Doune Bay 2003
"Wot, No Whales?"
by Jules Kelley, 16th - 23rd August 2003
TIME: 15:00 hrs
PLACE: Mallaig, Western Highlands, Scotland
WHY: Lets go diving!
Twelve intrepid members met up on August 16th to spend a "sunny" weeks diving at Doune Bay in Scotland. Some were to be found enjoying their first pint in the Mariners Arms (that’s a pub by the way, not a Scottish trawlerman) while others had already over indulged the night before in Fort William......hadn’t they Martin!!! Our skipper Andy soon arrived alongside with dive boat "Mary Doune" and a large human chain was formed to get bottles, bags, boxes, boots and booze all safely aboard. And with the sun shining down on us things started as they meant to go on with Emma handing round tinnies of beer as we made the short 20-minute trip over to Doune Bay itself.
With all baggage transferred onto "Kermit", the amphibious version of a luggage trolley, we all settled into our "Big Brother" style house and adjusted to the no TV or mains electricity life. As the midges realised that fresh meat had arrived some hardened folks took to a swim in the sea while the smokers believed a haze of nicotine might keep them at bay!
We had all heard of the fine cuisine to be had while at Doune and Ashley took full advantage of every course, such was his keenness that he managed to scoff all of his first night pudding before the cream was served......ooops, he didn’t make that mistake again though.
Unfortunately all the fine weather we had been enjoying did not stay with us and we had a week of rainy showers and strong winds. The first day we ventured close to home in Loch Nevis and had a couple of nice easy shakedown dives and a chance to practice getting in the water from the boat, no easy task. Nick, Rose, Shaun and Ashley all proved the forward "Splat!" was not a good way to go, but Martin and David’s "Just fall in" approach seemed to work best. Our surface interval was spent at Inverie Bay, this is a tiny little settlement but boasts Britain’s most remote pub, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records.
Day 2 and the weather again keeps us in the local vacinity of Loch Hourn but plenty of scenic diving to enjoy on the walls. As we headed for home the sea state had deteriorated as we left the shelter of the Loch, and a lumpy trip back was either endured or enjoyed depending on ones stomach! Back in the Big Brother house there was time to recover before dinner with a cold beer or glass of wine and a chance to write up the logs. Some of the girlies found solace in a jigsaw which Martin deemed impossible to finish before Friday......the gauntlet was down! Nick "The Builder" Pain spent his apre-diving time creating great stone cairns on the beach, damming up the burn and he even found a bucket and spade to make a succession of castles in the sand.
By Wednesday a small window of opportunity had appeared and we decided to make a dash for one of the Inner Isles. Everyone had hoped to be out on the likes of Muck, Eigg and Skye itself, but hey this is Scotland and you have to take what you get, so to Canna we braved as it has a sheltered harbour. The journey was fairly smooth and Carol was posted as official whale spotter, but only a few porpoises were seen. Martin's big selling point for the trip when recruiting wannabe’s was that this was whale watching and Basking Shark season. Fantastic opportunity we all thought and Marie was particularly excited about the chance of seeing some.
The carnivores in our group had happily collected crabs during their dives and we had enjoyed the fruit of our labours at the previous evening’s dinner. But scallops were also in abundance and our hungry team had accumulated a nice goody bag full. The next morning we arrived at the pier to meet the boat and Andy says he’s got some bad news for us waving a frayed piece of rope. We all look back at said rope rather puzzled......then the penny drops, "Oh no the scallops!!!!!" The strong wind in the night had worn through it on the edge of the boat and our feast was lost! But have no fear for Dave "Jackstay search" Bricknell seized the opportunity to brush up his teaching skills as he prepares for his Advanced Instructor exam.
So fresh back from a days diving the "willing" volunteers prepared for a third plunge and Dave guided his four man team on a huge and wobbly circular search in the vicinity of the boat's mooring line. Emma found the whole experience very hard work as she towed outside man Ashley round and round, and to no avail, the scallops could not be found. It took skipper Andy just five minutes later on that evening to pick them up and reunite them with us......well Dave had narrowed his search area down!!!!
The days passed by though and we had to settle for more loch dives, still no sharks or whales, plenty of wind and rain. Marie was getting ever more concerned and told Martin he would have to swim across the bay in the buff as a forfeit if she did not see any! Rose had cunningly taken the day off from diving too and finished the "impossible" jigsaw in good time, it was looking like a double forfeit for our intrepid Martin.
Friday came all too soon and the last two dives of the week. Some of us took the opportunity to do the "Kyle Rhea" drift on the Sound of Sleat: this was very exhilarating despite it running at about five knots instead of it’s usual eight! Then up to the new Skye bridge and the wreck of "Port Napier", this was superb and a nice dive to finish on.
Our final evening was spent with a bonfire on the beach, built by Nick of course, who scoured the shores for suitable combustibles, and then we awoke in the morning to crystal clear skies and the sea like glass......a sign we were heading home!
As Nick Bird put it in the visitors book... "Never, in the field of meteorology, has so much fun been had by so many, in so few hours of sunshine." Martin never did make that swim either...

