Stoney virgin........

[JohnK]

OK - so I`ve read loads of posts about how crap Stoney is and decided that as I am the only person in the world not to have been there, I need to try it.

I listened to the advice of the `seniors` and with trepidation went down there yesterday - Friday.

Got there about 08.00 - 4th in the queue. Really liked the little man who books you in before the gates open - come on Cape, what a good idea. Gates open at 08.30 and a great parking spec by the water. Even by 09.00 the car park is still half empty.

Oh - another nice touch - free map on back of entry ticket (£10 day ticket)

So - togged up and in we go - first in - best UK vis (inland or elsewhere around UK) that we have experienced. Yep - thats why we were first in.

Dropped down to 21m and a tour of the Stanegarth, back to the waal, up the wall, over to the cockpit, over to the nautilus, past the junk (???) and into the `cellar` of the pub. Loads of fish - biggest perch and Roach I`ve ever seen and a couple of Pike on feeding expeditions.

Second dive - down the road, left to bus (followed drop off to the `deeps`), across to the Stany (again), across to the wessex, up the wall and a tootle in the shallows.

Temperature on both dives was 11 degrees, vis on second dive a bit poorer (by now more bods in the water)

Overall - really enjoyed the dives, travelled 3 hours to get there and it was worth it but I suppose once you have done it 20 times it must get a bit boring.

Anyone who has not done Stoney - do it, but midweek. Car park still not full when we left at 1pm.

I like the fact that you can visit more than one `wreck` on the dive and still leave something for the next one.

Safe diving