2008 Dive Reports
Send in your dive reports from home or abroad and we'll print them for you. Tell us where you've been, who with, where you dived, and what you saw.

Capernwray - 27th April

Well it’s taken until April to get my first dive in this year, so either I’m getting softer or more experienced as a diver!! With my first sea diving trip booked for 17th May and having not dived since November I really wanted a chance to get wet and check my kit and myself out. I joined a group of my fellow club members at Capernwray for a couple of quick dives. I was diving with Anna who was trying out her twinsets in preparation for the club trip to Oban. I’d also brought my camera along to make sure I started gathering possible entries for the photo competition early. Got to beat that Bottomley chap this year!! The water temp was a barmy 7 to 8 degrees so a quick 30 minute spin around some of the attractions was the order of the day. Then up to the café for a hot cup of tea, chip butty and a chat. For the second dive we braved a trip to the far helicopter and even managed to stumble across the new(ish) boat near the aeroplane. Thankfully no problems with kit or me so all ready for the sea now, roll on 17th May. Rich B.

St. Abbs - 31st May

The first club visit to St Abbs of the year was lead by Andy F and up to the usual high standard. Our first dive on Saturday morning was a 9 am dip into Black Carrs, which helped to clear a few heads from the previous evening. There was plenty of the usual life in and around the gullies including wolf fish, ling, butterfish and lobsters but a bit of a swell and surge made photography a bit tricky for me and my buddy Richard. After the first dive the weather was good enough to eat our breakfast outside in the style that we have become accustomed to at Rock House. Second dive of the day was on Ebb Carrs, this was another good dive with plenty to see, including an octopus spotted by silky Mick, the water was up to 10 degrees but we were all glad of a cup of tea and Mar's bar when we got back on the boat. Soon after the dive the sky cleared completely and after a rest, and perhaps a couple of beers, some loony suggested that we walk the coastal path to Eyemouth, ending at the Ship Inn. Most agreed that this was a great idea and eight of us set out, the views along the way made the hard work of climbing the cliffs in and out of the bays worthwhile and after only about one and a half hours we arrived at the Ship were the rest of the team met us for an excellent meal. Sunday morning Dennis and Dave were up early for an eight thirty start to the Glanmire, unfortunately the wind had picked over night and they had to make do with another dive on Black Carrs. They did better than the rest of us though because after we had kitted up in the harbour our skipper Billy came to tell us the bad news that the conditions were now too bad for us to go out ( there might have been a look of relief on some faces), so we packed up for an early trip home. Despite this disappointment I'm sure that everyone had a great weekend. Stuart Fox

Dunbar - June

Dive Trip Report
Dunbar Scotland
14th / 15th June 2008

Friday
As we were staying at Belhaven Caravan Park I decided to get there early and make sure everything was OK. We arrived around 4.30 PM on the Friday and were immediately impressed with the standard of accommodation. We had 2 very large caravans (6 divers in each) with all the mod cons, three bedrooms with separate toilet and shower rooms.
During Friday evening people arrived in a steady stream and most had the usual Chinese takeaway washed down with moderate amounts of beer and wine. As we were to be on the harbour for 0815 hrs it was decided that a relatively early night was in order. I think it was a around 0100hrs that we discovered that the walls in the caravan were not really that sound proof and the snoring seemed to awaken a number of people who decamped to the lounge area to get some peace.

Saturday
Saturday morning an early rise with a quick breakfast and then it was down to the Harbour at Dunbar to load our kit on to the boat. Upon arrival we were treated to a rare sight of the Mutant Turtle Seal, this rare sighting was pointed out to the rest of the group by Angela (commonly referred to as Hawkeye). It is believed that the Turtle Seal is a bye product of the Nuclear power station down the coast.

After the normal introductions and boat briefing it was off to Bass Rock for the first dive. Bass Rock is a massive rock 300 metres high in the Forth estuary and cannot be missed by divers (except Mick a couple of years ago) Brian the skipper had actually heard of Mick’s escapade so made sure that he gave an extremely detailed briefing pointing out that everyone should know their left hand from their right hand.
The first dive of the day was very good with plenty of crustaceans and Wrasse to keep you company. Depth of around 26 metres max and a dive time of 45 minutes, enough time in water that is still 10C. Mick found the Rock this time and said it must have been his previous buddy’s fault for giving him false directions!! Everyone back on board and it was Coffee and Biscuits and a steady sail back to the Yetts for the second dive which has to be said was pretty uninspiring with most people giving up after 30 minutes.


Before the second dive one or two in our midst started to look a little green and ill although the only one that was actually sick was Lee (Dan Magrew) Benson.

