2009 Report

"In Search of the Cuttlefish"
by Rose Ledbury, 17th - 20th April 2009
Arrival at Babbacombe bay early on Friday afternoon finds Nigel already in the water and Trevor already has tales of dolphins frolicking in the Bay. Looks like a good weekend is already underway.
A quick kitting up and I team up with Shaun for an exploration dive. It's my first time at Babbacombe so I'm not entirely sure what to expect; the information on the internet warn not to go past 15 meters in depth as 'here be currents' – not entirely sure how far you would have to swim for this, we struggled to find 8 meters! Navigation could not be simpler – north for sea, south for shore.
After a particularly ungraceful entry we head straight out from the shore. Fining over small rocks covered in brightly coloured weeds and teaming with tiny blennies, at around 7 meters the rocks fade in to sand - we went out for a look but did not find much more than a few crabs. Turned round and went back to the rocks and found 'mushroom rock' a huge boulder with overhangs. Look closely here and find jewel anemones, sponges, shrimp and red eyed crabs. Look up and see large Ballan Wrass and kelp silhouetted against the sunlight streaming through the water. A really pretty spot.
We then followed the sand/rock line west. After a few minutes the weeds are replaced by a garden of snake locks anemones – I have never seen so many in one spot; their long tentacles are soft purple with bright purple tips, occasionally having flashes of vivid green or vibrant pink. Turning back to shore this is where I have been reliably informed that the cuttlefish are hanging around, however there are none too be seen. Further towards the shore the large Wrass are breeding in the longer weeds. Watching the weeds swish around make us both dizzy so we swim on the surface to the slipway for the most inelegant exit – much to the delight of those onshore.
That afternoon we locate the caravan park and find that luxury is not an option. Perhaps the smallest rooms imaginable and entertainment that makes Phoenix Nights look fantastic. Still the beer flows and a game of bingo is inevitable.
Saturday passes with two similar dives – all very pretty and a couple of pipefish sighted but why has everyone seen cuttlefish and not me? Rob and Alistair have now spent most of the day with them. Saturday evening is spent at 'The Ness' - a gastro pub serving great food, and then a few too many beers in 'The Ferry Man' in Shaldon. The usual stagger back through the dark woods was bound to happen!
Sunday starts with a silt stream falling across the bay from the west bringing the viz down to nothing. All we can do is wait for the tide to carry it away so spend all morning sitting in the sun drinking tea – a hard life! We dive in the early afternoon – again no cuttlefish for me but the others have seen them again. I exit with 100 bar left and determined not to leave without a sighting I swiftly turn round and go back in. I nestle myself in the shallows for 5 minutes and at last the cuttlefish arrives! We slowly circle each other for a couple of minutes – he comes amazingly close, changing colour and texture - posing for the camera. An experience well worth waiting for.

2003 Report

" ‘Great White Shark’ did you say?"
by Carol Anning, 3rd - 5th October 2003

It all began on Friday evening – everyone arrived at various times at the rendezvous point, and in good taste our organisers were first: well done Claire and Steve! We gathered at our sanctuary for the weekend and promptly met our hosts, Les and Cynthia, who told us about a local encounter with a great white shark whilst on a body board! (Thanks). Well, we decided over a pint that we would be braving the ocean in the morning.

After a nights sleep we were met by a full English. Having packed the boats we set off up the steep hill in our vehicles. "OOPS! The boat’s gone!" suddenly erupted and out we dived and ran to see that the others were neatly restraining it from causing too much havoc. Thank God for Crook-Locks as we found the electrics disconnected and the jockey wheel down. Once we resurrected this we went off to the harbour.

First on the list was an excellent dive round the Ore rock despite limited visibility and I'm not sure if any of us made it through the hole in the rock or not. There was plenty of marine life to see and lots of nooks and crannies to explore (carefully). By the time that we had done this we were peckish and we headed back to port for a hot chocolate (ta Adam) and lunch. Nicky did a grand job as spoon monitor!

It was like a Carry On film: even though we were all relaxed, the boat key decided that it had had enough and vanished (where to is still a mystery). Luckily we found a very nice man who supplied us with another key. Unfortunately whilst some of us were putting our suits back on, one was minus a cuff and all that was visible was Chris’ suit arm flapping in the breeze!

With Chris helming one of the boats, we bounced over the sea to Cod rock. The sea had a bit of a swell on it at times but all the helmsmen did well and as usual some of us got wetter from the ride than the dive! The diving was good; there were plenty of enormous blennies, wrasse, John pots, spider crabs and other things to see on our way around the rock. Every so often we heard "Watch out for the bas****s" over the radio as we dodged these perilous rocks yet again.

Unfortunately the weather was setting in, so as one boat watched and waited by an SMB we took a spin and found another SMB but no sign of any dive boat (idiots?). After consultation with the group we decided to give it a tug and return the divers to safe waters. Guess who popped up? – a rather puzzled looking Nicky and Claire. So who was the other boat watching? – their SMB which had escaped their clutches when it jammed! Drama over we bounced back to shore.

Once we secured the boats and stowed our gear in Les’ garage we went to freshen up before going in search of food, and maybe the odd drink (or two!), after which most of us were full. Whilst some of us retired, others (who will remain nameless – won’t they Claire, Ashley & Adam!) stayed up to boost the landlord's alcohol revenue for the forthcoming year.

After a gourmet breakfast (well most of us managed it!) we once again sorted the RIBs out and ventured towards the harbour. Unfortunately not all ocean goers are as relaxed as us: Claire very kindly helped him realise what an ignoramus (polite word) he was before we continued on our merry way.

As the weather was supposed to be poor we decided to go and do Thatcher rock. There were a few divers already in the area but this didn't put us off. The visibility was poor and there was a bit of a swell but it was an enjoyable dive. It even turned into a bit of a drift dive – wahay! There were distinctive changes in the marine life and we saw lots of it, including a big silver fish (but no, it wasn't the shark that the landlord had told us about). Thank goodness someone had a flask so that we could trade a Twix for a coffee!

After lunch we set sail again but this time for Cod rock. Once more there was lots to see but the visibility was poor. The ride back into shore was very bumpy and it turned into a bit of a race between the boats but we let the more experienced ones keep their reputation (for now) whilst we gently ambled back in.

Once everyone and everything was stowed securely we began heading back home. The weekend was very enjoyable; the only bad thing about it was the end! Thanks to Claire and Co. for organising a good weekend.