dive report for our Plymouth trip - Bexley Sub

After dinner at the Clovelly Bay Inn
Plymouth Weekend
Dive Diary
it was a good dive anyway.
Unfortunately poor Dave Purl was feeling quite seasick
after the first dive and decided to give the second dive a miss
(the reason for this would come to light after dinner
that evening!).
Friday 28th June – Monday 1st July 2013
DIVE 2. - THE S.S. JAMES EGAN LAYNE
report by Smudger – underwater pics by Dave Purl
PLYMOUTH TRIPPERS –
Simon ‘Smudger’ Smith • Doreen Player • ‘Little’
Pete Groombridge • ‘Big’ Steve Wright • Georgina
Smith • Dave Purl • Phil ‘Cyclops/Japs eye’ Harvey
Phil Westerman • Sean Callan • Stuart Greenwood
Ron Shires • Terry Scovell
Thursday – THE TRIP DOWN
This is the first report from Plymouth for a while, the
weather hasn’t been kind in recent years, but with the
weather looking good, for once!, Doreen and I set off on the
5 hour trip to our our digs in Turnchapel.
Unforfunately I forgot to mention that we couldn’t get
into the digs until 6pm, so after a call from Terry around
lunchtime, it meant that Terry ‘big’ Steve Wright and ‘little
Pete’ Groombridge had to spend the afternoon in the
Boringdon Arms (what a hard life they lead). lol. On our
arrival Terry had ordered a Thai Green Curry, which he gave
the big thumbs down! This prompted us to stick with the
food at the Clovelly, as, by now, we could check in, and the
Clovelly staff reminded me that I had a booked a table ... I do
sometimes wonder about my memory!!!
The only two who hadn’t arrived were Phil and Ron,
who were due just before midnight! Stuart wasn’t due until
Friday evening. The food at the Clovelly turned out to be
superb! - I had the ‘Belly Pork’ which was lovely. I often scan
the table for left overs but not this time! After the wonderful
food and beers it was now
time for bed.
FRIDAY MORNING
The pre-breakfast
conversation was based around
the fact that little Pete had kept
everyone in his room awake with
The Snore Monster!
his foghorn snoring!
Next up was breakfast. I was up for a ‘Full English’ and I
wasn’t disappointed. The Clovelly do the best Full English of
any B&B I know of, and includes fried potatoes ... mmm yum!
We had a nice easy start to the trip. Glenn suggested
the Persier. His previous group reported 8 metres vis on
Wednesday, so this sounded like a good start.
We had a few ‘newbies’ on this trip, which is always
interesting, they were; Georgina, Phil H, Doreen and Stuart,
who was unable to join us until later that day. Incidentally,
new boy Phil Harvey turned up with rather ‘flappy’ and
swollen looking eye skin, I think his liking for extended deco
stops probably inflamed it, but good to see it much improved
A motley crew!
recently. After breakfast it was off to the marina which is
only a short drive away. Glenn greeted us as we trollied our
gear down the ramp. Weather was looking good for the dive,
which at 30 metres is not to be sniffed at, especially if you’d
had a few beers the night before. Most of us were feeling ok,
although ‘little’ Pete seemed quiet after his afternoon session
the day before.
DIVE 1. THE S.S. PERSIER
This wreck, a merchant ship, had been sunk by a
torpedo from German submarine UB-1017 on 11 February
1917. She lies in the middle of Bigbury Bay at 30 metres.
Me and Doreen had to use another boat’s shotline.
Glenn had asked if I could
clear the shot from the
wreck, but no problem,
me and Dor proceeded
down the CeeKing’s shot,
no need to clear it as it
was a grapple hook and
not a shot weight on the
end, which was drifting
along a couple of feet off
the seabed. Reaching
the bottom we plonked
ourselves on the shingle
seabed and I looked
for signs of the wreck,
we were amazed at the
Georgina on the Scylla
10-12m visability, shortly
we came across parts of
the wreck. This wreck has got a reputation for reliable ‘viz’
and today was perfect, apart from not bringing my camera
with me! The Persier is very broken, but is still a great dive,
especially if you like fish. There were lots of Pouting and
Poor Cod chilling in the clear water! Also sizeable Pollack
and beautiful blue and orange male Cuckoo Wrasse, these
allow divers to approach quite closely and can be seen
following divers around the wreck.
