On the Monday, our finally day, the sun was shining and the sea flat and calm, perfect.  Once we’d loaded up the boat we headed out to our first dive of the day, unfortunately I didn’t write the name of the wreck in my look book, but it was lying in about 30m of water and largely intact.  I was diving with Nick and Jason, Jason went down a couple of mins before me and nick as we were faffing and he was getting hot!  When we got to the bottom of the shot line, the top of the wreck, Jason was looking very pleased with himself and pointed at a couple of crabs that were, er, getting it on!  Another wildlife first for me!  This was another fairly short dive because of the depth and we didn’t want to incur any deco.  It’s a really nice wreck though, defiantly worth another visit.  Between dives we headed back to the harbour for lunch Doug stopped just outside to tie up on a buoy, whilst manoeuvring out the way of another boat we got a little stuck and heard some strange sounds coming from below!  Doug stopped the engines and myself and Lisa were looking over the back of the back of the boat to see if we could see what was up when suddenly a huge back and yellow ‘Dead Slow’ buoy shot up from under the boat!  Doug managed to accidently run it over, luckily it didn’t damage the boat, but gave us a bit of a shock as it was the last think we were expecting to see! 

After lunch we set off for our last dive of the trip, this was a drift dive in about 20m of water, the main objective was scalloping.  I was diving with Nick and we spend most of the dive scanning the sea bed for the little dips in the sand created by the scallops.  As the dive progressed I was finding it increasingly difficult to carry my goodie bag as were amassing quite a haul!  When Nick was down to 100bar we decided to surface so I handed him the goodie bag so I could get my DSMB out and felt like I was about to shoot straight to the surface, I hadn’t realised how much air I’d been pumping into my suit to offset the weight of the scallops I’d been carrying!  I quickly grabbed the bag back off him and dumped most of the air out of my suit before that happened!  Once my DSMB was up we attached the goodie bag to my reel and started our accent, I was having trouble winding up my reel because of the weight so Nick got under the bag and pushed while I pulled and wound in the reel, by the time we got to 6m for our safety stop, Nick was down to 30bar because of all the extra effort!!  He had just enough air left to complete our safely stop and inflate his jacket when we got to the surface!  I will be investing in a lift bag before I go scalloping again!  I think we got lucky and must have been dropped on a scallop bed as we were the only ones that came back with a big bag of scallops, Dave managed to find some fossils but most people came back largely empty handed!  It was a thoroughly enjoyable dive and a fitting end to an excellent weekend of diving, many thanks to Jason for organising the trip and to Doug for his excellent skippering and I’m looking forward to the next Lyme Bar trip.  Which is now on the dive calendar for the weekend of the 23 October 2010 so hopefully see you all there.

Rob D.

I was fortunate in being able to travel to Plymouth with Jason. Philippa travelled in her car in company with us. As you might imagine, we got caught in the Friday evening rush hour. These days it seems to start about 2 pm and arrived at Fort Bovisand just after 10 pm. Greetings were exchanged as friends arrived and accommodation was allocated and our nights sleep begun.

Everyone met up for breakfast the following morning. From Batsac, we were Philippa, Bob, Jason and Lisa, the last two being also Sasac members, who provided, Ali, Scott, Rick, Gerrard, Jacqui, Dave, Steve and Teresa (non diving). We were all quickly organised, briefed on our first dive which would be the JEL.  The boat was loaded with kit and bodies and we were away under an overcast sky but on a calm sea.

I was diving with Rick from Sasac whom had only recently begun diving. We discussed his experience and what he expected from the dive. These would be our limiting factors. We entered the water via the stern lift and once settled on the top of the bow at 6 metres, visited the bottom of the bow where it rests on the seabed. We  then ascended to look at the starboard side of this fantastic wreck. We entered one of the open holds from the side and marvelled at the wealth of material still contained within, traversing to the port side and exiting between the ribs before continuing forward to the bow and shot line for our safety stop. We finished an excellent dive
and it was pleasing to see how much Rick enjoyed himself.

We returned in the dive centre between dives for replenishment of cylinders, tea and food. By now the clouds had cleared away and the sun shone on us.

Our next dive was on HMS Scylla, This was another ship I had seen on my previous visit. Pip took the wise decision to sit this dive out having hurt her back. This ship sits slightly deeper at 25m than the JEL. I again dived with Rick, (as I would all weekend). In our talk before starting the dive, we agreed that we would be ultra safety conscious and that we would not enter the wreck even though I had done so the last time. We would look through the doorways and the holes cut in the sides of the ship. We swam along the fore deck, descended to swim along the starboard side and view inside the ship, then ascended to swim forward along the outside walkway, crossing to the port side to swim towards the stern of the ship also along the outside walkway. We rose up to look at the helicopter hanger then forward over the top of the ship to above the bridge where we deployed a dsmb and hence back to a sunlit surface. A good pick up and another good dive. 

