My weekend - The Duke, The Kyarra, The Aeolian Sky, Betsy Anna, and the tanks

[Janos]

Well, Friday was my first proper trimix dive since completing my MOD 2 a month or so back. Diving from Nauticat there were eight divers in total, including four whom I knew from YD: Myself (KISS), Mark Chase (Insp.), IanI (Boris), Uri (Inspo). The plan is to dive the Duke of Buccleugh, a iron hulled ship that sunk in 1884 and is the subject of a forthcoming documentary on the History channel.

The trip out was great. Very flat seas, warm weather but not too hot. Looking over the side of the boat the sea was that lovely dark blue that means “good viz” and I was happy. Deeper wrecks mean longer journeys out, and we passed the time with the usual gossiping, and looking over each others kit. Ian has added a FFM to his Boris since I last saw it, and it looks like a nice well put-together piece of kit.

Once on site, the shot goes in and we kit up. We’re a little early and we have to wait for a few minutes. It’s only five minutes or so but it seems much longer. The KISS is a very short unit and so I can’t rest it on the bench. Also with two stages on the left (don’t worry – Ian gave me plenty of abuse for that I can only rest one of those on the bench and so I’m very keen to get into the water. Time to make a block of wood into a Kiss stand methinks. However soon enough we’re in and down.

I manage to get slightly tangled in the loose shotline on the descent but Mark sorts me out and after a quick bubble check we’re on the bottom and the viz is, well, the viz is stunning. 15m if not more. All around us we can see the Duke’s cargo – china plates lying stacked in holds where the boxes have rotted away. There are hundreds of them! After a few minutes orientating myself Mark and I make our way slowly towards the bow, looking at the china around us. We spot a lobster who is too well dug in to be got out and continue mooching our way forward. A little further forward we come across the glass hold where there are literally thousands of tumblers and other glass ornaments and we spot and bagup a massive crab. We spend a few more minutes rooting around to see what we can see and meet Ian and Uri coming back from the bow. After a little more time we wander forwards across the break to the undamaged bow. Viz was so good that we could see clearly across the break in the wreck. I spot a lobster which a happy Mark bags and we shoot out SMBs. Oh, and I saw a porthole in situ. Lovely.

Leaving the bottom after 40mins we have around 1 hour 20mins deco to do and for me it passed surprisingly quickly. Mark had his camera with him (unfortunately the Duke was a little too deep for the buttons to work) but it works fine on the stops so we arse around posing and taking photos. I have a wee and think that my p-valve really has failed this time

Back on board for tea and medals we take our kit off and I admire the little turquoise shot glasses I collected. They have little hearts on them and apparently there are also glasses with spades, diamonds and clubs. I unzip my suit and find that I haven’t pissed myself. Result Nauticat speeds back to port and we talk diving chat. Back on shore it’s a quick disembark before heading home where I strip my kit and change the scrubber ready for my trip to Swanage!

Friday night and I’m driving down to Swanage. After a brief stop in Poole to return the Shearwater I borrowed from Dave Thompson (a lovely man BTW) I arrive in Swanage to meet half a dozen people from my club Hellfins. It’s late (11pm) and although they’re just finishing off their meal in the restaurant all the chippies are shut! What sort of chippy shuts at 11pm? Anyway, I polish off half of Missus Janos’ baked potato, and we wander off to the pub for a couple of pints and a packet of crisps (I’m still hungry) before bed. Conscious of the fact that I have done my first two hour dive I also polish off a packet of pork scratchings as an extra anti-DCI measure.

Saturday morning sees me up at 5:45 as we’re on a boat that leaves at 6:50! We’re diving from Divers Down on their new boat, Smooth Hound, ably skippered by Mike (resting rifleman on YD). I’m not properly functioning, so am glad that I spent the time prepping the KISS the night before and only have a few minutes of checks to do. We speed off to the Kyarra and once in the viz is fantastic – an easy 10m to 15m.

I’m with Ian, a relatively inexperienced Sports Diver, so this is quite a short dive, but it’s his deepest dive yet and I enjoy showing him round the bow area and pointing out the different objects in the hold. I blob up but it gets caught around the shotline. I manage to free it but Ian and I have a few communication problems which we eventually resolve, however if you were the pair of divers going up the shot as we blundered past then I’m sorry

Back on board it’s more tea and medals before getting back to the pier where the Historic divers refill their cylinders and I look smug.

Second dive of the day and it’s the Sky. I’m marshalling so swap things around a little so I can get a bit of a longer dive. I love the Sky, especially in good viz, and I know that if we’re getting 10m on the Kyarran then the Sky is going to be superb.

