Fishermen and divers - Donegal 11-12 August 07

[The Penguin]

Just in case you missed some of the post-trip banter here

YD (Ireland) Get wrecked part 3 11th & 12th aug

Here is a trip-report of sorts of YD Ireland Branch's recent trip to north Donegal. At least the bits i remember anyway!

After a nightmare drive up from Belfast in the dark and mizzling rain on Friday night it was good find the others comfortably ensconced in the North Star and meet old and new faces. After a bit of banter it was off to Mevagh's B&B, fingers crossed for some good weather the next day.

Saturday 11 August

Saturday dawned calm but very damp. We had the perfect sea state but it was overcast and raining. Still didn't deter us, and soon we were speeding out to the Laurentic at the mouth of Loch Swilly.

Dive 1 - Laurentic, max depth 38m. My second dive on this wreck, and i was really looking forward to it. We dropped the RB boyo's in first to give them time to see it all cos they're such slow swimmers with all that kit then the old-school OC nutters rolled in. Peter M, Ian (Pug) and myself buddied up for this dive, and we fairly tore down the shot. This time we landed on the bows, broken off and tilted on to the port side, but still impressive. A few minutes swimming around and poking into holes and admiring the rusted winches and stuff, then we moved aft, hoping to find the boilers. Swimming down the starboard side, looking for souvenirs but not finding any we came upon one of the 6in deck guns, still upright and pointing at the surface. And some toilet bowls. After howking around here for a bit we bagged off at 25mins for 20mins of deco. Back on the boat within our 50min plan, Donald was happy and so were we!

Tea and biccys (thanks Donald) were followed by the Kalliopis.

Dive 2 - Kalliopis, max depth 24m. A great improvement in conditions compared with my first dive on this wreck, and another really good dive. Again Peter, Ian and i buddied up. Donald dropped us smack on the boilers, and we cruised around these for a while - 3 of them all sitting in a line - before Ian (who had been elected navigator as i'd cunningly lent my compass to Jane ) led us off unerringly across some featureless seabed to the gulley containing some of the interesting mechanical bits and the prop shaft - pretty good going Ian! After a swim up and down the gulley, and admiring a BIG sea toad, we headed back out to the boilers and then across some fairly featureless seabed (i think decking). Here we saw a sleeping dogfish and tried to pet it. At 37mins we headed up.

After a delightful meal in the Carrigart Hotel we wandered back to the B&B. The weather was showing signs of improving, and we were hopeful for the morrow.

Sunday 12 August

Waking to glorious sunshine pouring in the windows, hopes of perfect diving conditions were shattered as the wind had picked up. We battered out through the choppy swell to the Laurentic, and had just put up the A-flag and sorted out the shot when a charter fishing boat hove on site. Donald warned them about the divers and advised them to be cautious as we would be coming up all along the wreck.