Sunday morning arrived bright and sunny and we were blessed once again, with no wind. Determined to make the most of the exceptional conditions, it was decided to dive the Rosehill, a coal carrying freighter, (collier?) sunk in WW1. The Rosehill is much broken up and lies at a depth of 30 metres. Apparently it is not often dived due to prevailing unfavourable conditions. Today was different; we enjoyed flat seas and a bright day. The diving pairs splashed in. Again Rick and I were diving as a pair and followed the shot line down. I remembered the skipper saying that the shot was within three feet of the boilers but the bottom had been kicked up by those before us. I could not distinguish any feature. We swam off into clearer waters, with about 8 metres visibility, over a flat bottom but without recognising anything. I soon noticed regular lines in the seabed and guessed we were swimming over the horizontal ships side. We dropped down another metre over a small cliff and found the debris field spread out in front of us. We followed this until it abruptly finished.  Not wanting to swim off the wreck, I indicated that we should reverse direction but move a little way to our right. This brought us directly the a large anchor, still in the hawse hole, and with the chain attached. We continued our progress and saw where the internal ribs had punctured the outer skin of the ship when it had collapsed onto them. I was mindful of our bottom time and two minutes before the time of our ascent we came upon the two massive boilers. I decided if we found the shot line, we need not deploy a dsmb. We skirted around the reverse of the boilers, finding a line that Lisa and Steve had deployed to the stern and just as expected, the shot line. Rick and I ascended to complete our first deep stop at 16 metres, then gently upwards to stop under Jacqui and Philippa conducting their own stop at 11 metres. Above them were Jason and Gerrard. Eventually we regained the surface, bobbing gently whilst awaiting pick up. The sea was so calm that we were able to relax and able to talk about the dive we had completed. 

Once again we returned to Fort Bovisand to refresh cylinders and bodies. We would have another dive on the JEL. This time I dived with Rick, Gerrard and and Lisa who would be taking the rest of us through some skills.  These completed, Rick and Gerrard swam off to explore the wreck and Lisa and I did the same. The benefits of repeated diving over the period of a few days now became apparent as I was so relaxed that my breathing rate dropped so much that my air contents gauge did not seem to move. Lisa and I drifted through hold after hold of the JEL, examining the contents and performing circuits of this impressive ship to revisit areas we had previously seen. The JEL is a large and atmospheric wreck and the 15 metre visibility and good light levels allowed us float between the ribs of the ship and examine the remaining cargo and wildlife living on and amongst it. Eventually we surfaced having completed a 55 minute dive. I had enough air remaining in my twin 10’s that was sufficient for another dive. We were the last to ascend and waited on the surface for the boat to come over to pick us up. We watched everyone on board relaxing and chatting and after a couple of minutes, had to shout to attract their attention.

Our return to shore was the last for this weekend. Once we had unloaded the boat, it was time to settle our accounts and load our cars for the journey home. I don’t think anyone I know enjoys this part of the weekend but has to be done. We became entangled in road works and delays on the way home. It was a fantastic weekend for socialising and diving, enhanced by being so lucky with the weather. As Pip said “the last summer weekend of the year” How right she was.

I would like to thank all those who were there for making it such an enjoyable weekend.

I had left work early on Friday afternoon. Always a good move! Les picked me up in his van at 5 o’clock, we then collected Pip and we were off! To join the traffic jams on the M25 and then the M3. Eventually this cleared and we made good progress. Later in the evening we stopped at a Little Chef and there were joined by Lisa and Jason. We arrived at our weekend accommodation and settled in for a good night’s sleep.

After breakfasting we make our way to the picturesque quay known as the Cobb. 

Loading our dive kit on to Blue Turtle,    we were soon making our way to Saw Tooth Ledges. This was a good place to see Sunset corals, Feather Pens, Pink Sea Fans, Light Bulb Sea Squints, Breadcrumb Sponges, Boring Sponges, Horn Wrack, Devonshire Cup Corals, Jewel Anemones and lots of Peacock worms. There were even a few fish as well! On the Ledges and the wrecks that we dived during this weekend we saw Conger Eels, lots and big: Bib, (big shoals), Pollock, Coley, Gold Skinny Wrasse, Tompot Blennies, (lots and lots), Balen Wrasse, Corkwing, Yarrells Blennies, prawns and crabs.

I was diving with Les and Reuben. We experienced 5 metres viz, at a depth of 23 metres for 47 minutes. Temperature on the surface was 22 degrees and at depth 15 degrees. A good dive.

Our surface time was spent on the boat, enjoying lunch and the fantastic day. Our second dive of the day was on the Baygitano, at 21 metres. I dived with Reuben and enjoyed seeing the wreck with all the marine life on it. We found the tail end of a Conger in pipe: and pulled it!  The boilers on this ship are the highest and most prominent feature of it, being large and located adjacent to the still upright engine. All too soon it was time to surface. There never seems to be enough time to see everything that is available.

With all divers safely aboard, even though Lisa experienced a boot malfunction! it was back to harbour to unload all our kit and visit the seafront for ice cream and tea.

After this, it was back to the accommodation to clean up before returning to town for our evening meal all together.  The sea air worked its magic because most of us retired early to sleep away the day’s exertions.

