Marvellous Mull

[Mark Davies]

<font color='#000080'>When Peter posted this trip I was really miffed. I'd been to Mull last year and loved it, but had no leave left and so was destined to miss it.

But, proving that every cloud has a silver lining, my chance came. My 10th wedding anniversary was ruined after being called back from the celebratory holiday to give evidence in a court case. Bit of a bummer, but it meant I got my leave days back and suddenly Mull was on the cards again!

How Far?

I can get to the Red Sea quicker than it takes to drive to Mull. But for me it was only 400+ miles and a little under 8 hours with a diversion to Leeds to pick up Steve C. Some made some serious effort with Howard and Becks coming up from London and some of the Sheep-Friendly contingent coming from Cardiff! That's Diving-Commitment! Howard set of at 3am and arrived at 1pm. I think Becks was a bit annoyed at such an early start - they could have got up at 8 and still been there in good time - but it meant they got in a shore dive from the pier. (Quite eventful by eye-witness accounts - I'll leave them to tell the tale).

Planning Committee

So by 9pm everyone had arrived (except Gavin of course, who despite driving like a maniac always seems to be the last to get anywhere!). We collected in the social club so that Peter could do his usual bit and organise everyone into buddy pairs on the appropriate boat. In diving terms, that's where Peter's weekend started and finished!

We had a few beers and it was a good opportunity to catch up with old friends and to make new ones, (with the usual &quot;You don't look like a copper&quot; routine!). Some of us had a respectably early night, others didn't!

Super Saturday

Most of us were up nice and early for breakfast, doing our best to cook sausages and bacon on the hot plates with the highest setting of 'mild'. We got there in the end. By 9am we were down on the pier with all our kit ready to load on the boats.

Immediately the previous evening's Planning Committee efforts went to RS. Firstly, the Planning Committee hadn't got out of bed after too much of the good stuff. Secondly we found a clear problem with space. The Brendan didn't have a compressor so all those divers with two sets of tanks were assigned to that boat. Unfortunately it is the smaller of the two boats - combine the limited deck space with all the extra tanks and it was clear that room was an issue. There was a quick shuffle of the pack and we got our crew down to 10 to make it manageable.

We were off, with just a bit of cloud cover and the odd shower. This was as bad as the weather got. But after going just two feet we were turning back! Howard had had problems with a BC inflator hose and so had changed it. Only, he found he'd put on a reg hose by mistake! Back we went for a replacement.

Our diving for the day (on the Brendan) was the Shuna and then the Thesis. Two very nice wrecks, both upright in less than 30m.

I had been delighted to find Paul Hinchcliffe on our boat. I had never met him before but had heard his name in diving circles and knew him to be an instructor held in high regard with an impeccible reputation. I was looking forward to learning much from him.

So the first dive came and we all got about getting ourselves kitted up. Paul and John Mitchell were the first pair in. Over went John and straight to the shot; then Paul followed after. What a pairing of experienced divers - what a team! The illusion was shattered as Paul's soft and unusually timid voice was heared to call up to the boat; &quot;Erm, could you pass me my fins?&quot;!

The Shuna is a nice wreck - I quite enjoyed it as a starter dive. The Thesis, I think, is the most beautiful wreck I've ever dived. The hull plates have been salvaged from the bow, leaving open spars exposed so that you can see right throught the skeleton of the wreck. It is covered in life and the swim throughs are like a visit to Santa's Grotto! It was better last summer, because there was more natural light then, and more fish in it. But even so, it was still a cracking dive.

Between dives lunch on boat was provided, with a fantastic vegetable soup to keep us warm. Fiona did us proud by organising tea and coffee from the galley in grand fashion.

On the way back to Lochaline we came along side our sister ship, the Peregrine. We realised then how quickly good news could travel when we saw the entire compliment stood and waving their fins at Paul!

Saturday evening (only slightly marred by the rugby) was a decent meal at the Hotel followed by a few beers and the inevitable piss-taking at Paul's expense. Good man, he took it well!

Sensational Sunday

We woke bright and early on Sunday (well most of us) to find a beautiful sunny day. Perfect!

