12 divers set off from Belper at the start of the May Day Bank Holiday weekend with the promise of fair weather from the long range forecast, if only they knew!

 

         We arrived at the Loyal Watcher, Plymouth, to be greeted by skipper Darren, wife Linda, helper Annie and Sinbad the Dachshund. The Loyal Watcher is a very capable dive vessel, one of the best UK based liveaboards this group has ever dived from. She is licensed take a maximum of 12 divers up to 60 miles offshore and is equipped with Oxygen and Tri-mix for advanced diving. The boat is spacious and well equipped with every creature comfort, including BBQ deck, TV, DVD and 240V mains power everywhere. Linda does very well in the galley, catering for all tastes and plenty of it. Tea, coffee and snacks available all day plus Linda even has her own little bar!

 

         Not that we needed Linda’s bar on the first night before sailing. Large quantities of Cornish Doom Bar and Scrumpy Cider were consumed, then all washed down with a chaser or two of Southern Comfort!

 

         Sunday morning, the sun still shining, we steamed to Penzance Bay and a dive to 38m on the SS Hellopes, before turning SW in building seas and heading for The Isles of Scilly. It wasn’t long before the last nights’ cocktail delights mixed with heavy seas resulting in some “un-comfortable Southern Doom ............ bah!” 3 hours later, we’ve anchored in St. Mary’s Bay, fired up the BBQ and braving a rather chilly sunset, we began the daily task of re-charging the alcohol levels! We didn’t know it then, but that was the last we were to see of the sun over The Isles of Scilly as the clouds steadily built.

 

         The next 2 days we dived 4 of The Scilly’s wrecks, the first being a 40m dive on the Italia off St. Agnes, then 2 dives in one on the Hathor and Plympton and ending with the Cita ranging in depth from 20 - 40m. I think, for most of us, the wrecks off the Scillies were a little disappointing, not helped by the deteriorating weather conditions, the relatively poor visibility and the blooming Plankton! At times it was like diving into a pint of Nigel’s cloudy cider! Nevertheless, there’s always enthusiasm from Belper’s divers. With reports like more gold bars being found off the Manacles, you just never know!  For our next dive, Darren suggested the seal colony off Mini Wathan island. I’m not sure whether all that Kelp bashing in conditions akin to diving in a washing machine was really worth the 2 seal sitings me and my buddy had, ah well, you just never know!  4 divers sat out our last “Scilly” dive which was to be on the Cita again, before skipper Darren, after a group consultation, decided to steam for Falmouth. With a following sea and signs of the sun again, we made it to the Cornish coast and in time to dive Raglan’s Reef at the end of the day. The visibility here was a big improvement and this reef proved to be the highlight of our scenic dives. An abundance of life of all kinds, sadly no gold bars, but you just never know!

 

         That night, we put into Falmouth for a welcomed walk on Terra Firma and of course, a couple of beers!

 

         Thursday morning’s seas looked a lot more promising as we dropped our shot over the SS Orchis. Darren’s knack of putting his line right on top of the boilers proved to be consistent, and for such a little wreck lying in 44m, impressed us yet again. This dive was everyone’s favourite wreck. Our first pair in, had such water clarity they were able to see just about all of the wreck as they descended the shot. Darren has his own communication method when it comes to getting divers to talk to the surface. He uses a special device know to a few as Malus Domestica …………………. To the rest of us, it’s just an apple, sent up on its own buoyancy to tell the surface that all is well!

 

         I don’t know whether it was the apple, probably more likely to have been the Plankton, that attracted the first Basking Shark of the season, but he stayed with us throughout the morning, sweeping our diving area from side to side. What is it about Basking Sharks and cameras? They always seem to know how to keep their distance just out of photographic range!

 

         Thursday afternoon; and with strengthening seas again we headed for Plymouth to dive the Rosehill and at 32m this was an opportunity to break out the Nitrox. As many of us had brought upwards of 34%, most of the other sites had been too deep to use it. As we surfaced, the weather finally gave up on us, and it started to rain!

 

         That night we sheltered in Cawsands Bay and in the morning we stuck the bows out with the intension of heading towards the Maine. Once again, the weather was our nemesis and we’d not be out for more than 10 minutes, before the decision was taken to turn back. After 2 very forgettable dives in Cawsands Bay and the inner western tip of Plymouth Sound’s breakwater, that was it, diving over and almost time to go home.

 

         And so it was, 12 contented Belper Divers returned to Plymouth Yacht Haven, packed and ready for the 4 hour drive up the M5 and back to Belper.

 

         Thanks again to Darren, Linda and Annie for a great trip and a great boat. We hope to see you all again in the very near future, let’s hope for better weather next time.  You just never know!

 

         Thanks also to Sue for organising the trip and to Henry, John, Nigel and Martin for driving.

 

          Report by Martin Lucas, Belper diver.