Half a dozen of one...

Davey Willo · April 24th, 2006, 11:45 PM

Last year I booked one neap weekend a month throughout May to October with a skipper in Seahouses called William Sheil. William has a huge boat with diver lift, perfect for a large gathering of technical divers with the required kit, albiet lacking a bit of protection from the weather this is still a great platform to dive from.

This weekend 22/23 April was the first and was a great success, although we didn't get a full turnout due to divers away cave diving in France, some working away, others already commited to other trips and an unfortunate injury taking one of the listed people out of the running meant we were left with only six GUE divers able to make it.

Another three (Non GUE) divers were invited on board for the Saturday making a grand total of nine for the days trimix dive on a wreck called the Buka

10.30 on Saturday morning saw us gathering and loading the boat ready for an 11.30 sailing... the 'slack' window dictating such a late start but hey I think everyone appreciated a sleep-in instead of the usual stupid-o-clock starts we normally have to suffer, I know I did..

The weather looked great with the sun shining and the sea looking quite calm.... it turned out that the calm sea was an illusion though as I ended up hurling all of the way out to the wreck, hurling again while standing fully kitted waiting to jump in, and hurling all of the way back home again... The Stugeron tablets and Ginger capsules failing me miserably..

But back to the good stuff... I was first into the water (get me off this bloody boat!!) and knew straight away that we were in for good viz as I could see lots of the shot as it snaked its way down and through the completely slack water... After a quick bubble check at six we swam further down when the wreck came into view, loads of it! up close! I checked my d-timer again and sure enough I was only at 25m... "WTH!" I thought, "This wreck is supposed to be in 44m and yet there must only be another five to go"... convinced that the skipper had put us on the wrong mark I kept descending and descending and descending some more and lo and behold it truly was in 44m... the viz was totally awesome, I can only think that the viz combined with the magnification gave an incredibley strange illusion bring the whole wreck up close... very trippy, very confusing..

Anyway.. I think its fair to say that everyone was blown away by this dive and really enjoyed the experience of unusual vizibility combined with perfect conditions, not a jot of current to speak of... The wreck is not huge and is quite broken up but is a very pretty wreck with lots to investigate, the incredible viz meant that we could grin at other teams and gesticulate rudely to each other from far away, the sunlight penetrating that far down was such that it made the HID's fundamentally useless and gave the impression of a much shallower dive..

Far too quickly we hit the allotted 30 minutes and started the ascent, never before have I been on a sea dive where I've been able to watch other teams decoing off in the distance.. too cool!

We have debated the distance of the viz since the dive, some have said 20m others say 15m, whatever it was it is probably up there with the best UK viz I've experienced which before now was the west coast of Scotland.

I hadn't been on the boat five minutes before I was trying to turn myself inside again over the handrail, with eyes full of tears and a death grip on the hand rail I didn't get to see the rest of the teams coming aboard, but as we're were all running similar profiles everyone was back within a few minutes of each other and we set sail for home again..

After about 45 minutes of steaming across a very "lumpy" (<-- Skippers quote) ocean and with me dying the death of a thousand convultions it was agreed by the majority that we were going to head off to the Farne Islands for a second dive....

Of course I was in the minority and how I didn't break down and whimper for mummy at this decision is still a mystery to me, I'd already decided by this time that I was giving up ocean diving for good and was signing up straight away for Cave 1...

Even though we pulled into the protected lee of one of the islands I was too far gone to even consider kitting up again and didn't envy the guys dropping in one bit... Apparantly they had really nice little dive to finish the day though..

Solid ground never felt so good to me and I very quickly cheered up, I think the banter that was going on between everyone confirmed that it had been a good days diving and the talk of the day was the amazing viz that we had been blessd with.

The other three divers were only with us for the Saturday and so set off on their long journeys home while we six headed off in convoy to find the B&B that Jenny had organised, a quick shower and it was down to the pub for a meal and a beer before a reasonably early night.

Sunday dawns warm and clear, it felt very much as if summer had arrived. Today was going to be recreational diving only as we didn't bother arranging trimix for the Sunday this time, I'd invited six divers from a local club along to fill the places on the boat.