Doune Bay Second report 2003

"The Last Day (Superman Flies Again)"
by Shaun Hamilton, August 2003

The ‘Doune Bay’ diving trip in Scotland this August was very enjoyable – good company, excellent food, and lots of varied diving. The last day was of particular interest to me: it turned out to be the best one!
Andy the skipper had decided that the weather was good enough that we could go all the way up the Sound of Sleat towards Loch Alsh and dive the World War II minelayer ‘Port Napier’. First up though was a drift dive through Kyle Rhea, a narrow shipping channel between the Isle of Skye and the mainland. There had been talk of drift dives earlier in the week (some sounding quite adventurous) and now, psyched-up from daydreaming about it, I was really looking forward to this one.
Diving in and descending with David Bricknell and a DSMB, we quickly found the current. It was pleasantly fast at about 4-5 knots and flying by beneath us were clumps of anemones and the odd edible crab. So much like flying it seemed, I found myself doing Superman impressions (– hey, isn’t diving supposed to be fun?).
I don’t know if David thought I was having too much of a good time, but I suddenly found myself having to hold on to the deployed DSMB with one hand, being encouraged to inspect and handle edible crabs with the other, and somehow also manage to keep an eye on my contents gauge and buoyancy at the same time.
Occasionally another party of divers would shoot past us or we would pass them depending on who had found the fastest current in the water, and at one point bumping into each other, we nearly got our SMB lines tangled up. (A somewhat tame version of the speeder chase in the film ‘Return of the Jedi’ comes to my [sad?] mind here).
In the afternoon David and I dived the Port Napier. Converted for mine laying in World War II, the boat was being loaded with mines one day in late 1940 when fire broke out. Towed out into the loch, there was an explosion and the boat sank. It now lies on its side in about 20m of water, breaking the surface even at high tide!
We finned along the length of the boat, up and around the wheelhouse, and through the gaps in the decking into the bowels of the boat. Even inside the large holds, the light just shines in because of the sizeable holes in the side of the boat. With anemones and transparent tubular growths all over the wooden beams and urchins scattered about, the place looked like a cathedral.
Wow, what a way to finish off a dive trip! Many thanks to Martin Baker for organising the holiday, it’s one I would definitely want to do again!

Norfolk, England

"And Then There Were None or East of Ely"
by Simon Nash, 5th - 6th July 2003

At 4.30 pm on Friday, my boss asked where I was going diving at the weekend.
"About 50 miles east of K.L."
"What!!! You are going to Malaysia for the weekend?"
"Kings Lynn not Kuala Lumpur, fool." I said in my best Mr T voice.
"No, you are the fool for going diving in East Anglia" he replied.
And that sums up diving in East Anglia – not many people know that there is cracking diving, exclusively wreck diving, to be had off the Norfolk coast. One of the reasons for this is that it is very tidal and there are next to no slips or harbours around. However, this means that the wrecks are hardly dived at all.
Les and Kay had organised a trip on the charter boat Desert Moon out of Blakeney. Well, we were staying in Blakeney, getting the boat from Morston 2 miles away, but leaving some cars in Cley which was 4 miles in the other direction. Confused? So were we.
The reason for this logistical nightmare was the tides, which meant that once out of harbour the boat could not get back into harbour for another 10 hours. Did I say "harbour"; sorry that should have been a "3ft deep muddy creek where we and all our gear piled onto a 10ft flat bottomed boat with a 5hp engine to make the 15 minute journey out to where the Desert Moon was moored".
Once aboard we made our way past the tourist boats gawping at the seals on Blakeney Point and through the surf by the sand bar. Excited shouts of "whahey" as we rode the surf soon turned to a number of muted shouts of "barrff" from some of the party as we continued for a couple of hours out through the swell. It was like being in the Agatha Christie book "And Then There Were None" as one by one most of the party turned green and chundered. Nervous glances were exchanged as everyone wondered who was going to be next.
Obviously decorum (and up to now lack of financial or liquid inducements) preclude me from naming and shaming the unfortunates, but I think we were all extremely glad when we dropped the shot on the wreck of the Deodata and could get in the water. The bizarre thing was that we had gone out 23 miles from shore and it was still only 23m deep!
After the dive we headed further east to our second dive, the wreck of the Bogatyr. Finishing the dive we headed further east to Cley where we had left some of the cars. Because of the state of the tides, if we wanted to get last orders at the pub we would have to jump from the boat and swim to shore. It must have been a bizarre sight for the fishermen on the beach seeing 10 people leap from a boat (which then disappeared back out to sea), swim to shore through the surf and then kiss and hug the ground. I am sure a couple of phone calls were made to the Immigration Services! Actually, it was just that most of us were glad to be back on dry and stable land.
The next day, the demand for cooked breakfasts was down by 50 percent. Given the state of the tides which meant we would not get back to land until late, a vote determined that we would only do one dive. Our chosen wreck was a Clyde paddle steamer that had been commandeered during both world wars as a minesweeper but was unfortunate enough to be bombed by a German plane. It was quite bizarre but exciting to see the paddle wheels. Another highlight was the case full of anti aircraft shells in the middle of the wreck.
Getting off the dive boat at the end of the day was yet another jump and swim; however this time in full kit. Gordon’s request to log it as the 2nd dive of the day was dismissed on the grounds that a 15 second splash did not count as a dive. Some more shuffling with cars between villages and we were soon on our way home, tired but very happy.
So, given all the effort was it worth it? My answer is an undoubted yes. The wrecks are virtually undived so there is still a great deal to see on them and they are absolutely covered in marine life. The seabed is very very flat and the wrecks attract life like artificial reefs. I think we all lost count of the number of lobsters we saw. Added to the fact that it is not very deep, long dives can be had without venturing too much into decompression. We saw no other divers the entire weekend and you can virtually guarantee having the wrecks to yourselves. Thanks to Les and Kay for organising yet another cracking weekend away.

Royal Navy S.E.T.T.