I would like to say that we were all up early the next morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed, but then again you wouldn’t want me to lie to you. It is sufficient that we all made it back to the harbour in good time to board Blue Turtle for that day’s adventures. And the weather was still fantastic, it was the true summer that we never had.

We seemed to have a long surface interval but it was spent enjoyably. We returned to harbour for medical treatment to the skippers eye. His boat was safe with us, he had left his beautiful dog on board to guard both it and us.

The second dive of the day and last of the weekend was back to the Baygitano (see wreck tour here). This time I dived with Nick and Les. Nick spotted a conger located under a plate, this one was bigger than the others of earlier in the day. I stayed clear of it. The visibility was 5 to 8 metres so enabled us to see a lot of the ship. Once again, we failed to find any Scallops but some who shall remain nameless, Philippa and Jason collected a bumper harvest. All divers surfaced safely and once unloaded at the harbour was completed, the only thing left to do was drive home and end an exciting and enjoyable weekend with a great group of friends.

Philippa and I responded to Dave’s call to go diving on 31st August. It would be an exciting new dive to view WW11 tanks and armoured bulldozers lost on their way to France in June 1944. Articles had recently appeared in the national and diving press about them.

However, on the Friday, two days before we were due to dive on the Sunday, another club member, Reuben phoned me at work to say that Wittering Divers had confirmed that they had only two spaces vacant for dives the following day, Saturday 30th August. Did I want to go diving? Needless to say Reuben and I found ourselves on the beach at Bracklesham Bay early that morning. The sky was not yet fully light but just kept improving and improving all day long. It was the one day summer that was only equalled by the fantastic weekend weather in the middle of October. Land/surface temperatures were 24 degrees and seabed temperatures on both dives proved to be 18 degrees.

With the sea like a millpond, the 20 minute drive by rib out to the The Brigette, aka the T Pot, was easy. In we went, descending the shot line to find acceptable ambient light with viz at 3 – 4 metres. Our dive to 19 metres lasted 47 minutes with us identifying the bilge keels on the upturned hull, finding the propeller still in situ and looking in the boilers to discover that the resident conger was not at home that day and had been replaced by a shoal of fish.

Upon surfacing, we found a 1 metre swell running with us constantly losing sight of the rib. The ride to shore was a little more interesting than our outward trip but pleasant none the less.

Our second dive of the day was much closer to shore being at the Fossil Beds. Our dive was a slow drift at 13 metres and last 54 minutes. We did not find any sharks teeth although we know they are there. We just didn’t get our eye in and look in the right places. We did do a good deed and released a fish, a crab and a lobster who were sharing a very confined space in an abandoned trap.

Even good things have to end and eventually Reuben and I had to leave Bracklesham to drive home. And the sun was still shining! All the way! 

An early start on Sunday morning saw Philippa, Dave and me in the car park at Bracklesham Bay. The weather was overcast and dark. Quite different from the previous day. We kitted up and waited for the rib which arrived after a short delay.
The ride out from the coast was not bad; we travelled 8 miles from the shore to the tanks and bulldozers dive site at 23m metres (see telegraph article here)

The sea was calm at the surface and we all went in, however surface light was lost at 13 metres and I and Pip called a halt to the dive due to the very poor viz at the seabed. All other divers on the rib would appear to have been of a similar mind as all were back on board within 20 minutes. We were delayed on our return to shore as the skipper could not retrieve his shot despite attempting to do so from all directions. Eventually he had to give it best and cut his line. See inset image for what the tanks "should" have looked like :)

Our surface interval on shore provided us with an opportunity for lunch and ample time to refill cylinders. The knock on effect of our late return from our first dive now came into play with the rib returning to shore much later than planned from the shuttle dive trip after ours of the early morning.  With the sky threatening rain and rising winds we set off for our second dive. This was a long trip along the coast of half an hour’s duration. We were diving on the site of the Phoenix Unit of the Mulberry Harbour but planned to follow an alternative rope once on the seabed. This rope should bring us to a little dived wreck named the Cuckoo. This is a small, complete boat located near the much more often dived Phoenix Unit. Dave was very good in finding the Cuckoo, there were a few ropes but he picked the correct one. We hand hauled ourselves along the seabed until it came into view. Twice around it and we returned to Rope Junction and were ably led by Dave to view a good portion of the Phoenix. Just before our ascent we were fortunate to see a large shoal of fish which topped off the dive nicely. Our max depth was 10 metres for 55 minutes at 19 degrees.
A very pleasant and enjoyable dive. See a nice write up of the far mulberry dive here

Our return to the surface was quite different! The weather had deteriorated badly with a swell running and rain and high winds. Our journey back along the coast was most interesting. The weather and the seas seemed to be in a competition as who could behave the worst. There was so much water coming into the rib from all directions that I thought I would be credited with another dive that day as my computer would surely activate! However, we bore this with fortitude, Dave and I sheltered behind Pip. She’s a good girl.

At journey’s end the weather calmed down and as soon as we had changed from dive gear into travelling home clothes, getting them wet in the process, the rain stopped!