M2, Weymouth - August 2005

Tricky · December 20th, 2005, 10:54 PM

Ok, so not a DIR dive, more DIS, but a very enjoyable one:

After a shaky start weather-wise, Saturday was looking good. We met at the boat, Divetime, at about 9.30, got the tanks loaded and set off round the Bill to the M2. Nick and I were to be the first in - a privilege of planning one of the longer dives - as we'd planned a total time of about 60 minutes (actually, it may have been shorter, but I can't quite remember), with a bottom time of no longer than 45 minutes. Deco would include a gas switch at 18m as I was had 57%, stops on the way up according to Nick's VR3, and a final stop a 6m until our computers cleared. I was running on my Vytec.

We descended the shot, with the vis not being too fantastic. It got darker as we got closer to the bottom, but the vis did improve. I would say we had somewhere in the region of 5-8m. We'd been told that if we turned right off the shot, we'd be heading towards the bow, but I was thrown by the fact that the shot crossed the wreck and had landed on the seabed on the port side. After a quick check of the shot, we went up and over the wreck and headed, as it soon became apparent, towards the stern. How I missed the hangar to my left as I descended, and to my right as we crossed over the wreck I'll never know.

Much of the dive was spent just above the seabed, alongside the sub. We went along the startboard side to the stern, round the back and had a good look underneath where the propellors would have been. There were a good number of fish, bib I think, around here, and it was good to have a nose around without other divers getting in the way. After leaving the stern, we continued along the port side, passing the shot and on towards the bow.

It was on this forward leg that I became aware of other divers on the wreck. Torch beams were bouncing around above us, although I didn't see the divers themselves. Close to the bow, there was a shoal of fish swimming up and down the side of the wreck. It look to me like rats swarming around. We swam under the bow, and then back up on the the top of the wreck. As we swam towards the hangar, we passed other divers, apparently intent on kicking up as much silt as possible. It's strange to think that there are divers who don't seem to realise that there are different types of kicks for different conditions. I thought the dive was blown now, but Nick led on through the silt to clearer water around the hangar. We headed in for a look round, before heading up to the conning tower. The vis in the hangar after we left was as good as when we went in, with the silt on the bottom undisturbed.

Around the conning tower were more divers. I was aware of a couple behind me, and sat still on the edge of the tower, waiting for them to move off, so I didn't kick them. Suddenly one of them was grabbing at my fins and trying to push me out of the way. I turned and looked at the guy - not one off our boat - and wondered if he'd caught what I'd uttered through my reg. Anyway, they went forward and we ascended up the 'scope where I bagged off. It was earlier than planned, but we'd covered the whole wreck. Gas switches went off with no problems, although my trim on the stops could have been better - I suffered from heavy feet the whole weekend due to wearing new Jetfins.

ReikiMaster · December 20th, 2005, 11:45 PM

Nice report, what prompted that then??? (i think we all know)

*Clare Gledhill* · December 21st, 2005, 02:40 PM

Tricky - what did you think of the M2?

The reason I ask is when I learned to dive everyone seemed to be diving teh M2 - but I was warned that it was a challenging dive for a newbie - so never did it.

I could probably cope with it now

but I've tried to book it a couple of times when I have had charters but have been out voted each time by others on the boat - saying 'boring - long metal tube' Now to be honest each of them is saying it from the position of having dived it - and I haven't.

What do others who have dived it think?

Tricky · December 21st, 2005, 03:00 PM

I loved it and wouldn't say no to doing it again, although if there was a chance of doing something else instead, I might go for the other option (particularly if I hadn't dived it before). Yes it is a long metal tube, but it is remarkably intact and there's something about it that appeals to me. Perhaps it's the history, or perhaps because you can almost imagine that it's an active sub, patrolling Lyme Bay.

It's suitable for Sports Diver/AOW, although some experience of diving beyond 30m is recommended due to the short slack and strong tides. I liked the fact that I saw the whole wreck in 45mins surface to surface. I'm not so sure I would have enjoyed quite so much had I not been first in the water. The wreck can get quite busy, with divers from several boats on it, and the vis can get shitty very quickly - it's covered in a fine layer of silt.