"Something for the Weekend?"
by Jules Kelley, March 2003

On a lovely sunny March weekend three club members and myself had a dive with a difference to kick-start our season. We joined Marlin sub-aqua club, based in Nuneaton for a dive in the Royal Navy’s Submarine Escape Training Tank (S.E.T.T.)
This is a tall tower like building that rises above the Gosport skyline and housed within it is a 5m wide, 30m deep circular swimming pool! The Navy use this facility to train submariners on escape techniques, basically pushing them out of an air lock at the base of the tank and they then free ascend the 30m to the surface.
Luckily we were doing it all in reverse by heading down from the top with a nice cylinder of air on our backs! The water was absolutely crystal clear, and a steamy 34°C. Who could ask for more? Peering over the tank top on the fifth floor was a little eerie though, but after a very thorough brief by the chief instructor on duty it was time to get suited and booted.
Andy and Helen Hay wasted no time in getting in to the water, while Emma and myself were next to take the plunge, with pairs diving at set intervals. It was so nice to only be in a 3mm shorty and be able to see the bottom from the surface!
We did a fast descent like a skydiver down to the base and pressed the ole computer to the floor to register the depth. Not a great deal to see of course in a swimming pool, but we looked into the airlocks and blisters that are used in the escape training. Quite strange were the little porthole windows looking out to the sea: here we are surrounded by water ...looking down on the water!!
This was a great experience and definitely very different. We then went on to look around the submarine museum, which included a tour on HMS Achilles that really opened your eyes to the life of a submariner!
It’s a brilliant idea for a weekend away: you can combine the SETT dive with a trip into Horsea Island Lake too, and the historic dockyard in Portsmouth is just a ten-minute ferry ride from Gosport.

Mull, England

"The Pipes Are Calling"
by Simon Nash, 7th - 10th March 2003

Having missed last year's trip to Mull I was glad to see that certain traditions had been maintained. On the Thursday evening after loading the kit on the good ship Gaelic Rose folk adjourned for pints in the Oban Grim and a curry in the Shite of India (aka Oban Inn & Light of India).
On the Friday morning, day dawned a little early for some especially as the main heater in the bunkroom of the Gaelic Rose was not working and it was pretty cold. Bill was soon banished from the main cabin on account of his snoring. People emerged from their bunks in a variety of woolly bears; Tina soon established herself as Queen of the Weezles, whilst David opted for something that his grandfather had worn in the trenches in WW1.
Still spirits soon rose as we headed up the Sound of Mull. The first dive was on the wreck of the Shuna which is normally dark and silty. To our surprise the viz was very good and torches were not needed. The Shuna is very easy to get round in a single dive and was a good warm up. This was then followed up with a dive on the Thesis. The Thesis' bow plates have fallen away and when the light shines through the ship's ribs you do get something akin to a Jonah and the Whale feeling.
Les and Kay soon became the trip's official Kit Retrieval Team. In spite of the best efforts of Bill and I to lose pieces of kit ranging from weights to net cutters, Les and Kay would find them and dutifully reunite them with their owners.
After mooring along side the Silica mine in Lochaline for the night, we headed off to the Working Men's Club only to find it was quiz night. The highlight of the quiz was not the fact that the Yellow Fins (Bill, David and I) scored the maximum 500 points in the final round (a first in the history of Lochaline) but that all 3 of our teams beat all the locals in the Scottish round. I think that says more about them than about us. Beating the locals in the quiz is one thing but when Ian and Tina decided to trounce them at pool the rest of us decided it was time for a sharp exit.
Saturday's dive on the Rondo was quite eventful. The Rondo is an excellent wreck, which sunk when it hit a very small island in a storm and eventually slid down the other side to lie with its stern in 5m and its bows in 50m. There was no buoy on the wreck so Bob the skipper had to shot it; unfortunately the shot was not on the wreck so some made it to the wreck whilst Bill and Ian ended up having an excellent scallop dive. Dave and I got to the bows and proceeded to shake hands only for Dave's DV to start to freeflow. We then headed quite quickly to shallower waters. Dave was glad that he had asked Bob to top up his tank from the 160 bar it had when Dave checked his kit.
The afternoon dive on the Hispania was also quite eventful. The Hispania is the most intact wreck in the Sound as it sits upright with its deck in about 15m. Swimming through the holds is quite stunning and the wreck is covered in life. Whilst there was no current at the start of the dive by the end it had picked up. With four of us hanging on the line and another boat's divers trying to pull their way down the line onto the wreck meant that the buoy soon joined us at 8m.
We pulled into Tobermory in late afternoon which enabled those who needed to, to get "guilt presents" for those left at home. The Mull Silver shop seemed to be doing a roaring trade. Only one or two said they were going to leave getting presents till the motorway services in Cumbria on the way home; most thought this a high-risk strategy. After the frenzied activity of retail therapy it only remained to withdraw to The Mishnish pub to watch Scotland trounce Wales in the Six Nations. Dinner that evening saw us scoffing Bill and Ian's scallops. A fantastic cliff dive was had on Calve Island on Sunday morning, although the Yellow Fins had trouble keeping up with Gordon and Phil as they sped to the depths at a great rate of knots. This after Gordon had asked us to keep close, as he would have to take it slowly because of his ears. In the afternoon the wind picked up and our diving was limited to finding some shelter behind Lismore Island. It was a nice dive although it would qualify for an entry in "Mud Slopes I Have Dived - Vol. 3".
Time in between dives was either spent reading or listening to how Phil managed to get the highest score on the FHM "Lads Quiz" or Gordon regaling us with of tales of catering malpractice or his passion for mushroom hunting. That night back in the safety of Oban harbour, Bob's fabled pipes came out and much fun was had by old timers and trip virgins. It is of course more than my life is worth to reveal the secret of the pipes and how to get them to work without ending up covered in talcum powder. If you want to know the secret you will have to come on next year's trip.
Monday morning saw us do a quick dive on the Breda, a cargo ship that was sunk by the Germans in WW2. She sits upright with her bows at about 13m. People had great fun scrabbling around in the holds which contain gas masks, tyres, shaving kits, photographic plates etc., etc. However with the weather worsening a quick straw poll saw the punters voting for a quick Chilli for lunch and then heading home. Everyone had had a great time and many thanks must go to Ian for organising yet another superb start to the diving year.