Dive 3 - Laurentic, max depth 36m. Again the two slow RB divers were dropped in (you need a scooter like Peter's!), swiftly followed by a loose group of myself and Peter, Ian, Tim, and Stephen. Peter and i had the same gases and planned a 20min bottom time, the others would maybe do a few minutes more. Conditions below the surface were even better than the previous day. Nice and bright even on the bottom which helped keep my narcosis down a little. Again we began on the bows, and cruised aft against a bit of current, noting that the fish which had been swimming much more freely on Saturday were now hunkered down in the crevices out of reach of the fisher men. Peter and i bimbled around, and found a big old granddaddy of a lobby, missing his starboard pincer and few legs, who dared us grab him. Would've loved to have seen the thing that was able to beat him up so badly, but maybe he'd already eaten it. Mick and Midnight were apparently attacked by congers, but i think they were narked Peter saw a nice wee butterfish. At 20mins i signalled Peter and we waved bye-bye to the others and fired our blobs. Shortly afterwards Peter signalled 'look' and i looked round expecting to run in to a fishing line, but we had just drifted over the boilers. A lovely end to the dive, and i settled down to a 20mins ascent. Reaching about 25m i was surprised and puzzled to see Peter start sinking downwards and was just about to descend and see what the problem was when my computer started bleeping.........first thought was that i'd air trapped somewhere, then i noticed that my SMB line was behind me and almost horizontal. Realising what had happened i tried to let out more line to alert the fisher-idiot to what he'd caught, but the tension was so great i couldn't realise the ratchet. Bye-bye KT reel In a few seconds i'd been dragged up about 5m and my computer was not liking it. I wasn't too happy myself and was breathing rapidly. Peter was still in sight and looking at me, so i swam back down to him. After calming a little bit we continued the ascent, me freaked out and breathing like a train, Peter watching my stage contents guage and preparing to donate gas. A minute latter i had to slash another fishing line which hooked Peter's glove. It took me a good 10mins to get my breathing back under control, by which time i'd chuffed through 2/3 of my stage. I switched to back-gas on the 6m stop, for which we'd planned the deco for as we only had 38% in our stages. Clearing Peter's computer we surfaced. Tim was already back on the boat, breathing nitrox as he too had been caught and dragged up, fortunately he'd been able to complete his stops. I was fairly happy with the conservative deco, and merely threw up over the side of the RHIB, which set Tim off too. Sorry... Apparently we shot our SMBs up around the fishing boat, and they wouldn't take a warning from the boatman to go easy while the divers came up.

So a lovely dive with a nightmarish deco.

Tea and biccys were had in a sheltered cove, while Midnight and Mick tried to get Peter's DPV to haul them around... Peter, Tim and i sat out the 2nd dive (near the Gaelic) but we didn't miss much.

Thanks to everyone for a lovely weekend! Again a big thanks to Ken for organising everything! Much appreciated.

Al

[balbrigganbloke]

Nice report but you missed Batman
Go on admit it you know you did!!!!!

[The Penguin]

Originally Posted by balbrigganbloke

Nice report but you missed Batman
Go on admit it you know you did!!!!!

ok, yes, i admit i missed Batman! why didn't you come flying in to save me from the nasty fishermen?

[buchhawk]

Well done Al

Mick could not have put it much better

Next time I want some of your M&S pork pies never mind the kit kats

Allistor sat ?

Thanks for turning up Ken

[The Penguin]

Originally Posted by buchhawk

Next time I want some of your M&S pork pies never mind the kit kats

the least i can do!

Originally Posted by buchhawk

Allistor sat ?

only if we get blown out on the Hunsdon!

Originally Posted by buchhawk

Thanks for turning up Ken

well i couldn't miss it, even though Batman wasn't there.

Al

[Mick F]

Excellent report Al.

I think we should go along with the hand drill/hole cutter idea for the anglers next time. These guys ignored the cox'ns warnings as well as the A flag. Floggings too good for 'em.

Just for the record I was attacked by congers not once, but twice!! I have no idea why they were even out free swimming during the day, never mind actively hunting the way these two were.

[The Penguin]

Originally Posted by Mick F

I think we should go along with the hand drill/hole cutter idea for the anglers next time. These guys ignored the cox'ns warnings as well as the A flag. Floggings too good for 'em.

Originally Posted by Mick F

Just for the record I was attacked by congers not once, but twice!! I have no idea why they were even out free swimming during the day, never mind actively hunting the way these two were.

it were a butterfish i tell ye, and they don't like yellow!!

[buchhawk]

Originally Posted by al kennedy

only if we get blown out on the Hunsdon!



Al

Weres That & how deep
Ken

[The Penguin]

Originally Posted by buchhawk

Weres That & how deep
Ken

kind of left of straight out of Strangford Lough in the Irish Sea. depending on tide 35-38m. big cargo boat thing, very broken but a nice dive.

[ardhill]

Nice report Al

Sea Frogs, Butterfish - I have never even heard of those thing let alone know what they were if I saw them. You sure you wern't narked?

I hope you got your Reel and blob back off the nasty fishermen.
.