December 20th, 2005, 10:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
Tricky(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, Berkshire Posts: 555	M2, Weymouth - August 2005 Ok, so not a DIR dive, more DIS, but a very enjoyable one: After a shaky start weather-wise, Saturday was looking good. We met at the boat, Divetime, at about 9.30, got the tanks loaded and set off round the Bill to the M2. Nick and I were to be the first in - a privilege of planning one of the longer dives - as we'd planned a total time of about 60 minutes (actually, it may have been shorter, but I can't quite remember), with a bottom time of no longer than 45 minutes. Deco would include a gas switch at 18m as I was had 57%, stops on the way up according to Nick's VR3, and a final stop a 6m until our computers cleared. I was running on my Vytec. We descended the shot, with the vis not being too fantastic. It got darker as we got closer to the bottom, but the vis did improve. I would say we had somewhere in the region of 5-8m. We'd been told that if we turned right off the shot, we'd be heading towards the bow, but I was thrown by the fact that the shot crossed the wreck and had landed on the seabed on the port side. After a quick check of the shot, we went up and over the wreck and headed, as it soon became apparent, towards the stern. How I missed the hangar to my left as I descended, and to my right as we crossed over the wreck I'll never know. Much of the dive was spent just above the seabed, alongside the sub. We went along the startboard side to the stern, round the back and had a good look underneath where the propellors would have been. There were a good number of fish, bib I think, around here, and it was good to have a nose around without other divers getting in the way. After leaving the stern, we continued along the port side, passing the shot and on towards the bow. It was on this forward leg that I became aware of other divers on the wreck. Torch beams were bouncing around above us, although I didn't see the divers themselves. Close to the bow, there was a shoal of fish swimming up and down the side of the wreck. It look to me like rats swarming around. We swam under the bow, and then back up on the the top of the wreck. As we swam towards the hangar, we passed other divers, apparently intent on kicking up as much silt as possible. It's strange to think that there are divers who don't seem to realise that there are different types of kicks for different conditions. I thought the dive was blown now, but Nick led on through the silt to clearer water around the hangar. We headed in for a look round, before heading up to the conning tower. The vis in the hangar after we left was as good as when we went in, with the silt on the bottom undisturbed. Around the conning tower were more divers. I was aware of a couple behind me, and sat still on the edge of the tower, waiting for them to move off, so I didn't kick them. Suddenly one of them was grabbing at my fins and trying to push me out of the way. I turned and looked at the guy - not one off our boat - and wondered if he'd caught what I'd uttered through my reg. Anyway, they went forward and we ascended up the 'scope where I bagged off. It was earlier than planned, but we'd covered the whole wreck. Gas switches went off with no problems, although my trim on the stops could have been better - I suffered from heavy feet the whole weekend due to wearing new Jetfins. __________________ "I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant." "Make me one with everything" said the Mystic to the Hamburger vendor. UK Diving Forum Sryth: A Free Online Text RPG Join the Adventure! Fallen Sword: Free online RPG

December 20th, 2005, 11:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
ReikiMaster(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, Berkshire, UK Posts: 123	Nice report, what prompted that then??? (i think we all know) __________________ Steve

December 21st, 2005, 02:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
Clare Gledhill(Offline) GUE Instructor Site Admin Pacman Champion! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,541	Tricky - what did you think of the M2? The reason I ask is when I learned to dive everyone seemed to be diving teh M2 - but I was warned that it was a challenging dive for a newbie - so never did it. I could probably cope with it now but I've tried to book it a couple of times when I have had charters but have been out voted each time by others on the boat - saying 'boring - long metal tube' Now to be honest each of them is saying it from the position of having dived it - and I haven't. What do others who have dived it think? __________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk

December 21st, 2005, 03:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tricky(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, Berkshire Posts: 555	I loved it and wouldn't say no to doing it again, although if there was a chance of doing something else instead, I might go for the other option (particularly if I hadn't dived it before). Yes it is a long metal tube, but it is remarkably intact and there's something about it that appeals to me. Perhaps it's the history, or perhaps because you can almost imagine that it's an active sub, patrolling Lyme Bay. It's suitable for Sports Diver/AOW, although some experience of diving beyond 30m is recommended due to the short slack and strong tides. I liked the fact that I saw the whole wreck in 45mins surface to surface. I'm not so sure I would have enjoyed quite so much had I not been first in the water. The wreck can get quite busy, with divers from several boats on it, and the vis can get shitty very quickly - it's covered in a fine layer of silt. __________________ "I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant." "Make me one with everything" said the Mystic to the Hamburger vendor. UK Diving Forum Sryth: A Free Online Text RPG Join the Adventure! Fallen Sword: Free online RPG