Before long we were on our way back to the surface.
This is definitely a good dive for a twin-set and/or nitrox! But
Another well known favourite, she was an American
Liberty ship, torpedoed by a U-boat on 25 March 1945. Lying
in Whitsand bay and at 22 metres, with her seperate stern
section at 24 metres.
On this occasion we descended the shotline to the bow
at around 8 metres, covered in kelp and marine growth,
visability was good. We dropped down the side of the bow
and finned to the sea bed for the customary gaze up at
the bow silhouetted
against the surface in
Compass
the good ‘viz’. After this
Jellyfish
– Scylla
we ascended back up
the side and through a
gap to the inside of the
bow which is an exciting
swim through, but narrow
in parts but worth doing.
From here on we made
our way through the
holds which are in various states of decay. Some of the
decking and supports are still in position and make for an
atmospheric experience, especially in good vis. There is one
hold that still has it’s access ladder in place and is not to be
missed! Some parts are open to the surface and some are a
bit closed in for those of a nervous disposition. We saw some
wagon wheels, but lots of wreckage strewn around that is hard
to identify. The beauty of this wreck is that it’s relatively intact
and quite ‘ship-shape’, with lots of fish and marine life, it’s at a
depth where you don’t have to worry too much about your air
and dive time. It’s possible to spend an hour on this wreck.
We found the stern section which is separate from the
wreck and is covered in white and orange anemones which
look great. It’s at an slight angle and has the deck railings
still in place.
FRIDAY EVENING
After a hard days ‘wrecking’ it was back to the marina
to unload the empty cylinders and take them to the dive
shop - then back to the digs to shower and chill out before
we descended on the Boringdon Arms for a well earned beer
or three and a hearty meal (which wasn’t quite up to the
Clovelly standard!).
Back to Dave’s seasickness problem, he gingerly
announced at dinner that he had actually been taking
Piriton anti hystamine tablets! by mistake! instead of his
seasickness tablets, which did the trick for him once he
started taking them!!! ... ‘good one Dave!
SATURDAY DIVE 3 – S.S. MAINE
Another Plymouth favourite – she was a British cargo
ship torpedoed by submarine UC17 on 23rd March 1917. She
lies at 31 metres but her stern is the deepest part at around
33 metres.
I would describe this wreck as a similar dive to the JEL
but 10 metres deeper! She’s fully upright with the bow quite
intact and her sides towering up towards the surface. We
were first down the shot on this one and Glenn told us to
check the shot was on the wreck – it wasn’t, and it looked
like we may have dragged it away from the wreck. The viz
again was excellent and at first I tried to drag the shot back
to the wreck but I gave up as I didn’t want to waste my air.
It was quite easy to find the wreck and we ascended up
the steep sides and down into the holds. We were in the
bow and began exploring this scenic area. You can dive
this wreck just staying on deck level but you’ll only get a
mediocre dive. It’s nicer to swim under the decking and
through the holds. It’s really atmospheric finning through the
fish in the holds in great vis! Some sections are quite open
where the deck has collapsed.
Before long we had got to the stern and we dropped over
it to look at the circular steering gear on the rudder, it looks
impressive and the seabed here is the deepest part of the
dive. We were near the end of our no stop time so we didn’t
linger. Great dive, it reminded me of the Rosalie Moller in the
Red Sea.
Stuart had by now joined us and after his first dive he
suffered a headache. On advice from others in the group, he
decided to switch to Nitrox for the next day’s diving and this
seemed to alleviate his headache problem. This is what the
club is all about!
DIVE 4 – HILSEA POINT (AKA HELEN’S CRACK)
On the way
back, and we
stopped to dive a
pinnacle we call
Helen’s Crack! It’s
a mound of rock
which rises from
25+ metres which
Lightbulb seaquirts
DIVE 5 – THE S.S. ROSEHILL
Phil ‘cyclops’ Harvey, Ron, Smudge
has a number of fissures in it, one is wide enough to swim
through for a short way. You need to find the entrance at 17
metres, if you go deeper or shallower you’ll miss it.
