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<font color='#000F22'>As the other two are too lazy to post here's a quick run-doon on the weekend's festivities.
Got to Inverkip on Friday night to meet the skipper of Spinaway, Jim Queen, as me, Ben and Stevie were staying on board. It was pishing doon wi' rain but the forecast for Sat was good-ish so after meeting Stevie we retire to the pub for food and "planning Guiness."
Saturday morning and first dive is on the Wallachia. I really like this wreck and it didn't disappoint. Viz was variable but hey it's the Clyde.
I'm all excited and after a bubble check at 6-7m batter down the shot to the wreck at about 33m.
Ben arrives a couple of seconds after me and then Stevie shows up. I'm just sorting out the shot so it can be pulled off at the end of the dive and off we go. We have a nice swim around and to be honest I get a bit carried away with it all and soon our bottom time is coming to and end. We'd planned to do less than 15mins of deco as the water was a bit lumpy.
Problem - Gav's forgotten where he left the shot ... Ben stuck a strobe on it but it's gone out (Northern Diver crap) and so Ben goes to bag-off. No problem until I spy that his reel is slightly tangled. I grabbed the reel off him and tell him to stick it away and I send up mine instead. Three of us together start to ascend. Stevie bags off at 21m stop and after the necessary deco(including switch to 100% at 6m) and what appeared to be an extra 10 minutes on top of that to allow Stevies ancient computer to clear we were back on the boat.
Dive time was about 70 mins - I think and - max depth about 38 mtres.
On deck Steve tells me he's just spent the bottom time narked out of his box - due to the bollock-brained descent rate that I used and it was a salutory lesson that it's not just going up that speed matters.
Second dive is on the Akka and it was a beauty. Lots to see but this time me and Ben managed to lose Steve. Diving as a three in Clyde conditions is never ideal and all it take is a couple of ill-judge fin strokes and suddenly you're away from one of your buddies. Anway - we all know what we're doing so we search - bag off - and ascend. We were within no-dec limits at this point so it was a staged ascent - necessary stops and then we saw Stevies bag and knew he was fine.
Met up back on the boat and went off to the pub for a debrief. After "debriefing Guiness" we went to the shop bought pasta and pizza and Gavin ate with his two veggie buddies and jolly good it was too.
Earlier Ben tried to run down a very slippy slope down by the harbour and fell over rolling over at least twice but managed to not only avoid serious injury but the two bags of shopping including a bottle of vino didn't even hit the deck!!!
A bruised Ben and a shaky Stevie awoke on Sunday. Stevie has slept on his arm during the night and had tingly fingers. So is this just a trapped nerve or trapped bubbles. Stevie goes on o2 for 12 mins - no change. This is a reasonably good sign.
We go off to dive the Kintyre and Stevie's good to go as is the bruised Ben. The weather has other ideas.
Jim turns to me and says: "Gav I can get you in the water nae bother, getting you out again's gonna be a bastard tho."
It was really swelling and getting back up the ladder after a pootential 50m dive with twins and stages was not gonna be sensible so we went to the Europa, the boat was jumping around and despite getting the shot on the wreck a number of times the bugger wouldn't stick. Off to the Akka and it was really starting a kick up.
Last hope was the Greenock and despite not greatly improved conditions the limited depth of the Greenock - less that 33m mean't that we could avoid stages and we'd do it as a no-deco dive anyway.
We pop down the shot and have a lovely dive(stopping at 15 metres to check Stevie's tingle - it was still tingly so our earlier diagnosis of w*nkers cramp was probably justified) - I managed to lose the boys for a good couple of minutes and then find them by the shot and up we go. We get to our first short stop at 18m and the current is strating to rip a wee bit. At 15 it's stronger, same at 12 and 9 but at 6 we're holding on a washing line. Glad we weren't doing serious deco cos after 4-5 mins my fingers are sore. We ascend to 3m and the Ben gets a f*ckin' huge jellyfish right in the mush. We surface and I blow a blob up and drift towards Spinaway to get a quick pick-up for Ben.
We get him on deck and I de-kit him. The pain on his face is so obvious and mucho thanks to the lads with the hydro-cortisone on board.
While Ben gets in the warm we find that the shot is stuck so me and Stevie do a quick bounce to free it - and then about 15 mins of deco to off-gass.
Back to port and Ben's looking rough as old nuts and I'm thinking I'm taking you to hospital son. After we get him on the dock he improves and after a wee rest he's almost smiling.
Anyway, I'm off to tropical waters for a couple of weeks. No lugging twins and stages around - probably!
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And I hope no bleedin' jeely fish.