First dive of the day was the Rondo. I'd not done this one on the last visit so it was new to me. The depth monsters were keen to go deep. The Peregrine had dived it the day before and reported the best conditions they'd ever seen on the wreck with 10m viz.

We were treated to similar conditions and the dive was good enough to even cheer Paul up! I dived with Julian, both on air, so we didn't do more than 30m and were up on deck before the twin-monsters were back. I was busy sorting out my kit and changing the tank for the next dive and with my back to the ladder. There's no door at the side of the Brendan so it does have quite a high ladder, but a good one. At first I didn't pay any attention to Porg's shouting and cursing as she tried to get back on board loaded with her twinset and pony.

I turned just in time to see her collapsing face first down the steps to land on the deck, sprawled out like a piece of road-kill, pinned there by the weight of her kit! I nearly pissed myself. &quot;Stop laughing at me, you bastards&quot;, she cried &quot;Help me up, I can't breathe&quot;. We laughed some more and left her there just long enough for Reeve to get his camera!

Second dive of the day was a pinnacle. Just a little bit of current to start with but our efforts were rewarded as we made our way around to find a gorgeous anenome garden - a forest of orange and white. Beautiful.

We then popped into Tobormory for a quick beer. John and Paul must have had one too many because they came back reporting that they'd seen a flourescent orange and green seagull, just like a parrot!

After that we sneaked in a quick drift dive to collect scallops. Paul offered a bottle of beer to whoever collected the most, just for inspiriation. Not surprisingly, we came up with a fairly decent catch. More than enough for all the divers and the skipper too.

Julia cooked them up to perfection and then it was down to the Hotel again to finish the meal.

I had an early night, but I understand the Planning Committe had another late session. There was a lot of 'planning' done on this trip!

Marvellous Monday

As good as the conditions had been on Sunday, it just got even better on Monday! It was a cold start but even the odd stray cloud that we'd seen the day before was now gone. Wall-to-wall sunshine!

We had an early start (I say we with the obvious exception) so that we could catch slack for our second dive.

The first dive was a wall near to Tobomory, at Calve Island. Julian had given up struggling with his leaking dry-suit (he'd found it cold) and opted out. Paul had also decided on an early trip home so I buddied with John. This was my best day's diving of the weekend. The drift on the wall was great, dropping to about 30m and then gently ascending as we flew by. We saw a docile dogfish quietly resting on a ledge and a large red sea slug about 4&quot; long. I forgot to ask Dr Steve what it was, but I'd never seen one before.

A quick stop in Tobormory again for some shopping and then off to the Hispania. This wreck has a reputation for difficult currents, but with characteristic expertise the skipper dropped us in right on slack and we had an easy dive.

Easy, except that my mask kept on leaking. Most unusual as it's a cracking fit. I must have cleared it 20 times and it kept filling up. I messed about with my hood to see if it had caught the seal but it seemed fine. It was really getting on my nerves until I got a clue to the problem when I saw the strap flapping about above my eyebrows. It must have come off when I'd rolled in. That it had stayed on my face for 15 minutes with my clearing it over and over again showed just how good a fit it was!

All too soon we were up the shotline as the current kicked in. Back on the boat we had our last dose of the fantastic soup and back to the centre. The Peregrine had joined us on the Hispania and so we ended up in a race to get back. The Peregrine is the faster of the two boats so as it passed the crew were treated to a broadside or bare arses form the Brendan! Further attempts at water-bombing were unfortunately unsuccesful!

We finally managed to disembark and get all our kit packed away ready to go home.

Thanks and Goodbye

Handshakes and hugs followed and we were soon all on our long journeys home. The trip had been well woth the effort, though. Many thanks to Peter for organising the gig, even though he managed to avaoid doing a single dive. Good effort, that man!

I've had two fantastic trips to Mull so far. I can't recommend it enough. The dive centre and the boats are a quality set-up and it's superb value for money. If you get the chance to go, then do it. I'll certainly be back.