Bahamas / Florida, USA

16th November - 1st December 2001

Crew: Colin, Alex, Andy, Helen, Les, Kay, Miles, Hilary, Iain, Mark, Tina (Pebbles), Sandra (Barbie).
It was a cold, wintery November day when we set off from Gatwick for our re-arranged Bahamas trip. It was a great relief to be going at all. This trip had started off with the destination as the Phillipines but due to the political situation there and Foreign Office warnings we decided to change to the Bahamas. Ironically this decision was made just a few days before the September 11th terrorist attacks. Little did we know that before we set off the area we were visiting would also be subject to anthrax attacks and Hurricane Michelle!
After a tortuous journey we finally arrived in Nassau, Bahamas where we met the boat which was to be home for the next seven days. Cat Ppalu is a beautiful catamaran operated by Blackbeard Cruises. We met the crew - Steve (Captain), John (Dive Guide), English Steve (Engineer) and Brian (Super-Chef!!) and then set off for the Exumas chain of islands where we would be doing most of our diving. Cat Ppalu is an excellent dive charter. The accommodation is comfortable, the boat exceptionally stable and being a catamaran has plenty of room for sunbathing up on deck. The crew were also outstanding and made us all feel very welcome.
During the week we did a variety of diving including a blue hole, walls, reefs, a wreck, a shark feeding and night dives. We saw many different species of fish and other marine life including Caribbean Reef Sharks, turtles, huge Groupers and a Spotted Eagle Ray (seen by Colin, Tina and Mark). Iain and Andy were lucky (depending on your point of view) enough to see the sharks hunting for real.
In addition to the diving we also had the chance to visit some of the islands. Particularly memorable was the beach party. Using the small boat and ocean kayaks which Cat Ppalu carries we made our way onto a deserted beach. Here we were plied with Rum Punch and drunken rowdiness naturally ensued. The photo (right) was taken before too much of the deadly punch had been consumed (more pictures of this day are in the gallery). This certainly left a few of us feeling a bit fragile the following morning! Other land excursions included a trip to see the iguanas which frequent one of the beaches on Allen's Cay. We also visited the Exumas Land and Sea Park headquarters at Warwderick Wells (surely named by a Monty Python fan).
Later in the week we got to try our hand at fishing. The area is frequented by a number of big game fish which are all apparently tasty so we were looking forward to a great meal. Unfortunately, although we did land some fish, the two Barracuda caught by Alex and the African Pompano caught by Iain were not suitable for eating so they ended up with their freedom.
It was with a tinge of sadness that the Crazy Kids parted company from Cat Ppalu after a fantastic weeks trip. Luckily we were not going home at this point. It was time for holiday part II to begin...

West Palm Beach (23rd - 26th November)

After a short hop from Nassau we arrived in West Palm Beach, collected our rental vehicles and made our badly-navigated way to the Days Inn on Singer Island. The hotel was crammed as there was a large hockey tournament going on and teenage girls were all around!
Our first dives in West Palm Beach were the following afternoon. We were diving with Jim Abernethys Scuba Adventures. We were lucky enough to be on the boat with Jim himself. We also had two great dive guides, George and Leonora. We wanted to concentrate on wreck diving and they were certainly able to oblige. On the first day we dived the Spiny Oyster Barge. For a second dive we decided to do a shark dive and we were certainly not dissappointed. Jim's enthusiasm for sharks was really infectious and we were treated to a great dive with about twelve Caribbean Reef Sharks and six Nurse Sharks not to mention a huge Moray Eel. It is a real priviledge to be sharing the sea with these magnificent creatures. The sea was rather rough and the gulf stream means that there is always current running in West Palm Beach but we were overwhelmed by the quality of the diving!
The next day was a busy dive day with three wrecks and a reef. The highlight was the first wreck which was the Princess Anne. There were numerous opportinuities for great swim-throughs all of which had visible exits and the wreck was teeming with huge Barracuda. On the third and final day we dived the Palm Beach Corridor which is a drift dive over four wrecks where we saw several turtles. For the final dive we repeated our shark dive which was just as great as before.
After the final dive we had a mad dash to the car rental to get the vehicles back before the group split. Colin, Alex, Miles, Hilary, Iain and Tina headed off to meet up with Nigel and Eddie in Orlando and holiday part III. The rest of the group returned to the hotel for some chilling out before their flights back to cold, wet England in the next two days.

