Seasearch 10th April

Martin Burnard · April 11th, 2006, 10:45 PM

Well here we go, a write up on my first specific Sea Search dive of the year.
With our six divers ( Brian, Chris, Andy, Charlie, Keith, and myself )on board (plus Sally who wasn‘t diving), a clear evening, low winds, gentle sea state, we set off for the the “Elk” , she is just off of Plymouth breakwater and just out of the shipping channel. It’s always a good idea to contact the Longroom for clearence before dropping in ( Duggie the skipper made the call), all was OK.

So 1850 sees myself and Brain dropping over the side to follow the shot line down. This is an interesting little dive at 33m to the sea bed 30m to the deck so EANX 32 is a nice call here.

The viz was a treat with 8m being the average, and temperature reaching a rather refreshing 5.8 degree low and a toasty 7 nearly 8 degrees as a high. Total dive time was 33 minutes, max depth 32.3 metres, average depth 21.8m.

The wreck is easily identified as a ship, the hull is fairly intact, the holds are identifiable, and some of the winch gear is obvious. The seabed is a course sand and settles quickly if disturbed (but none of us would disturb it would we?).

So what did we see I here you scream at me…

Pink sea fans in abundance
Oaten pipe hydroids
Nudibranchs
Spiney starfish
Bib
Poor cod
Corkwing wrasse
Jewel anemones of all colours
Dahlia anemone
Deadmans fingers
Red fingers
Conger eel
Devonshire cup corals
Spider crabs

So there that was my little list, some of the others spotted some additional bits and bobs.

The first thing we spotted was the nudibranchs (Coryphella brownie) as they were free swimming and quite abundant , it seems they were heading for the oaten pipe hydroids as they are a favoured food source. I was entranced watching them float around when Brian flashed me and indicated to turn around, a huge shoal of bib (some rather large) were cruising around just behind me. Bouyancy control was quite essential at this point as the pink sea fans were all just under me, and as they are rather slow growing, clobbering them with your fins etc is not recommended. The jewel anemones were putting on a splendid display of vibrant colours, Brian was doing his best to remind me we were on a limited budget for time to stop me spending the entire dive just admiring them!

We had now reached a point were a scoot around, make a note of the other delights, and head back to the shot was called for, so off we went and had a nice gentle 13 minute ascent .

Back on the boat was a de-kit and make the tea whilst Duggie took us back to shore, a great dive had by all.

April 11th, 2006, 10:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
Martin Burnard(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Plymouth, UK Posts: 580	Seasearch 10th April Well here we go, a write up on my first specific Sea Search dive of the year. With our six divers ( Brian, Chris, Andy, Charlie, Keith, and myself )on board (plus Sally who wasn‘t diving), a clear evening, low winds, gentle sea state, we set off for the the “Elk” , she is just off of Plymouth breakwater and just out of the shipping channel. It’s always a good idea to contact the Longroom for clearence before dropping in ( Duggie the skipper made the call), all was OK. So 1850 sees myself and Brain dropping over the side to follow the shot line down. This is an interesting little dive at 33m to the sea bed 30m to the deck so EANX 32 is a nice call here. The viz was a treat with 8m being the average, and temperature reaching a rather refreshing 5.8 degree low and a toasty 7 nearly 8 degrees as a high. Total dive time was 33 minutes, max depth 32.3 metres, average depth 21.8m. The wreck is easily identified as a ship, the hull is fairly intact, the holds are identifiable, and some of the winch gear is obvious. The seabed is a course sand and settles quickly if disturbed (but none of us would disturb it would we?). So what did we see I here you scream at me… Pink sea fans in abundance Oaten pipe hydroids Nudibranchs Spiney starfish Bib Poor cod Corkwing wrasse Jewel anemones of all colours Dahlia anemone Deadmans fingers Red fingers Conger eel Devonshire cup corals Spider crabs So there that was my little list, some of the others spotted some additional bits and bobs. The first thing we spotted was the nudibranchs (Coryphella brownie) as they were free swimming and quite abundant , it seems they were heading for the oaten pipe hydroids as they are a favoured food source. I was entranced watching them float around when Brian flashed me and indicated to turn around, a huge shoal of bib (some rather large) were cruising around just behind me. Bouyancy control was quite essential at this point as the pink sea fans were all just under me, and as they are rather slow growing, clobbering them with your fins etc is not recommended. The jewel anemones were putting on a splendid display of vibrant colours, Brian was doing his best to remind me we were on a limited budget for time to stop me spending the entire dive just admiring them! We had now reached a point were a scoot around, make a note of the other delights, and head back to the shot was called for, so off we went and had a nice gentle 13 minute ascent . Back on the boat was a de-kit and make the tea whilst Duggie took us back to shore, a great dive had by all.