crackin' day out in Dover gromit

[DAFFY]

The reason I was there at 04:50 at an empty Dover was three fold. 1st) obviously to Dive 2nd) for Adam, who had just completed his boat handlers course, to try out his newly aquired skills and 3rdl'y to try out our new wreck finder. So it was up at 03:30 a quick bite to eat the a 40 minute drive to Dover.

By the time I got to Dover Adam and Jon where already there with the RIB, so kitted up. The only other people there where members of Thanet Divers who where going out in their RIB to dive the Hermes. After a quick chat with them turned round to find our RIB was already in the water with none of the hassle we had last time. As there was only four of us on the boat the plan were to dive in waves so that everybody got into the water. The targets for Adam were the Brazen and the Pomerania. With all the kit onboard off we went.

1st Dive: HMS Brazen: We got onto the wreck area well before slack to enable Adam to take his time however all dues to Adam as he found the wreck pretty quickly, I threw in the shot and there we where. It was already warm with a slight mist. The plan was to do a 25minute, come up then for the next two to go in. At this point it still was not slack but I and Jon decided to kit up and get into the water just before slack to extend the "window of opportunity" so to speak. So once we where kitted up it was straight in and over to the shot. We waited for several minutes before deciding it was ok to go. So down we went, the plankton bloom seemed to be in full swing with viz being a metre or so if a tad dark. However once on the wreck the viz improved and off we went. It was a great dive, I am pretty sure we where on the stern because I could not see any gun, I think there was some sort of boiler, might be wrong Paul Oliver would know the wreck better than me, though did recognise the davits. Loads of life particularly pink and white plumrose anemones (I think) and one particularly large wrasse, at 23minutes indicated to my buddy it was time to go up, so up went the bag, did our safety stops and was duly picked up by the RIB.

Adam and Elaine kitted up really quickly and where in, at this point judging by the buoy it was still slack, so had a bit of a sunbath whilst watching out for the bag. Once it came up it was quite a distance away so obviously slack had turned at some point in the dive. Once we picked the two up was informed that there had been no slack and after a struggle to stay on the wreck both where dragged off

So it was back to Dover with two happy divers and two disappointed divers. We anchored up just offshore of a crowded Dover beach and pottled of for breakfast, at this point it was still not quite 10:00am. God bless early starts

After a large fried breakfast it was a case of swapping cylinders and sunbathing until it was time to go. At around 12:00 off we went to find the Pomerania. Once again Adam taking control and finding the wreck pretty quickly. In went the shot but for some reason Jon was not entirely happy with it's position and for twenty minutes or so debated weither to move it or not, at the end we left it where it was. The plan was for Adam and elaine to go in first as they to ensure that they get a good dive in. So just as in the first dive in they went with a planned BT of 25minutes.

2nd Dive: Pomerania. Initially we followed their bubble trail to see if they where on the wreck but due to the swell building up slightly we lost the trail. Eventually both came up grinning like Cheshire cats and saying what a fantastic dive they had. So on went the kit and into the water.

It was obvious that we had missed slack as the plankton was storming past us at a rate of knots. Getting down the shotline was a struggle not helped by having to check my buddies pillar vales and manifold several times as he was convinced that he could hear gas escaping. Viz was less than a metre. Eventually, we got on to wreck to find the viz greatly improved and a lot lighter than on the Brazen. However it was a struggle to stay on the wreck and it was a case off getting along by means of hand over hand. The effort of getting down the line and hanging onto the wreck was causing me to gulp through my air, also through noise/vibrations of a close by ferry convinced me that it was time to call it a day. So, after 8 minutes on the wreck decided to call it a day whilst we where ahead of the game. This was a shame because it looked like a great wreck for a rummage. After finding some shelter sending up the bag was fun. I have a hundred meters of line on my reel but due to the current the bag was being dragged at a 45deg angle rather than straight. Although we where only at 31mtrs I thought I was going to run out of line so attached my buddy’s reel but at the end the reel came to a halt, so it was up the line followed by safety stop and back into the RIB. Back at a crowded Dover the boat was recovered without incident or embarrassment, the end of a cracking diving day at Dover

[Paul Oliver]

Sounds like a good day out mate

I unfortunatly was working in Calais all day and just looking at the sea

[broady]

Nice one - sounds like you had fun

G

.

[paramedic paul]

Sounds like a great day all round, congrats to the boat handler!