Florida (26th - 1st December)

The remaining few days became a mad dash around Florida cramming as much fun into the time available. On the first day we hit Universal Studios Islands of Adenture theme park and rode the roller coasters until we could take no more.
The second day was already booked as snorkelling with Manatees. These gentle giants are endangered and unique to the Florida area. It is estimated that there are around 3,000 left but numbers are stabilising due to an extensive protection campaign. They are incredibly friendly and playful, coming to meet snorkellers and rolling over to have their tummies stroked. There was even one chewing the anchor rope of the boat which stayed attached even when the boat moved.
We then returned to Orlando and went to the Wet'n'Wild water park before heading East for the shuttle launch. Unfortunately this was delayed so we missed it and headed South where we spent the night in North Palm Beach. In the morning we headed South again to Fort Lauderdale. The reptile lovers amongst us hit the everglades where we came face to face with some of the local wildlife including alligators and racoons and went on an airboat ride.
For the final night we went to a nice restaurant and were entertained by a cabaret singer who was amazed that we seemed to know the words to all her songs. We got through a stack of wine and a good night was had by all. Iain had so much fun that after we all got back to the hotel he went back to the bar and spent the next three hours drinking with some of the local characters of various sexual orientation.
A short drive to the airport in the morning and we were all on our way home after a great trip :-)

Blue Planet Shark Dive, England

by Kay Rainsley, 6th October 2001

It was warm, it was wet, and it was full of sharks. But these were not the nasty sharks of myth or legend but the everyday sharks of real life.
Twelve divers from the Leamington and Warwick branch of the British Sub Aqua Club were delighted to have been given the privilege of visiting the Lemon, Sand Tiger and Nurse sharks which inhabit the aquarium at Ellesmere Port. After a briefing by one of the staff we entered the shark tank in fours minus our fins. Two members of staff led the way around the very realistic man-made coral heads and rock formations.
Unlike wild sharks the tank inhabitants cannot get away from us so we were told not to touch them. Wild sharks are happy to be stroked and simply make to swim away when they have had enough. Their skin is soft when stroked from head to tail yet rough from tail to head because of the dentine in their skin.
Two of my little granddaughters watched excitedly as we walked around the tank. They waved to us and watched the sharks with wide eyes. We'd been told to look for sharks' teeth in the sand. Sharks lose one tooth every eight days. As we picked up handfuls to sprinkle, small shoals of pork fish hovered under the falling grains enjoying a welcome scratch. The sharks, curious to see what we were up to, glided over and then nonchalantly cruised away again. The sand tiger sharks look scary with their three rows of teeth protruding from their mouths and cold, lifeless, eyes but the sharks were extremely well behaved and at no point did anyone feel ill at ease. A selection of rays from the same cartilaginous group as the sharks approached us flapped their wings and settled on the bottom. Bright green moray eels peered out of their hides with their trademark gaping mouths as we walked clumsily past. Sometimes a shark would approach a diver from behind and skim across their head as they surveyed the scene. They ranged in length from four feet to nine feet and most still have a lot of growing to do. Brightly coloured surgeon fish, their scalpel like fins clearly visible, mingled with the yellow angel fish whilst trigger fish darted around inquisitively. Streamlined silver jacks and large silver tuna fish completed the scene. The sharks were definitely clothed in the drabbest attire amongst the colourful fish and diving equipment.
It occurred to me that although we had been given a briefing the sharks had not, yet they swam around many times taking an interest in their visitors but not attempting to touch us. The sharks are used to being hand fed but at no point did they approach our hands although we had been told not to waggle our fingers as some of the smaller fish would nibble them. Several of us were nibbled by inquisitive jacks.
As each group finished their half hour visit to the world of the shark they marvelled at the way in which they had been received. For some it was their closest encounter with sharks for others it was another memorable dive with them. Later the lights would be turned off for 12 hours to give all of the creatures of the Blue Planet a well earned rest.
Sharks have survived for 450 million years yet today some of the 350 species are close to extinction. They are hunted relentlessly for their fins for soup. About 15 million a year are killed whereas less than 20 people a year die from shark attacks. More people die on the roads in the UK each month than have ever been killed by sharks. A shark injected with AIDS every day will never contract the disease. The same is true of cancer. Shark corneas are unique in being successfully implanted into humans without rejection. In the wild as top predators sharks remove the sick, the old and the slow from the gene pool leaving healthy specimens to reproduce. With one fifth of the world's population reliant on fish as their staple diet mass starvation would follow diseased fish stocks. Many species of sharks are harmless plankton feeders.
Peter Benchley, author of Jaws, bitterly regretted his part in giving the sharks a bad press but it was too late. Sharks have no voice. It is down to us, our children and grandchildren to pass on the message that we can live peacefully with sharks. The sharks know that it is the humans that need to be educated.