Doreen was feeling a bit apprehensive about this dive
which wasn’t helped by Glenn warning that we had to be
‘quick’ and drop down promptly otherwise we would be swept
into deeper water. Plus, it seemed I had unintentionally
turned her air off before the dive! Luckily she had switched
it back on before we left the boat. I had done this dive many
times and always find ‘the crack’ so I was feeling confident
as the vis was good. We headed down and checked when
we were at 17 metres and looked to see Glenn’s shot right
in the crack entrance! I signaled to Doreen, and into the
crack we went! I hadn’t thought that she might be wary about
this dive, and to be honest I hadn’t gone over a proper plan!
It was only after we had exited the end of the crack in 23
metres, and I had pressed on, into quite a strong on-coming
current that I found she wasn’t happy about the dive. My
plan was to push down the gulley into the current which
would help us on our return through the crack. We exited
the shallow end of the crack and Doreen signaled ‘up’ at that
point, so we aborted and headed back to the surface, but at
least we found ‘the crack’.
SATURDAY EVENING
Saturday’s diving was a late start which mean’t we were
late back to harbour and getting the cylinders over to InDeep.
We hadn’t booked at the Clovelly so there was no chance
of eating there. So we plumped for a night on the town and
a trip over on the Mountbatten-Barbican ferry which is a
pleasant stroll from our digs to the ferry.
Instead of the usual night at the Cyder Press, we hadn’t
got far off the ferry before we all decided on a curry and
headed down a side street to Himalaya Spice where we
stuffed our faces, so that was our Saturday night.
Later that night, Little Bad Pete made the ultimate
sacrifice to save his room mates from ‘death from the Snore
Monster’ by giving up his comfy bed to sleep in his car for
the night, to give us all a chance for a bit of kip!
SUNDAY MORNING
We were now well into the Plymouth routine, and after
the hearty breakfast and other chores, it was off to the boat
and to collect our cylinders from the dive shop, as we got
back too late to collect them the day before.
An armed merchant ship sunk by torpedo from U-boat
U40 on 23rd September 1917. She lies at 30 metres.
We found two boats aleady on this wreck, and it’s known
as a bit of a silty dive and a bit broken up, but the visibility
was again excellent. I thought it a bit similar to the Persier,
it was a very gentle and relaxing dive, plenty of fish and
some very big Pollack around too. Also the familiar blue
and orange male Cuckoo Wrasse which are common in this
area. Lots of pink sea fans growing on the flattened plates
of the wreck and Doreen spotted a small John Dory resting
on one of the plates between the sea fans, they always look
impressive in a wierd way.
Soon we were into deco time again and it was DSMB
time and back to the boat. However we didn’t miss the AA
gun and two huge boilers – but I missed the spare propeller
apparently (Ron later told me that! lol).
One funny story on the Rosehill dive. Big Steve forgot
his weightbelt when he jumped off the boat, but the beauty of
it is that he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t get himself
down the shotline like an epileptic frog! (I best not say crazy
frog!!) .... and right in front of a group of divers from ‘Clidive’
club who were doing their safety
stop on the line!
DIVE 6 – HMS SCYLLA
This wreck is a favourite of
mine, ‘love at first sight’ since
I first dived her when she was
sunk as an artificial reef way
A John Dory
back in 2004. She is intact and
upright in 26 metres.
We followed the shotline down to the bridge in around 8
metres. We explored inside the bridge looking out through
the empty windows at the fish going by. The viz on this dive
was the best I had experienced in a long time. We finned
down a companion-way. I was keen to peek inside the wreck
through one of the many entrances. Doreen didn’t seem so
keen, but I persuaded her to follow me through some of the
easy swim through’s which she seemed ok with. Shortly we
came out onto the helicopter deck, it looked like a football
pitch with fish grazing on the ‘grass’. We came to the railings
around the stern which were covered in beautiful orange
and white anemone’s and dropped over the stern to the sea
bed and ventured under and between the two rudders, there
were lots of fish floating around in the shade of the ship
above, quite atmospheric! We ascended to the upper decks
and I looked over to see a
large Bass patrolling the
who needs a
weightbelt???
wreck below, it was good
to see one in it’s natural
environment rather than
an aquarium, or in the
fishmongers. Also saw
some Pollack, Wrasse
here, and cute little Rock Cook’s which display a lovely
metallic blue colour from certain angles. We headed back
along a companion-way with me still peering into doorways
and passages. I motioned that finally we should check out
the bow and then we can find somewhere to deploy
Doreen’s DSMB I suggested on top of the bridge, but on
second thoughts, it was a little too shallow there, but she
made a good job of it (the forward deck would have been
more suitable).