These lads were a good bunch and the banter and humour flowed freely as we set of on... wait for it.... wait for it.... An ocean of glass! yes, glass nary a ripple to be seen, this was more like it and I was grinning like someone sucking a J of happy gas...

We steamed off to the Farne Islands once more to dive a load of scrap fondly known as the San Andre wreck, only the boilers stand proud now but once more we were blessed with great viz, not quite the mind blowing spectacle we'd been given further out on the deeper wreck the day before but still excellent, a nice dive of about 40 minutes and a found weightbelt later we left the bottom for a steady ascent, the weightbelt already sent up on a lift bag.

The surface interval was spent sun bathing on one of the islands (Longstone) with every one posing for photos in front of the massive red and white stripped Longstone Lighthouse. Some seals were drifting in the still waters next to us just staring at this group of roudy divers that had invaded their space, I hoped that I'd get the oppotunity for some interaction on the next dive but the seals are thin on the ground at this time of year and we never got to see any underwater on this trip.

Standing on the island and looking as far as Scotland in the distance one way, the cheviots another, no wind to speak off and a collection of distant boats on a sparkling blue ocean gave a mediterranean feel to the day.. the heat of the sun and the banter of friends making for a perfect surface interval.

It was time to head off again and this time we sailed for about another 30 minutes over to a wreck called the Somali, it was very busy when we arrived with boats just hanging around the shot dropping in or picking up divers... sweating like rapists we sat kitted up waiting for our turn to move in and then team by team we dropped into the cool clear waters once more...

Another descent through very illumited waters had us arriving on another fantastic sight, I've never seen so much of this wreck before and it's amazing just how much great viz gives a perspective of size, the vastness of steel towering above in places made me realise that this wreck was much bigger than I ever thought before.

I won't go on because this is already rambling on a bit but needless to say I truly enjoyed this dive and it would appear that everyone else did too by the excited chatter backon board, we steamed back into port a very happy, very satisfied group of divers.

Lots of handshakes, back slaps and pi$$ taking later we'd all packed up and set off on our various routes home. If I had been able to keep the contents of my stomach where it was supposed to be Saturday I would of given the weekend a 10/10, but as usual suffering is soon forgotten when the good times roll and so I'm already starting to forget the nausea and so I've still got to give it a big 9/10.

Thanks to everyone who turned up and make it a great gig, GUE, BSAC or whoever, good guys one and all and definitely a trip to be repeated.

May's tripped I've binned because it clashes with our liveaboard on the MV Mediator up at Oban (You may want to read the Oban 2005 trip report to see what diving from this wonderful vessel is like) where Jenny Cowling has arranged a four day Rec/Tec gig, there may be a couple of places still available to GUE trained divers on this one, we're keeping it agency specific because of the type of diving we'll be doing, any inquiries you may want to pass by Jenny, although I'm not promising anything as I'm not sure how many Jenny has got listed.

The next Seahouses weekend is in June, another neap weekend, if you're interested in joining us and you'd like to fill the remaining places then please feel free to contact me on 07969 436920

Once more, thanks to those who came and dived, I had a ball, I hope you did too.

Best regards

Dave.

Seydlitz · April 25th, 2006, 06:43 AM

Dave ,glad it went well ,I can get you a job as a Cabin boy or bosuns plaything on a North Sea supply vessel if interested!!!!

I can assure you I was gutted this weekend to miss that trip ...As the view from my bridge windows was beautiful..Blue Skies Calm Seas

I e mailed you at work I can make all the trips you have booked now. Am I booked on Junes trip???

Andy

Davey Willo · April 25th, 2006, 08:28 AM

Course you are mate, I need to there to keep a grip on that there Scouser Steve...

BTW.. The bosuns plaything.. what does it pay??

Neil S · April 25th, 2006, 10:15 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Davey Willo)

Course you are mate, I need to there to keep a grip on that there Scouser Steve...

BTW.. The bosuns plaything.. what does it pay??

You get 4 Newcastle browns a week and as many games of gobblestick as you want.
Sounds like a good trip Mr. Williamson.
Why doesn't anybody invite me to their parties.Whats wrong with me.I'm nice aren't i?
Hope to see you soon my silver friend
Sykesy

Andrew Bryson · April 25th, 2006, 01:31 PM

It really was a fantastic weekend.

