Weymouth 21st & 22nd September 2002

This trip was organised by Andy Cox and we were diving off Kyarratoo, skippered by Paul Cooper. A nice boat with a side lift, great for getting back on board after the dive. Another welcome addition is that Paul supplies an excellent lunch in between dives. 

The assembled cast of rogues for this weekend was, Andy Cox, Jasmine Sharp, Steve Jones, Rich Meese, Andy Goldby, Margaret Hargreaves, Ian Hodge, Pete Steggle, Ken Tomkinson and Dave Appleby. 

I set off Friday afternoon to join the thousands of others who decided to deliberately cause inconvenience by being on the M5 at the same time as me. However I was still the first to arrive at the Redcliffe hotel, with Dave Appelby arriving later by train, and Rich Meese later still. 

So we met up at the usual place, the Old Rooms in the harbour for some food and a few beers, before an early night, like all responsible divers??? 

Dive One Saturday, M2, Max depth 33.8 metres, Run time 65 minutes

Buddies for this dive were Rich and Andy G. Paul put the shot onto the wreck first time, in contrast to the last UKRS visit there when several attempts were needed. (Not by Paul I hasten to add). Quite good viz, about 6 metres in my opinion. Also lots of fish, amongst which were Bib, Pollack, and many Tompot Blennies. At the end of the dive Rich and Andy spotted a “playful Conger” to annoy. I am already short of one digit on my right hand, so I declined to get too close. 

In between dives Paul, as it says above, serves up an excellent lunch, usually consisting of pizza, sausage rolls, chicken nuggets, sausages, chips, soup and followed off by a selection of Mr Kipling cakes. 

Dive Two Saturday, Gertrude, Max depth 17.7 metres, Run time 56 minutes

This wreck is close to the site of the James Fennel, and was sunk when it ran aground in fog in 1894. This was a drift dive and to be honest we didn’t see much of the wreck. But not to be deterred the three of us drifted on, poking around in various holes. Rich went up when he was short of air while Andy G and I continued. We got separated when I got in a bit of a tangle with some line and by the time I had got free Andy had drifted out of sight. So after about 5 -10 minutes I decided to go up also. 

So after a good day’s diving it was back to the Old Rooms to recharge the batteries. Myself, Dave and Rich met up with Margaret, Andy C and Jasmine. It must be reported here that Jasmine ordered a desert called the Extravaganza. This seemed to consist of every desert on the menu, all in one enormous dish. This would have tested the sweetest tooth. So what about Jasmine?.. She failed 

Sunday morning and Dave decided that he was not going to dive as he had a stiff neck, Paul suggested that this was caused by swallowing Vigara too slowly. 

Dive One Sunday, Sidon, Max depth 35.1 metres, Run time 60 minutes

We were all keen to dive this S class sub, especially after recent reports that it was going to be lifted. We arrived on the scene just after Budgie’s Top Gun. He was busy trying to find the wreck and eventually he put in a shot. Paul waited for a while then put in his own right on the bows. I think Budgie’s shot missed.

Another wreck that was teeming with fish, and in my opinion a better dive than the M2, as there were more holes to look in. 

Dive Two Sunday, Hood, Max depth 16.2 metres, Run time 69 minutes

And so on to the traditional UKRS final dive. Andy Cox said at least this will stop Steve staying down for more than an hour as the current will be too strong. Unfortunately for him Rich had other ideas as to how we would avoid the current. This meant spending virtually the whole of the bottom time inside the wreck. Usually when I have gone inside this wreck it has bee a case of go in for a few metres have a look round and come out. This time it was different, as we laid lines and crawled through some quite tight places. I was expecting my SAC to quite high given that I was in a situation that I was not used to. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was the lowest SAC that I had that  weekend at 11.44. 

After saying my goodbyes it was time to hit the road, only to find out that the people who came out of the house to spoil my Friday evening drive to Weymouth had arranged to come out again to cause a hold up on the M5 and delay my drive home to South Wales.

Paranoid – exhibiting undue suspicion, fear of persecution etc,

source Collins English Dictionary.