Seydlitz(Offline)

Hi, Been a while since I wrote anything,Just a quick trip report of a dive I did on Saturday ...I had a Phone call of a friend at my club last week ,did I fancy a dive off Anglesey to do a +40m wreck.Yes Game for that ,
My mate and I took the last two places ,the group whom had Chartered the boat The ESP Skippered by Keith Forster were Hardcore Rebreather wreck ferreters that Do alot of The Wrecks that litter the North Coast of Anglesey.

The only thing that was bothering me was the group whom I had never met had lost a mate off the isle of Man 3 weeks previously ..So was a little concerned that the atmosphere would be a little subdued.

Anyway the weather forecast was very good and the Plan was to dive the Vigsnes ( Adam Hanlon wrote an article for Quest in 2003 on the Vigsnes) WHICH IS A TOP WRECK and we set off For Port Menai at 0730 for a 0900 met.

Introduced ourselves to the group and they were nice guys,so was put at ease and settled down to load our kit Which was lost in a sea of Rebreathers!!!!

It was a beautiful good to be alive day ,sea like a millpond, Sun blue skies and the moutains of Snowdownia as a backdrop as we made our way up the East Coast of Anglesey and out for the 2 hour Steam to the wreck site..

Got to the Vigsnes and there were anglers fishing it that would move off to another location ...playing mute which pissed us off..Never mind Skipper got us to a Nearby wreck the SS Cork which Belonged to the Dublin bay Steampacket Company Co built in 1899 1200grt and was Sunk on 25th Jan 1918 by Kaptian Rucker of U-103 .

There are alot of Ships off Anglesey that were sunk in both WW on Passage to and From Liverpool ..the area is swept by fierce tides,Exposed to the weather and Shipping traffic ranging from Irish Ferries, Massive Tankers and Container ships using the Port Of Liverpool. So diving the Location is tricky


Anyway Me and Steve were second in Down the Shot usual checks at 6m then off we went..seemed to take for ever to reavch the bottom ....Looking for the wreck to appear... Nothing then at 47m .. The Shot weight and Shells F*ckin Shit..all that running about getting a mix and Deco gas together and weve missed the wreck..I was pissed off..The first Rebreather Divers Had Ran a line ..So a quick look about Nothing ..Lets follow them....The Wreck Soon came into view Covered in White Plumrose thingies

Saw massive lobsters underneath the Hull and worked our way over the main Decks ..Lots Of wreckage winches toilets lots of big Pollack ,Ballen Wrase Crabs on Steriods.Congers along with Fishing Nets ,Mono line
had a mooch found a plate only to find it had a small triangular piece missing bastard it was perfect but for that ships crest the lot ...Binned it Reason being If I STUFFED IT in my pocket and ripped the suit 30 mins deco would be painful ..The viz was 10m lots of ambient light it was fantastic I was grinning mooching ..good stuff

We made our way back to the Port Side to the line and back the Shot..was a little pissed off as we had the Stern to ourselves and would have been great to stay and blob off instead of working foreward in a fair bit of Silt!!!!

So The plan was to get everybody on the Trapeze Ha ha ha ..never seen one used before..Which made alot of sense given the tides ,fishing vessels and the proximity of main shipping channel .We did most of the Deco before we reached the Bottom Bar at 9m...anyway names peeled off the slate and unclipped off the shot and away 10 divers drifted along completing Deco and Surfacing 70mins later Grinning
..It was a great dive ...usual 21/35 and 50% with an average on the wreck of 44m at deck level
Back in the boat and a 2hr Steam back in beautiful surroundings to Port Menai

A really enjoyable day out...Its Why we dive ,days like Saturday


Thanks for reading my drivel ..I have gone on a bit..

Regards Andy

Seydlitz(Offline)

I wrote this because ,Not because I want a pat on the back ..It was to put a little variety on the trip reports not the usual Quarries,Stoney reports,fundies and the usual channel wrecks ...just to give the heads up on the diving that goes on elsewhere in the country that usually never gets mentioned and maybe attract people to new dive sites rather the the same old suspects

whatever...Should have wrote a skills report from my local pond perhaps

Andy

Clare Gledhill(Offline)

10 metres viz is better than we are getting of the South Coast at the mo Andy - and much more that I was led to expect off the welsh coast... you are right to point out that we need to think about other sites.

I did a week out of Pembrokeshire last year, about this time, and got no more than 2 meters out of a weeks diving. Good to hear that you had a good trip - may give it another go sometime

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Seydlitz(Offline)

The Viz was excellent .It Varies an awful lot granted..The biggest Factor in the Liverpool bay area is wind /Sea conditions .however expecting the plankton soon there where signs of it

It is worth the effort to plan a trip up there lots of good wrecks ..however the logistics in the way of gas is difficult and hasn't got the infrastructure that say Weymouth has

ie Trimix I have to either pay £56 at a Fill for 21/35 in Chester/Deeside or Drive 1and half hours have a dip at Capernwray And Take a few twinsets up For Adam to fill at £35 a fill

Wrecks in the Area Derbent,Apapa Cork ,Vigsnes,City of Brussels, Munster The list is endless

Scott Waterman Quest charters for more info

HTH Andy

Alastair(Offline)

Nice write-up, it's always nice to read about dive trips in different places.

Cheers
Al

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Devon Rob(Offline)

So how was your trim... did you get to do a back-kick?

I enjoyed reading it, thanks for taking the time to write it!
Devon Rob

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Bob Cooper(Offline)

Nice report Andy.

I have dived the Visgnes a few times when I used to live up there and I remember the fishing boats can be a bit stubborn.

There sem to be different "rules" in the channel. If a fishing boat is on the wreck when we arrive, they usually move away as slack water approaches. Now, I don't know anything about fishing but as I understand it, the fishing is better when the tide is running over a wreck, that's why they are usually happy to move away on slack water.

Anyway, the Visgnes is a cracking dive, lots of amunition and stuff around, but visibility is variable to say the least.

Keep up the trip reports. It's nice to hear about dives in Liverpool bay.

Bob

neilh(Offline)

Nice report Andy - sounds like a cracker of a dive!

Look forward to hearing about some scooter trips soon

Chris L(Offline)

good report mate,and thanks for the pointers you gave me at cape the other week.
with a bit of luck ill have progressed to tech 1 status next year and be able to make up the trip numbers with you guys.

regards
chris

Seydlitz(Offline)

Yes Bob,Being a sad case I used to Do alot of fishing as well ..and Yes the you are right the Fishing at Slack water is Crap usually only Bib /pouting to catch ...No ,the skipper of the Lady Gwen has a reputation for being an Arse and very unhelpful concerning divers ..the group we were with have had trouble with him before..

Also ....Not used a Trapeze before Hence the title of the thread..It worked pretty well!!!! quite impressed TBH