During decent to the Buka I was at 20m and could see Dave's twinset at ~40m below me, superb. The water was a chilling 7C, so I look forward to doing similar dives in the summer months when the water is a little warmer.

I took a few photos and videos on the Sunday dives but there's nothing fantastic. I'll get a few of them uploaded later on and post a link.

Hopefully we'll have more people on the next Seahouses trip, and grow from there!

Cheers
andy

Gary Moffat · April 25th, 2006, 02:00 PM

great report dave

Gutted I missed it

Next time when I am fighting fit again.

Put me down for the June dives Dave please? Hopefully will have completed all the requirments by then

Best.

Gary.

Davey Willo · April 25th, 2006, 02:09 PM

No problem Gary, you 'were' missed mate but you're booked on the next one so try to keep from breaking bones next time eh

Neil, sorry you didn't get an invite mate, it was supposed to be just T1 diving at first but plans changed and we ended up doing more Rec than Tec...

Next time mate, although you have to get rid of that rule six violation hanging from the back of your head...

Andrew Bryson · April 25th, 2006, 10:34 PM

And here are the photos.

andy

Divingniknaks · April 25th, 2006, 10:48 PM

Willo you handsome bast*d !

Fabulous report mate, you missed your vocation, you have been a Journo for sure.

Hope to see you wery soon , the light at the end of tunnel beckons and it aint a train

Cheers

Divingniknaks · April 25th, 2006, 10:52 PM

Great pics Andy, gives a cracking idea of the viz for sure.