[Andy the Coastie]

<font color='#0000FF'>Excellent write up Mark &nbsp; &nbsp;


can see by the report, that you study detail well, and can reply, minute by minute ,,,,,,, does this have something to do with your employment ??? &nbsp; &nbsp;

[Reeve]

<font color='#000F22'>Excellent write up. Sorry I didn't get the chance to say good bye, but Julian &amp; I had a long run back. Good to meet you, and hopefully it can be repeated another time.

gareth

[Dr Stevil]

What can I say except &quot; What an awesome weekend! &quot;Great weather, great diving, great company&quot;

The Hispania is such a nice wreck it even impressed me who rarely gets excited over rusting hunks of metal. Sadly my dive on the Thesis was marred by a catastrophic zip failure (someone will no doubt have some pictures of the event) Still managed a 30+ minute dive though. The Rondo was fun and the couple of wall dives were really nice. Jules should have a fair few photos from the Peregrine itinery, including me diving in Gav's suit (for those who don't know either of us there's a bit of a size difference &nbsp;

Can't wait to got back really...

[Chris Hall]

<font color='#728FCE'>I can't beat that, had a great w/end, it was like midsummer, the viz was excellent and my duties as Jules's lighting man made for a very easy time underwater. Great to meet some more YDers, see new faces and meet those from other trips.

And as for Porg's vodka, 1/2 bottle????? More like just under a 1/4 and I was cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Put 2 &amp; 2 togeather and you get the idea. I don't drink so it went in the bin. Sorry Porg!

Finally, what dive club or operation could get 2 boats &amp; 23 divers out for a trip in March! Rock on YD!!!!

Cheers to Peter for all the hard work and stress arranging thr trip.

[Fiona]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Mark Davies @ Mar. 09 2004,10:36)]At first I didn't pay any attention to Porg's shouting and cursing as she tried to get back on board loaded with her twinset and pony.

I turned just in time to see her collapsing face first down the steps to land on the deck, sprawled out like a piece of road-kill, pinned there by the weight of her kit! I nearly pissed myself. &quot;Stop laughing at me, you bastards&quot;, she cried &quot;Help me up, I can't breathe&quot;. We laughed some more and left her there just long enough for Reeve to get his camera!

<font color='#0000FF'>Have to agree great report Mark, reading this was almost as good as watching it, couldn't stop laughing, sorry Helen. &nbsp;

[Gavin Yates]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Steve W @ Mar. 09 2004,13:40)]Including me diving in Gav's suit (for those who don't know either of us there's a bit of a size difference  

<font color='#000F22'>There is a bit of a size difference but I don't like to talk about that :-)

BTW Steve, where's my drysuit bag you nasty boy?

[Dr Stevil]

Sorry dude, what with decanting Dougie's stuff in the dark it got missed and is in my gaff, guess it's as good an excuse as any to hook up at Abbs for a splash and return your property ?
BTW chee-az for the loan, I owe you one, and remember to ask Dougie just how full the car was on the return journey

[Gavin Yates]

<font color='#000F22'>No worries Stevie,

Thanks for bringing Dougie back - actually you could have left him there!

I've got a spare suit bag from the Aerdura ... lets plan for an Abbs get together soon.

I know Angus McNasty and Dundee are both up for a dip as would be Dave C, Dougie ... Porg would probably come as it's only down the &nbsp;road. Then there's me and you ... looks like were gonna need the whole boat.

I'll post some suggested dates over the next week.

Gav

[SteveC]

Excellent write up. Well what can i say, that was a fantastic weekend. This was my first charter boat trip in the uk and I couldn't have wished for any better. Great skipper, company, facilities and weather!!

Also was a real pleasure diving with Steve W, so big thanks to him for helping me make my most enjoyable uk dives yet; who after forgetting to test his camera case on the first day managed to finally get a camera in it on the last . So lets see some pics.  My 50th dive ended up being on the thesis, which coincidentally has been my best dive yet so that worked out pretty well.  Thanks also must go to the scallop chef Julia for a grand job on those caught by the Brendan lot. Superb! Well done peter for putting this trip together!!  Great to have some no fuss, fun diving. Role on more YD trips!!

All thats left to be said is that after a collective 16 hours in the car with mark, im well on my way to becoming a master criminal with all the tricks of the trade .  Thanks for the lift mate, really appreciate it .