Cornwall, England

by Chris Newby, 7th - 9th September 2001

Hell it's going to be windy in the Farne Islands this weekend. The gloom of the weather forecast had not been getting any better as the week went on.
With two RIBs and a hard boat planned for the Farne Islands that weekend and gale force winds predicted, we didn't fancy travelling all the way to the Farnes and getting no diving. We decided not to chance it and made calls to cancel our accommodation arrangements. This is when the fun started...
On Thursday night at 8 pm we had no idea of where we were going instead, where we were going to stay or what diving we would be doing. On reading entire volumes 1-4 of 'Dive the South Coast', we decided that we would plump for Porthkerris and try to find some accommodation at St Keverne. About thirty phone calls later, many to some rather inbred Cornish folk we managed to fit all five of us into an assortment of B+Bs, peoples houses and pubs. We arrived in the bar of the 3 Tuns at 10.45 and were pleasantly surprised that the area was clearly exempt of normal UK licensing restrictions.
Next morning everyone was slightly jaded to say the least. We reluctantly put together the kit and the boat and were swiftly launched by the local friendly farmer and his "Lamborghini Tractor".
The first wreck was the Volnay which was not far from the harbour. On the wreck we came across loads of small lead balls and brass fittings. There were also several of these strange components which were remarkably intact. Later it turned out that these were a consignment of anti-personnel mines from earlier in the century.
Next Dive we charged off down the coast and completed a nice drift dive under the hotel off Coverack. This was a fantastic scenic dive where we got to 22 metres. Not bad for a second dive, pinnacles, gullies and lots of really unusual static sea life.
Sunday was a much better day and the wind seemed to drop and the sun was shining. Unfortunately the trip which had gone to the Farnes called us to say that the wind had picked up and their trip had been blown out. Still they did get a couple of really good dives on the Saturday.
We plodded out to the Manacles and dropped straight in to the wreck of the Juno, completely by accident. This dive was stunning; we were seeing the kind of life which you really would expect to see in foreign climes.
Towards the end of the dive at around 22 metres we found a large wide gully which was perfectly still and packed full of fan corals! Keep using CFCs is what I say!
Next dive was just out of the harbour again around a classic novice dive out of Porthkerris. The dive can be done from the shore but having the boat allowed us to drop straight into the action. Yet again what might have appeared to be a pretty unexciting location turned out to be anything but. Where we dropped in we were quickly greeted by the local cuttlefish who was clearly very curious as to what we were. Personally I think he was looking at Ashley thinking "What's that growing on your chin?" Other spectacles included a John Dory (yes it's a fish), an entire colony of prawns and many more cuttlefish.
On the morning of the last day we were again greeted with a morning's brilliant sunshine. It was hot !!!
We dropped into the Mohegan Wreck on the Manacles. This consisted of the enormous boilers which stood about four metres high each. The wreck was quite eerie. We drifted off the wreck and proceeded to have lovely drift over the surrounding area.
We finished off the weekend with a fine lunch in the dive centre. After Monday the sun had been so intense, it really did look like we had all had thirty minutes in the microwave.

Weymouth, England

by Colin Clark, 14th - 16th September 2001

The cast: Colin Clark, Alex Gildea, Andy & Helen Hay, Jules Kelley, Tim Archer, Tina Mullins, Ann Liddington and Toby Jones.
After a week of miserable weather we were concerned that our trainee trip to Weymouth would be a wash-out but this could not have been further from the truth. We all assembled in the pub on Friday evening and enjoyed a few ales safe in the knowledge that we did not have to meet the boat until 10 am the following morning.
The morning came and the sun shed in through the bedroom window. We met the boat as planned at Nothe Quay and loaded up. The weekend got off to a sparkling start for new member Tina Mullins who managed to drop Andy's sweatshirt into the water so there will be at least one candidate for Wally Diver this year!
The first dive was to be the wreck of the Blackhawk which lies in 18m of water. The wreck is quite broken but several parts were recognisable and it was teeming with fish including Wrasse, Bibb and Pollock. After around twenty minutes on the wreck most of the divers drifted off over the rocky seabed which was alive with crabs. There were then yelps of joy to be heard from those who had not used this particular boat before because instead of the usual ladder for getting out of the water, Divetime has a lift! After a slightly rough ride back to Balaclava Bay near Portland we enjoyed the home made soup and rolls served up by the boat's crew. The second dive was a sand dredger on the bay which is very broken up.
Unbeknown to the organisers, the trip coincided with the Weymouth Waterfest so the harbour was graced with tall ships. There were also many events laid on including a pirate battle, an illuminated boat parade and fireworks. All of this meant that the usually quiet pubs were busy and there was a great atmosphere in the town. We have booked the boat again for next year on Waterfest weekend.
Sunday saw another civilized 10 am start. We headed off to Lullworth Cove where we dived the largely intact wreck of a landing craft. This wreck also had abundant fish life. In the afternoon we dived the popular wreck of HMS Hood which was sunk as a blockship in one of the entrances of Portland Harbour. This is a great shallow wreck and ideal for trainee divers. There are ample opportunities for some safe wreck penetration. We were even treated to the unusual sight of a John Dory. These are one of the more strange looking British fish and this was the first time I had seen one! Others were rather startled as we came face to face with a large seal inside the wreck.
Overall this was a very enjoyable trip and we will certainly be returning.