Nice to see Willo's been practising signals

Cheers

April 24th, 2006, 11:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
Davey Willo(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cleveland Posts: 197	Half a dozen of one... Last year I booked one neap weekend a month throughout May to October with a skipper in Seahouses called William Sheil. William has a huge boat with diver lift, perfect for a large gathering of technical divers with the required kit, albiet lacking a bit of protection from the weather this is still a great platform to dive from. This weekend 22/23 April was the first and was a great success, although we didn't get a full turnout due to divers away cave diving in France, some working away, others already commited to other trips and an unfortunate injury taking one of the listed people out of the running meant we were left with only six GUE divers able to make it. Another three (Non GUE) divers were invited on board for the Saturday making a grand total of nine for the days trimix dive on a wreck called the Buka 10.30 on Saturday morning saw us gathering and loading the boat ready for an 11.30 sailing... the 'slack' window dictating such a late start but hey I think everyone appreciated a sleep-in instead of the usual stupid-o-clock starts we normally have to suffer, I know I did.. The weather looked great with the sun shining and the sea looking quite calm.... it turned out that the calm sea was an illusion though as I ended up hurling all of the way out to the wreck, hurling again while standing fully kitted waiting to jump in, and hurling all of the way back home again... The Stugeron tablets and Ginger capsules failing me miserably.. But back to the good stuff... I was first into the water (get me off this bloody boat!!) and knew straight away that we were in for good viz as I could see lots of the shot as it snaked its way down and through the completely slack water... After a quick bubble check at six we swam further down when the wreck came into view, loads of it! up close! I checked my d-timer again and sure enough I was only at 25m... "WTH!" I thought, "This wreck is supposed to be in 44m and yet there must only be another five to go"... convinced that the skipper had put us on the wrong mark I kept descending and descending and descending some more and lo and behold it truly was in 44m... the viz was totally awesome, I can only think that the viz combined with the magnification gave an incredibley strange illusion bring the whole wreck up close... very trippy, very confusing.. Anyway.. I think its fair to say that everyone was blown away by this dive and really enjoyed the experience of unusual vizibility combined with perfect conditions, not a jot of current to speak of... The wreck is not huge and is quite broken up but is a very pretty wreck with lots to investigate, the incredible viz meant that we could grin at other teams and gesticulate rudely to each other from far away, the sunlight penetrating that far down was such that it made the HID's fundamentally useless and gave the impression of a much shallower dive.. Far too quickly we hit the allotted 30 minutes and started the ascent, never before have I been on a sea dive where I've been able to watch other teams decoing off in the distance.. too cool! We have debated the distance of the viz since the dive, some have said 20m others say 15m, whatever it was it is probably up there with the best UK viz I've experienced which before now was the west coast of Scotland. I hadn't been on the boat five minutes before I was trying to turn myself inside again over the handrail, with eyes full of tears and a death grip on the hand rail I didn't get to see the rest of the teams coming aboard, but as we're were all running similar profiles everyone was back within a few minutes of each other and we set sail for home again.. After about 45 minutes of steaming across a very "lumpy" (<-- Skippers quote) ocean and with me dying the death of a thousand convultions it was agreed by the majority that we were going to head off to the Farne Islands for a second dive.... Of course I was in the minority and how I didn't break down and whimper for mummy at this decision is still a mystery to me, I'd already decided by this time that I was giving up ocean diving for good and was signing up straight away for Cave 1... Even though we pulled into the protected lee of one of the islands I was too far gone to even consider kitting up again and didn't envy the guys dropping in one bit... Apparantly they had really nice little dive to finish the day though.. Solid ground never felt so good to me and I very quickly cheered up, I think the banter that was going on between everyone confirmed that it had been a good days diving and the talk of the day was the amazing viz that we had been blessd with. The other three divers were only with us for the Saturday and so set off on their long journeys home while we six headed off in convoy to find the B&B that Jenny had organised, a quick shower and it was down to the pub for a meal and a beer before a reasonably early night. Sunday dawns warm and clear, it felt very much as if summer had arrived. Today was going to be recreational diving only as we didn't bother arranging trimix for the Sunday this time, I'd invited six divers from a local club along to fill the places on the boat. These lads were a good bunch and the banter and humour flowed freely as we set of on... wait for it.... wait for it.... An ocean of glass! yes, glass nary a ripple to be seen, this was more like it and I was grinning like someone sucking a J of happy gas... We steamed off to the Farne Islands once more to dive a load of scrap fondly known as the San Andre wreck, only the boilers stand proud now but once more we were blessed with great viz, not quite the mind blowing spectacle we'd been given further out on the deeper wreck the day before but still excellent, a nice dive of about 40 minutes and a found weightbelt later we left the bottom for a steady ascent, the weightbelt already sent up on a lift bag. The surface interval was spent sun bathing on one of the islands (Longstone) with every one posing for photos in front of the massive red and white stripped Longstone Lighthouse. Some seals were drifting in the still waters next to us just staring at this group of roudy divers that had invaded their space, I hoped that I'd get the oppotunity for some interaction on the next dive but the seals are thin on the ground at this time of year and we never got to see any underwater on this trip. Standing on the island and looking as far as Scotland in the distance one way, the cheviots another, no wind to speak off and a collection of distant boats on a sparkling blue ocean gave a mediterranean feel to the day.. the heat of the sun and the banter of friends making for a perfect surface interval. It was time to head off again and this time we sailed for about another 30 minutes over to a wreck called the Somali, it was very busy when we arrived with boats just hanging around the shot dropping in or picking up divers... sweating like rapists we sat kitted up waiting for our turn to move in and then team by team we dropped into the cool clear waters once more... Another descent through very illumited waters had us arriving on another fantastic sight, I've never seen so much of this wreck before and it's amazing just how much great viz gives a perspective of size, the vastness of steel towering above in places made me realise that this wreck was much bigger than I ever thought before. I won't go on because this is already rambling on a bit but needless to say I truly enjoyed this dive and it would appear that everyone else did too by the excited chatter backon board, we steamed back into port a very happy, very satisfied group of divers. Lots of handshakes, back slaps and pi$$ taking later we'd all packed up and set off on our various routes home. If I had been able to keep the contents of my stomach where it was supposed to be Saturday I would of given the weekend a 10/10, but as usual suffering is soon forgotten when the good times roll and so I'm already starting to forget the nausea and so I've still got to give it a big 9/10. Thanks to everyone who turned up and make it a great gig, GUE, BSAC or whoever, good guys one and all and definitely a trip to be repeated. May's tripped I've binned because it clashes with our liveaboard on the MV Mediator up at Oban (You may want to read the Oban 2005 trip report to see what diving from this wonderful vessel is like) where Jenny Cowling has arranged a four day Rec/Tec gig, there may be a couple of places still available to GUE trained divers on this one, we're keeping it agency specific because of the type of diving we'll be doing, any inquiries you may want to pass by Jenny, although I'm not promising anything as I'm not sure how many Jenny has got listed. The next Seahouses weekend is in June, another neap weekend, if you're interested in joining us and you'd like to fill the remaining places then please feel free to contact me on 07969 436920 Once more, thanks to those who came and dived, I had a ball, I hope you did too. Best regards Dave.