<font color='#000F22'>As the other two are too lazy to post here's a quick run-doon on the weekend's festivities.
Got to Inverkip on Friday night to meet the skipper of Spinaway, Jim Queen, as me, Ben and Stevie were staying on board. It was pishing doon wi' rain but the forecast for Sat was good-ish so after meeting Stevie we retire to the pub for food and "planning Guiness."
Saturday morning and first dive is on the Wallachia. I really like this wreck and it didn't disappoint. Viz was variable but hey it's the Clyde.
I'm all excited and after a bubble check at 6-7m batter down the shot to the wreck at about 33m.
Ben arrives a couple of seconds after me and then Stevie shows up. I'm just sorting out the shot so it can be pulled off at the end of the dive and off we go. We have a nice swim around and to be honest I get a bit carried away with it all and soon our bottom time is coming to and end. We'd planned to do less than 15mins of deco as the water was a bit lumpy.
Problem - Gav's forgotten where he left the shot ... Ben stuck a strobe on it but it's gone out (Northern Diver crap) and so Ben goes to bag-off. No problem until I spy that his reel is slightly tangled. I grabbed the reel off him and tell him to stick it away and I send up mine instead. Three of us together start to ascend. Stevie bags off at 21m stop and after the necessary deco(including switch to 100% at 6m) and what appeared to be an extra 10 minutes on top of that to allow Stevies ancient computer to clear we were back on the boat.
Dive time was about 70 mins - I think and - max depth about 38 mtres.
On deck Steve tells me he's just spent the bottom time narked out of his box - due to the bollock-brained descent rate that I used and it was a salutory lesson that it's not just going up that speed matters.
Second dive is on the Akka and it was a beauty. Lots to see but this time me and Ben managed to lose Steve. Diving as a three in Clyde conditions is never ideal and all it take is a couple of ill-judge fin strokes and suddenly you're away from one of your buddies. Anway - we all know what we're doing so we search - bag off - and ascend. We were within no-dec limits at this point so it was a staged ascent - necessary stops and then we saw Stevies bag and knew he was fine.
Met up back on the boat and went off to the pub for a debrief. After "debriefing Guiness" we went to the shop bought pasta and pizza and Gavin ate with his two veggie buddies and jolly good it was too.
Earlier Ben tried to run down a very slippy slope down by the harbour and fell over rolling over at least twice but managed to not only avoid serious injury but the two bags of shopping including a bottle of vino didn't even hit the deck!!!
A bruised Ben and a shaky Stevie awoke on Sunday. Stevie has slept on his arm during the night and had tingly fingers. So is this just a trapped nerve or trapped bubbles. Stevie goes on o2 for 12 mins - no change. This is a reasonably good sign.
We go off to dive the Kintyre and Stevie's good to go as is the bruised Ben. The weather has other ideas.
Jim turns to me and says: "Gav I can get you in the water nae bother, getting you out again's gonna be a bastard tho."
It was really swelling and getting back up the ladder after a pootential 50m dive with twins and stages was not gonna be sensible so we went to the Europa, the boat was jumping around and despite getting the shot on the wreck a number of times the bugger wouldn't stick. Off to the Akka and it was really starting a kick up.
Last hope was the Greenock and despite not greatly improved conditions the limited depth of the Greenock - less that 33m mean't that we could avoid stages and we'd do it as a no-deco dive anyway.
We pop down the shot and have a lovely dive(stopping at 15 metres to check Stevie's tingle - it was still tingly so our earlier diagnosis of w*nkers cramp was probably justified) - I managed to lose the boys for a good couple of minutes and then find them by the shot and up we go. We get to our first short stop at 18m and the current is strating to rip a wee bit. At 15 it's stronger, same at 12 and 9 but at 6 we're holding on a washing line. Glad we weren't doing serious deco cos after 4-5 mins my fingers are sore. We ascend to 3m and the Ben gets a f*ckin' huge jellyfish right in the mush. We surface and I blow a blob up and drift towards Spinaway to get a quick pick-up for Ben.
We get him on deck and I de-kit him. The pain on his face is so obvious and mucho thanks to the lads with the hydro-cortisone on board.
While Ben gets in the warm we find that the shot is stuck so me and Stevie do a quick bounce to free it - and then about 15 mins of deco to off-gass.
Back to port and Ben's looking rough as old nuts and I'm thinking I'm taking you to hospital son. After we get him on the dock he improves and after a wee rest he's almost smiling.
Anyway, I'm off to tropical waters for a couple of weeks. No lugging twins and stages around - probably!
And I hope no bleedin' jeely fish.