Back into the harbour and off load the cylinders to take to the dive shop at North Berwick to get them filled for the next morning. Two cars took the cylinders the 9 mile to the shop and because the fill time would be over 1 hour we had to sample a local hostelry in North Berwick.

Saturday night arrived and some went to the local curry house in Dunbar and some went for a pub meal. The Curry house was good although the service was a bit slow and the Pub meal appeared to be given a vote of confidence also.

Sunday
Same start time on Sunday morning and a fair trek to the Isle of May in prospect we loaded the boat in quick time as the group had worked out that if we form a chain it makes it really easy. “Dan Magrew” ensured that he had taken his sea sick tablets and so we were ready for the off.
The journey to the Isle of May was pretty uneventful and divers gave up looking for the elusive Turtle Seal (even Hawkeye could not get a glimpse).
For the first dive we were put in near a few seals in the hope that they would choose to interact but they were not like those at the Farnes and tended to keep their distance. The dive proved to be pretty good one with a fair amount of sea life ranging from Large crabs and Lobsters to a range of fish including Wolf fish, Scorpion fish, Ling, Wrasse etc. Depth was about 22 Metres again with a dive time around 45 minutes.
Once everyone was back on board we landed on the Isle of May for a picnic and a look at the some of the millions of birds that nest there every spring. After a 2 hour surface interval it was back to the boat for the second dive of the day which was a well broken wreck just around the corner from the landing stage. The elements had certainly done their job on the wreck up but there were still lots of nooks and crannies for critters to be found. A short swim found you on a gentle sloping wall which had lots of life on it and we finished the dive after 45 minutes, max depth was around 19 metres.

With everyone safely back on board we set of back to Dunbar harbour for the long trip back to Yorkshire.

Arriving at the dock we tied up and unloaded the equipment in record time thanks to the teamwork that had built up during the trip. Brian who was our captain for the weekend commented on the fact that he thought we were a very efficient bunch and that he had not seen the boat unloaded as quickly before.
Once everyone had loaded their cars it was off on the journey home by all, tired but having had a good weekend.

The boat – Pegasus
• Good deck easily accommodates 12.
• Nice large cabin that at a pinch could hold most of us.
• Powerful engines that handled the sea well with a decent turn of speed.

The Captain - Brian
• Friendly and very accommodating.
• Good boat handling (he is the lifeboat Cox at Dunbar).
• Good dive briefings which were clear and concise (Mick did manage Bass Rock).

The accommodation – Belhaven
• High standards of the caravans.
• All equipment for on site cooking if required.
• Approx 1.5 miles from Dunbar

Special thanks
• Lee for being an excellent dive marshal.
• Lee and Eric for getting the cylinders filled.
• Andy and Angela for the Sandwiches.
• Every diver for being professional in their approach and making the weekend a very pleasurable experience with safety being at the forefront at all times. [col default


Colin Blakeley

St.Abbs - August

It’s going to be sunny, no rainy, no sunny, no….you get the idea. A mixed bag of weather awaited us at St.Abbs but thankfully it didn’t stop us diving. As is customary we took the 2nd boat on Saturday morning and Billy took us to Skellies and we drifted down towards Anenome Gully, For the second dive we did Ebb Carrs. Billy dropped us in the gully that divides this rocky underwater island and most of us headed South East as per the briefing (not another faulty compass on the boat !!). At the end of the wide gully you go right or left, we choose left. Pretty much didn’t see much life after that and we had a bit of a disappointing dive, needless to say the “we are going right brigade” all had an excellent dive and couldn’t move for marine life, bugger!! Sunday morning started nicely enough but turned into a torrential downpour just as we were kitting up. Let’s get in before we get wet was the comical line of the day. Billy put us right on Anenome Gully. I’ve done this dive a couple of times but never actually found “the gully”. On this occasion we found it within seconds and surprise surprise it’s full of Anenomes. Many different varieties, colours and sizes. Lots and lots of life in here so an excellent dive and hopefully some good pictures (see Gallery). Due to the tides being on springs (very low/very high tides) we couldn’t get back into the harbour. With this in mind we’d saved some air from the first dive and Billy dropped us in on Cathedral Rock for a nice shallow bimble. We descended through the arch enjoyed a 20 minutes dive with some wrasse, lobsters and a very strange looking fish which took a liking to our group. The combination of too many cups of tea, a total of 75 minutes in cold water and no room in the harbour are not a good combination when you need the loo. Anyone using the back of the boat, excuse me !! The final dive of the weekend was on Black Carrs. This was really tricky as the currents on the bottom just seemed to be swirling all over. No matter which way we tried to fin to go South we just kept getting headed by the current. Fortunately we started the dive by spotting several wolf fish which made up for the rest of the knackering 50 mins or so. I’m pretty sure everyone did every dive which is the best indicator you can get for a good weekends diving. Rich.