April 25th, 2006, 06:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
Seydlitz(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Never Far from a good Belgian Beer and a Crackwh*re Posts: 455	Support Dave ,glad it went well ,I can get you a job as a Cabin boy or bosuns plaything on a North Sea supply vessel if interested!!!! I can assure you I was gutted this weekend to miss that trip ...As the view from my bridge windows was beautiful..Blue Skies Calm Seas I e mailed you at work I can make all the trips you have booked now. Am I booked on Junes trip??? Andy

April 25th, 2006, 10:48 PM	#9 (permalink)
Divingniknaks(Offline) Resident purveyor of shiney kit.... Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Midlands UK Posts: 1,038	Willo you handsome bast*d ! Fabulous report mate, you missed your vocation, you have been a Journo for sure. Hope to see you wery soon , the light at the end of tunnel beckons and it aint a train Cheers __________________ Phill ----------------------------- Salvo Lights, DirZone Gear , Frog Wings Dive ? http://www.divingniknaks.com

April 25th, 2006, 10:52 PM	#10 (permalink)
Divingniknaks(Offline) Resident purveyor of shiney kit.... Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Midlands UK Posts: 1,038	Great pics Andy, gives a cracking idea of the viz for sure. Nice to see Willo's been practising signals Cheers __________________ Phill ----------------------------- Salvo Lights, DirZone Gear , Frog Wings Dive ? http://www.divingniknaks.com

April 25th, 2006, 08:28 AM	#3 (permalink)
Davey Willo(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cleveland Posts: 197	Course you are mate, I need to there to keep a grip on that there Scouser Steve... BTW.. The bosuns plaything.. what does it pay??

April 25th, 2006, 10:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
Neil S(Offline) New Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Liverpool Posts: 275	Quote: (Originally Posted by Davey Willo) Course you are mate, I need to there to keep a grip on that there Scouser Steve... BTW.. The bosuns plaything.. what does it pay?? You get 4 Newcastle browns a week and as many games of gobblestick as you want. Sounds like a good trip Mr. Williamson. Why doesn't anybody invite me to their parties.Whats wrong with me.I'm nice aren't i? Hope to see you soon my silver friend Sykesy

April 25th, 2006, 01:31 PM	#5 (permalink)
Andrew Bryson(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Abingdon Posts: 315	It really was a fantastic weekend. During decent to the Buka I was at 20m and could see Dave's twinset at ~40m below me, superb. The water was a chilling 7C, so I look forward to doing similar dives in the summer months when the water is a little warmer. I took a few photos and videos on the Sunday dives but there's nothing fantastic. I'll get a few of them uploaded later on and post a link. Hopefully we'll have more people on the next Seahouses trip, and grow from there! Cheers andy

April 25th, 2006, 02:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
Gary Moffat(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: East Lothian Posts: 120	great report dave Gutted I missed it Next time when I am fighting fit again. Put me down for the June dives Dave please? Hopefully will have completed all the requirments by then Best. Gary.

April 25th, 2006, 02:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
Davey Willo(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cleveland Posts: 197	No problem Gary, you 'were' missed mate but you're booked on the next one so try to keep from breaking bones next time eh Neil, sorry you didn't get an invite mate, it was supposed to be just T1 diving at first but plans changed and we ended up doing more Rec than Tec... Next time mate, although you have to get rid of that rule six violation hanging from the back of your head...

April 25th, 2006, 10:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
Andrew Bryson(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Abingdon Posts: 315	And here are the photos. andy