his SMB reel and blob which he tied to the wreck before we all piled in. It was a bit lumpy today and when we went over the side the boat came down and cracked me on the head which was a little painful but did help me go down a bit faster.

There were so many Sergeant Majors swimming around that we had to swim through them and they mobbed us throughout the dive. We headed down to the stern as Chrissie had said this was the best place to see Flambalina Nudibranchs but we didn’t find any and had a look around the prop before being ambushed by a group of divers from the Carlton Queen on a follow-ma-leader dive. Once they had moved off we had a bit of a swim through and came back round to the deck and swam between the decks back towards the bow. We had a look around and then went out to the funnel still searching for Nudibranchs and finally found a black and white striped one with a yellow rim (Pyjama Slug).

We swam over the mast and onto the reef after this just looking at the life and then, just as I had drained my battery and put my camera away, a Napoleon Wrasse turned up and swam leisurely by.

When we surfaced it was still a bit lumpy and the trip back was interesting. After breakfast it’s off to the Thistle but because we’re going broadside to the channel it will be a bumpy crossing so quite a few people are heading to bed.

We arrived at the Thistle to find 6 other boats already moored but only one is a live aboard so the day boats will be clearing off soon. We did our first dive and Chris had set our line right on the bow so we went straight down and had a good look round. The first dive was for a quick recce and then we have 2 more dives today and an early one tomorrow before moving on. I was really surprised by the amount of things to be seen on here. It is a big wreck, the biggest we do on this trip and well worth the extra dives. Joe and I decided to do the holds at the bow, swim through to the debris field then drift back over the deck to the bow for the return trip. With so many day boats we knew it would mean a congested wreck but there were still a vast abundance of people on it and most of them being lead around like school children. We dropped into the hold and immediately found a jeep with a massive moray living between the wheels who was less than impressed with our intrusion and then we carried on through to hold 3 past trucks, bikes, rifles and boots. From 3 we headed out onto the remains of hold 2 and the ammunition pile and got a picture of some of the shells still in their boxes before heading up over the deck plating and swimming through some of the accommodation. We popped into the bathroom and then headed back out to the rail which we then followed all the way to the bow, past the coal and water wagons. Then it up and out for lunch.

Second dive on the Thistle. The plan was to head down and then swim straight to the stern. So that’s what we did, although there was just enough current to make it a little tiring after swimming the length of the wreck. We had a good look round the stern and the prop before coming up over the side and photographing the guns. Then we dropped into the debris field and took some photos of the shells and Joe found a covered part of the hold with large shells still in the boxes. Can’t wait for the night dive now!

Night was brilliant, although limited to 20 metres it made no difference at all. The wreck was absolutely crawling with life, although the turtle was absent. Saw some tiny coral crabs living inside a spotted coral and loads of cleaner shrimps. There were even a school of tuna hanging around over the side and all the clams were out in full force.

Red Sea - Get Wrecked Diving Day Three

2010-06-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Rosalie Möller Day

Today was the day of the Rosalie Möller. We came, we saw, we dived, we dived again and just for a giggle we dived once more.

Sitting in 50 odd metres and sitting upright this wreck is a great deep wreck and that explains why we only did 3 dives today. Each dive was relativity short due to the depth and only having single 12L cylinders, but it was still great fun!

The idea was first to go down the stern line from the MV Hurricane which was tied onto the the set of winches just behind the bridge, have a bimble around the stern and return. The second dive would be the the same but on the bow line from the MV Hurricane and then on the final dive to do all the bits we wanted to revisit.

A stage cylinder was set up at 5 metres for those a bit short on the way back but it hardly got used.

Joe and I decided that we wanted to have a look at the propeller which was supposed to be huge so we dropped over the side and worked our way backwards and down to have a look. I was really surprised that for a ship of this size the propeller did seem enormous. Then up over the stern rail and heading forward we dropped into the bomb crater and worked our way through the rear hold and then up to the bridge before rising up and then heading back to the stern line for the trip back up.

Second dive we swam round to the bow line and dropped down that all the way past the crow’s nest and then down to the fore winch. Our plan this time was to drop over the front, have a look around then come back and head towards the bridge. We found one anchor still in its hausepipe and got a couple of pictures of that before heading back towards the bridge.

This was great to see and we had a swim down a couple of companionways before having to head up with a couple of minutes of deco to do on the way. For some reason Kim, Dave and Stewart managed to end up with 14 minutes of deco for the same dive.

On the third dive we actually planned to do deco as there was no way we would get any real time to see anything without it. So the plan was to drop down the stern line and get into the guts of the wreck. Had a great potter through the kitchen with the pots on the stove and then through to the workshops and even had a look in the bathroom with the bath still in it.

On this dive Bill managed to get off the shot at the bottom with 1 minute of deco before even going anywhere!!

There is just so much to see on this wreck that you could easily spend a few days here doing 3-4 dives a day and still miss something.