SUNDAY NIGHT
After two excellent wreck dives it was time to head
for port and to the ritual of unloading the empty cylinders,
stowing the dive gear in the hold and wheelhouse, arranging
the air fills and getting back to the digs.
Tonight we had a table booked at the Clovelly for another
crack at their excellent food. The food at the Boringdon
was no contest, and on past trips we have ventured out to
Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo to the excellent pubs,
The Dolphin and The Ship, but for this trip we stayed
closer to home.
MONDAY MORNING DIVE 7 – HMS ELK
This was our last day and we had a slightly earlier start
so that we could head off back home after the diving.
HMS ELK a former fishing trawler. She hit a mine on
27th November1940 and lies south of Plymouth breakwater
in 32 metres.
Me and Doreen were last in. We descended the shotline
in good viz to the wreck. This is quite a small wreck and we
found that the viz in the interior had been quite stirred up
by the other divers of our group. So I stayed on the outer
edge of the wreck where the viz was still good. I spotted an
impressive shoal of Pouting hanging a short swim from the
wreck, the light was unusually good down at 31-32 metres. I
also searched for scallops, and found two which went in my
BC pocket. Soon that we had to head for the surface and we
left the only other divers, Ron and Phil Harvey, to clear the
shot and finish their dive as we ascended the shotline.
When we were back on the boat, we were treated to
the sight of a pod of around 15 dolphins that were heading
towards Rame Head. I was still trying to de-kit and didn’t
get to my camera to get any pictures. This was the ‘icing on
the cake’ to see this at the end of a great diving trip. Dave
Purl managed to get something with his camera so hopefully
there is some evidence of the dolphins. Ron and Phil H
unfortunately missed out as they were still under the boat
decompressing! Incidentally longest deco stop badge
must go to Phil Harvey with a time of 27 minutes on one of
his dives!
DIVE 8 -- DRAKE ISLAND
The weekend had flown by all to quickly, and now it was
time for our last dive! We were on the hunt for something that
we could take home and eat, ideally Scallops. Just one thing,
Plymouth has seen a decline in scallops caught by divers in
recent years so Glenn wasn’t hopeful for us. Drake Island is
in Plymouth sound and a shallow dive, but handy for a quick
getaway back home to London.
The plan was to jump off the boat but don’t go too far
East or West because of shipping. We descended to 10
metres and sent up the DSMB. We set off on our scallop
hunt. Visibility wasn’t bad but not much seafood in our area.
I picked up a scallop. But I didn’t check it until later and it
was full of silt! The sea bed was a mix of sand, shingle,
shell, silt, rocks and punctuated with kelp reefs. We saw
little of interest, a couple of wrasse here and there, a small
crab, some small sand gobies, but not one scallop. My air
was getting low so we
agreed to head back
up. It had been the most
disappointing dive of the
weekend but I guess
you can’t have it all
sometimes.
Some in the group
mmm ...
fared better than us. Sean
barbecued Scallops
Callan captured a massive
old Lobster, which was
photographed before we put him back unharmed. Dave Purl
was the winner of the scallop hunt and donated all his catch
to me and Doreen, along with a contribution of scallops
from Terry. We enjoyed a delicious barbecue dinner at our
campsite near Salcombe that same evening, many thanks to
Dave and Terry, they were superb! Ron and Phil spotted a
pipefish and a small cuttlefish on their dive.
MONDAY AFTERNOON GOODBYES
At least we were not far from the marina now, and
were soon at the quayside. The sun was out for most of the
weekend, we had great ‘viz’, and only Friday and Saturday
was it a little breezy, but it had been a Plymouth trip to rank
with the best of them. After all the dive kit was unloaded and
packed into our cars, it was time to say our farewells … until
next time.
(PS. thanks to those who took our gear back
while we went camping – Smudge)
Sean with
‘grandad’ Lobster