Tyne & Wear

"No Fog on the Tyne"
by Kay Rainsley, 11th - 12th July

Well, not when we were there anyway! The long drive north was rewarded by a suffusion of life both above and below the waterline. The weather was hot and sunny, the locals were friendly and welcoming, and the quaint little fishing village that we had in mind was (in the words of our landlord) 'buzzing'.
There is nothing quite as exhilarating as hanging onto the side of a large rigid inflatable hulled boat whilst the 200 horse power engine makes light work of the distance between shore and dive site. We certainly covered a fair distance before arriving at Mars. The Swedish vessel had been sunk in 1941 and was quite badly broken up. The descent down the shot line took us from relative gloom to pitch black by the time we reached the bottom at 30 metres. We illuminated our torches and picked out the features in the beam, boilers, plates of metal and large portions of the ship's superstructure became visible. Lobsters scurried to and fro carefully retreating into their holes as our lights appeared, their antennae giving away their lairs. Smaller squat lobsters watched us approaching, their brightly coloured red and turquoise carapaces shining in the gloom whilst larger denizens of the deep glided by. Large dead mans fingers and soft corals wafted in the gentle underwater current their white fronds strangely luminescent against the dark backdrop of wreckage. Someone reported an octopus sighting and shoals of haddock swam nearby. We didn't see the five foot cod which was supposed to haunt, I mean live, there.
A quick spurt back to shore meant that we had ample time to recharge our batteries before a second foray into the mouth of the Tyne. Our next port of call was the Pandora and we all made a pact not to open any boxes that we might find. She was lying in 24 metres of water and had been sunk by a mine. The wreck was well broken up with her innards disgorged across the seabed. The boilers, however, were easily recognisable and home to a myriad of small sea creatures. The selection of heads peering out from the condensers had the look of a multi-storey home for crabs, shrimps and squat lobsters. Small butterfish curled around the wreckage before making off for pastures new. Now and again a piece of netting would waft as a reminder to divers to keep well clear. Luckily it was the old rope variety which is much more visible to divers than the more modern, and sometimes deadly, filament netting. It added to the eerie atmosphere.
We were about to surface when we spotted that strange outline in the sand that makes a diver have a second look. A large angler fish reposed on a rock. Its tell-tale lure was flattened against its back, the black eyes motionless, and its two foot long body sculpted against a rock. The massive mouth lay strangely quiet, waiting. A small flat fish undulated as it passed by and settled close to the angler. We watched with baited breath but the angler didn't move a muscle. Elated from our close encounter we ascended through the murk and waited for the boat to pick us up.
Sunday morning presented problems initially with the boat's engine tilt not functioning properly but after running repairs it was pronounced ready to go. The first site was that of No. 55 or Renen which had been sunk in 1920. It was broken into two main chunks both of which housed an array of nudibranchs and assorted crustacea. The boilers were clearly visible and the dive proved to be a pleasant one.
The afternoon brought us a double treasure, that of the Oslofjord and the Eugene Chandice lying at 90 degrees to each other in just 10 metres of water. There was an abundance of swim throughs on the former cruise liner (Oslofjord) and the tiles from the swimming pool were clearly visible as was the wooden planking. She had met her end in 1940. Shoals of cod hovered over the decking sheltering from possible danger. The Eugene Chandice had been a supply ship carrying ammunition and was sunk in 1943, her cargo holds filled with bullets and small shells. Much of the evidence still littered the dive site, the date stamps of 1942 clearly visible. Seeing two wrecks on one dive site was a fitting end to an excellent diving weekend. And as for that fog, maybe it's just a ruse to keep us southerners away.

Anglesey

"Cruising the Copper Coast"
by Kay Rainsley, 14th - 15th July 2001

For those of you who are wondering the whereabouts of the Copper Coast it can be found at Amlwch, Anglesey. Amlwch is situated on the north eastern corner of Anglesey and it was from that very port that copper was once exported all over the world. The golden beaches of Trearddur Bay and Porth Dafarch are both recipients of the European Blue Flag award so it is a very pleasant venue for divers and non divers alike.
Friday evening was punctuated with divers arriving until the party of ten had assembled in the pub which the skipper ran together with his wife. There was talk of wrecks and reefs and much speculation as to the state of the weather for the weekend.
We assembled at the port for a leisurely start but were rather perturbed to find that all of the equipment had to be lowered about twelve feet down the harbour wall onto the 'Cirrus' that was waiting below. There was an air of joviality as the kit was stowed onto the deck. Our wreck 'Lady Windsor' lay in approximately thirty metres of water and was completely broken in half. The shot line, which was too long, led us on a haphazard route to the wreck and anticipation built as we followed the blue line through the water, obscured by plankton, to the sea bed. Lady Windsor, a World War II casualty, was festooned with deadman's fingers and sea anemones of different hues and was home to a host of sea life. A large lobster scuttled along the line of the ship looking for a hiding place and huge shoals of poor cod and bib danced on the decks. Rusty metal was transformed into a haven for fish and crustaceans and small butterfish wove their way through the trailing weeds. We clambered back on board pleased with our introduction to Anglesey diving.
Our happiness was short lived, the second dive was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions so we headed back to Treardurr Bay to refill the tanks and contemplate. An evening meal in the Ship Inn at Red Wharf was organised and a hired minibus meant that everyone could enjoy a drink as we relived the morning and anticipated the next dive.
Sunday morning brought an even more leisurely start due to the state of the tides. The skipper, David Jones, recommended that we dive the wreck of the Mona sunk in 1943 by a torpedo. This time the shot line led us to part of the wreck that was reputedly in several pieces. The surrounding sandy area was home to various flat fish, many of them juveniles, who flapped their way across the sea floor flicking up sand to cover their tell tale outlines as they landed. Their camouflage made it difficult to spot them until they moved. Again there was a preponderance of deadman's fingers, together with various anemones and algaes. The visibility was better than the previous day at about 10 metres. Gazing into a hold a large conger eel gazed back before retreating into its hole. Congers cannot resist coming back for a further look though so it was only a matter of waiting before it popped out again. The light from my torch reflected on the teeming fish giving them a mirrored look as they twisted and turned hovering above the wreck.
Our last port of call was a smashed up wreck which had been used to carry perfume bottles. The Dakota lay in 19 metres of water just outside the harbour and was a bit the worse for wear. I spotted lots of broken crockery, which upon examination, seemed to have been bone china and quite pretty. The fish seemed to like it anyway and swam around it quite happily. Some plates were, as they had fallen when the ship went down, fixed solidly into crud that had formed around them. I didn't see any perfume bottles but I could swear that I got a whiff of Chanel 5 as we left the dive site. We checked our computers and made our way back up onto the boat. The diving ladder was easy to negotiate and we all landed up back on the deck ready to discus sightings of flatfish, lobsters, conger eels and other fish.
Positive points include the noticeable lack of divers in the area, the phenomenal amount of fish life living on the wrecks, the large number of wrecks in the area, the high standard, attractive beaches and our extremely helpful landlady who, as Chris remarked 'really wanted to look after us well'. We also shared two communal meals, plus breakfasts in the B & B so there was ample opportunity to share information / concerns amongst ourselves. All in all we had found our own little crock of gold on the Copper Coast.