After we all came up it was time to return to Gobal Island for the overnight stop in the lagoon and a few of the more adventurous (gullible) of us went for a walk around the sand dune, you can’t really call it an island. Saw a family of Ospreys that live there and the remains of an Egyptian punishment posting but the only other thing of note was the amount of rubbish everywhere, from coke and champagne bottles to light bulbs and plastic. After that it was back to the boat for cocktails and canapés!

Red Sea - Get Wrecked Diving Day Two

2010-06-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

Well, second instalment of the Bermondsey Red Sea Trip.

Got a lie in this morning until 7.00 before heading out to Kimon M for an early morning dive. There was a really big puffer fish in situ which was great until I realised that my camera was in the case upside down so I couldn’t use it for the whole dive. Such is life.

After swimming through to the stern and finding the propeller we swam along the outside until we could penetrate into the holds and have a good rout about in there before coming back onto the deck plates and generally enjoying the wreck which was in quite a good state.

Back for breakfast and then to our last dive on Abu Na Has which was the Chrisoula K. This was a really beautiful wreck although when we arrived there were quite a few other boats around the area which made it a bit cramped but once we were on the wreck it was fine. Some great swim throughs and we made our way from above the prop along a companionway surrounded by granite tiles to the hold then up onto the deck and through the kitchen. Once we got to the kitchen we found a couple of hatchways down which we took and the followed the companionway along to the engine room. This was dark and tight for space but really atmospheric and we got some nice shots of the engine and equipment before coming back out and heading forward to the bow hold and found another swim through to the other side of the wreck. We had a look around the masts and I managed to squeeze through the funnel and then it was time to go home.

Once we were all back on board we were off to the next site and lunch was served. I don’t know how they do it but with a tiny kitchen the food is brilliant.

Afternoon dive was The Barge which is little more than a shell on bottom but absolutely thriving with life. More life on this one wreck than we had seen so far put together. We got to meet first Georgina and then George, two Giant Morays who lived up to their name. Georgina had taken up residence in the bow and George was further down the wreck but as we swam up he was so big and still it looked like one of the ribs of the barge. We also saw a couple of other morays and plenty of Scorpion and Crocodile fish. At an average of 10 metres we got to stay on the wreck for about an hour before we headed back but we still managed to miss things.

Our night dive today was also on the Barge and learning from last night we went in about an hour later so it was properly dark when we hit the wreck. Again it was amazing to see so much different life at night however it started to get a bit busy after about 15 minutes so we headed out over the reef for a bit of space. The only trouble we had was finding the strobe for the descent line as one of the groups from another boat all had strobes on and between those and the number of torches flashing everywhere it took a little while to find our boat.

Tomorrow we’re off to the Rosalie Moller for the day.

Red Sea - Get Wrecked Diving Day One

2010-06-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

Today was the first diving day of our Red Sea Trip. After spending the night in port at Sharm we trundled out to The Alternatives to do our check dive.

Just a quick word about the boat – Hurricane – it’s brilliant! Really comfortable, all the staff are really helpful and everything is done to make your life and diving as enjoyable as possible.

After sorting out our weight we had a bit of a bimble around some rocks before heading off to skirt a couple of pinnacles and then into a gully to get a bit of depth before returning to the boat and getting everyone to deploy their DSMBs to try them out. Biggest shocker was first that the water was toasty and the visibility was 15+ metres.

After coming back we shipped out to cross the sea towards the Abu Na Has reef for our next 3 dives of the day.

Second dive was Carnatic which was really good and had some great swim throughs as we went down to the bow and then headed to the stern and swam between the decks all the way through to the stern and then went out the big square windows at the end. When we cam e back to the centre to look at the engine and boilers there were quite a few divers being lead around so we headed out along one of the masts and found a nesting Trigger fish which wasn’t too impressed with us being nearby so we left it alone and headed into the bow to swim through the decks again and found a really big Scorpion fish that was really black and Joe got a good photo. We also saw quite a few of the broken port bottles.

After lunch, which was fantastic, we got to do the most photographed wreck in the Red Sea (apparently) the Giannas D. I couldn’t believe that after rolling off the Rhib the wreck was right there as it starts at about 6 metres. We dropped down the sea bed and got some great photos of the wreck with some massive Bat fish around. We had a bit of a potter around then Chrissie lead us into the wreck through a companionway and down into the engine room. The engine room was obviously immense and there was so much to see. There were all the work shops and tools still in place like the lathe and milling machines and ladders and walkways all over the place. We went through this and then up through the skylight and out of the wreck. We went over to the bow and saw some great sea life, Parrotfish, Blue Spotted Stingrays, Batfish, Glassfish; it just doesn’t stop. Then we headed back up and got out. On the way back though we saw some dolphins and a few of us got in to snorkel with them. As soon as we got in they dived so we hung a round for a bit but then they came back up right amongst us and I got some nice close up photos of them. A real experience.

Our final dive of the day was a night dive but we didn’t really leave it late enough so it was still very light and it took about 30 minutes before it got dark enough to see anything different. We managed to see a couple of really big Slipper crabs, Lion Fish and a Crown of Thorns starfish. It was quite good but from tomorrow we’ll do the dives later so it will be darker and hopefully see some more different life.

All in all a fantastic first day and I can’t wait for the rest of the week.