I’m dving with Missus Janos and Alan as we head out there are several dive boats on site already. We’re in the water and I’m not disappointed. The viz is excellent. The shot is a little forward of the stern and we head towards the bow. We come across a posse of inspiration divers from another boat. Including one in a bright orange drysuit and diving an Inspiration. Howard! I think, but then notice the lack of horned hood and it’s clear that this isn’t a fellow member of the Elite Diving group: Cool Force 10.

We start to meet more and more divers, and I reflect whether this is because the viz is just so good. Ie, whether normally we’d pass like ships in the night without noticing each other. However we soon leave the busy area and come across some more of the cargo, including the land rover chassises.

Back on board it’s time for chocolate cake (thanks Mike) and back to port for a very civilised time. We pass the Hellfins Rib heading out for their second dive and we’re soon in our B&B washing the salt out of our hair. Fish and Chips and a couple of pints, then it’s time to watch the firework show celebrating the last night of the Swanage Carnival and then bed.

Sunday it’s another early start as we’re off to dive the Betsy Anna at 8am. I meet Lou and Caroline having a vigorous discussion as they get on the pier, but I think it’s an out-of-tea error as it’s all sorted out later on. I always enjoy pootering around the Betsy and today was no exception. Although well broken up there’s plenty of bits to see and as she’s in just 23m we have a nice long dive on her. I spot around about a billion congers. I see a nice lobster but he’s well dug in, so we leave him be and I try and bag off. Until I realise that I haven’t refilled my DSMB bottle. Poo. Oh well, I think, I’ll use my spare DSMB. Which I lent to Missus Janos. Double poo. I have a go at filling the crack bottle DSMB with my stage bottle but it’s a bit of a pain so I decide that I can’t be arsed faffing with this and get my buddy Rob to put his up instead.

Back on board it’s yet more chocolate cake and I get told off for eating too many Jaffa cakes, then it’s back to the pier where I introduce Mike to Lou while the other Hellfins get their tanks filled. Neither Lou nor Mike spontaneously combust, and soon they are joking away about the best bait to use for catching Dolphins like the best of friends.

After a speedy turn around we’re out again in less than an hour, looking for the Valentine Tanks. I’ve tried to shot these myself on four separate occasions from the rib and have never managed it. So I’m looking for a professional skipper to show me how it’s done. Mike doesn’t disappoint. He finds the tanks and I drop the shot. It doesn’t hold. We haul it up and second time lucky it sticks. First pair down have instructions to secure it to the wreck, but sadly they don’t have quite enough time and the shot is dragged off. Last pair in are Rob and myself and it’s a long, long swim against the current, following the dragmarks to get to the tanks. Just as I’m about to give up there it is: The tank! Still recognsisable and with a gun pointed to the sky, I’m really pleased to be finally diving this. And it even has a lobster and a conger in residence! There’s a rope that joins it to another tank, and Rob and I swim across. This tank is slightly worse for wear, the top having been wire-swept or blown off, and it now lies by the side of the tank.

Back on board we’re back and ready to leave Swanage by 2pm, and we’re home by 5pm. The two glasses from the Duke have cleaned up nicely in the weak vinegar solution I left them soaking in, and after dinner Missus Janos and I use them for a little dram, 120 years after they last saw the light of day.

Janos

[PW1664]

Janos,

Now you're starting, just like Lou...

Just cos I had to cancel this weekend

Pleased you had a good one.... BTW how you getting on with the KISS?

[resting rifleman]

glad you enjoyed the diving janos, your hellfins were a bit pleased with the viz on the tanks then! it seems someone from a group booked for a "gentle drift" was so enthused by the overheard conversation on the pier that they elected to go to the tanks for thier dive fortunately the shot went right into the turret this time, and had to be cut out of fishing line before it was bagged up!
(just as well, there was more tide when they did it) looking for a 15/9/8 ft box
twice in one day is service above and beyond
some esteemed company on the sky, top gun,skin deep, and smudge on scimitar (thanks again for the use of your shotline smudge )
nice to finaly meet lou (spidger) no red paint, or offers of violence, (much to my relief ) also met scubee on saturday.

all in all a good weekend, viz, weather and company all came good, and the diving was trouble free, we even managed to rescue a rhib full of 6 kids and three adults on the way back from the last tank visit, which saved the lifeboat from diverting from the open day demo they were doing.
mike.

[Paul Oliver]

Good report, a top quality weekend then

[Mark Chase]

Nice report M8 thanks for putting the link up on the other one, I hadent found this in my trawl through the new posts when i got home.

Ill put the pics on a CD and send them to you.

ATB

Mark Chase