Northern Ireland

by Andy Hay, 30th June - 4th July 2001

Our trip this year was again aboard M.V. Salutay, our main objective was to dive the Isle of Man. As we arrived on Saturday evening at Port Patrick near Stranraer, it became clear that to keep this objective was not possible as the wind was from the South West. Therefore the decision was taken to go to Northern Ireland where the wind would be coming off the land, and so would give us some shelter.
Sunday morning saw us at Ballycastle N1. We sailed out and dived a wreck at the tip of Rathlin Island. After lunch we dived HMS Drake, a heavy Cruiser torpedoed during the First World War which was quite shallow but still interesting. The following day started with a dive on the North Wall of Rathlin, this dive gave everybody the chance to pick their depth, thankfully not to the bottom (over 200m, not feet)! On the ascent we were joined by Razorbills and Guillemots, diving for fish and at times curious of the divers.
The highlight of the trip was a dive on the Castle Eden, the visibility was around 20m, and with conger eels, ling, crabs and lobsters galore, everybody thoroughly enjoyed themselves. In the afternoon, on an ascent from another dive, a salmon net drifted very close to four of us reminding us of the dangers with all aspects of a sport very close to our hearts. The boat was right above us as we surfaced as if to demonstrate that the skipper knew our concerns and where we were. It gives you confidence to know that when a problem occurs, a solution is close at hand. Unfortunately there were no salmon caught in the net, but the food on board was excellent.
We arrived back on Wednesday p.m. to then unload the boat, repack the cars and then drive the 300 miles south home (a place 170 miles from the nearest decent sea) to the sound of motorways, snoring and work the following day.

Hope Cove

by Chris Newby, 26th - 28th May 2001

We arrived in Hope Cove on Friday evening at the Hope and Anchor Inn where we were all staying. The place was fairly lively and had recently been refurbished. (Not bad for £20 a night each).
In the morning we kitted up and loaded everything into the carpark ready to launch the boats. As it was a novice trip not everyone knew what they were doing on the boats so we were not the "best oiled machine". We launched the three ribs into the sea at which point the fog descended upon us like a thick blanket. We carefully headed out along the coast keeping land and the other ribs in sight.
1st Dive was off Burgh Island and everyone used a bright SMB with one boat following each pair of divers. The fog gradually became heavier and heavier and it was clear that the second pair of divers would have to wait for their dives. We got our divers into the boats and regrouped our boats seeing as Nicky and Toby had decided it was a good idea to swim 1/4 mile down the coast.
We broke for lunch and waited for the fog to lift. We moored close to the coast but had not realised that we were close to the walkway to Burgh Island. At low water it is possible to walk to the island. As we had only seen this site at high-water few had realised that in fact this existed. Imagine the surprise when the fog gradually lifted and people were seen walking on water!
The fog cleared and later that day we decided to chance our luck heading around the coast, the combination of tide and wind made it uncomfortable to round the coast so we decided to do a very ordinary dive in and around Hope Cove itself. Little did we realise that this was to be one of the most stunning dives of the trip. At little below 10 metres there was a colourful array of cuttlefish, numerous pipe fish, lobsters and huge amounts of fish of every description.
Later in the evening we retired to the Hope and Anchor and listened to "Derry Aire" the local banjo and guitar duo. One might think by the name that this was a hillbilly outfit but no they had us all dancing on the tables by the end of the night.
Next day we again hit a bit of fog trouble but it did not impede us too much from having two splendid dives.

Doune Bay, Scotland

22nd - 29th July 2000

Friday 22nd July saw twelve divers (one pregnant diver – who was there just for the views) from Leamington and Warwick BSAC travel up to Scotland. We were bound for Doune Bay Lodge. We arrived at Mallaig from where we were picked up by the two boats 'Mary Doune' and 'Gripper'. A 20 minute journey saw us arriving in Doune Bay. We, the divers, were staying in a lodge with one set of parents (other wise known as the babysitters) and Caroline (aged 4.5!) staying in one of the stone lodges that Doune had.
The diving started in earnest on the Sunday with us travelling aboard Mary Doune to local islands for a wall dive off Dun Mor. The Monday saw us travel to South Skye for another scenic dive and in the afternoon a wall dive turned into a dive for scallops. Four members brought up goody bags (divers net bags) full of scallops, with honours going to Andy & Helen Hay for proving the majority of scallops, which turned into a fantastic dinner the following evening. The diving continued with a 3.4 knot drift dive with one of the team commenting it was like flying past a field of mushrooms, with the occasional crab in-between the rocks! We also dived the wreck of the Port Napier just off Skye and more wall dives. Divers saw conger eels, crawfish, crabs of all shapes and sizes and squat-lobsters (some destined for another meal)! Three braved a night dive where we saw squid, lobsters and stone fish and to quote Les Rainsley "Night dives are always something special".
The weather throughout the week was sunny, hot and we had calm, flat waters. All of this contributed to a great weeks diving. We were also treated to great views of Minke whales, Basking sharks and seals. The coast line around Skye, Eigg, Rum and Muck was picturesque and very relaxing. What with great diving, a great skipper Andy, and too much of the good food provided by Doune, Leamington and Warwick BSAC had a fantastic week. The feelings of all were aptly summed up on the final evening by a tearful little Caroline "I don't want to go home!"