[Gavin Yates]

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<font color='#000F22'>I'm sure that the rest of the Mull lot will regale the boards with exciting trip reports of fun in the Sound of Mull and I was meant to be one of 'em but the fickle finger of fate came along and promptly decided that it'd like to do a body cavity search on me!

Me and Fi leave Edinburgh on Friday drive up in the pissing rain to Corrin meet Tony(Parahandy) and Ben on the Ferry and get to the Lochaline hotel. After a spot of dinner we're greeted by Peter K with: "Are you lot Yorkshire divers?" - bill paid and of to the Social Club for a wee pint and meet up with all the guys.

Back to the accomodation - spartan but all you need and everything's going well. It even stopped raining.

Awake at seven and the sun's out. Ya Beauty thinks Gav, grab some breakfast and drive down to the slip ready to load the boat and get underway for The Shuna and later The Hispania.

I've got all my kit squared in the bag and I've just set the twins up - propped up on the back of the 4x4 - seemingly perfectly safe. Then disaster struck - I turned away from the rig for a couple of seconds and it fell to the floor striking the main-pot and jamming the first stage into the valve. I could see instantly that it was FUBARed and that was it for me.

I was devastated and even tho' the kindly souls on the boat offered me everything from spare sets of twins to new regs to borrow I was sooooo upset I was not in a fit state to dive anyway.

Me and Fi called every dive shop in Scotland to see if they had the parts need for a fix but to no avail. At one point we even considered driving to Edinburgh and back to catch the diving on Sunday but a look at the weather forecast put us off.

I managed to get the reg fixed and tested for £25 and the repair on the twins should be less than £50-60.  

I'm sure all the boys and Becky had a great time and I hereby pledge to organise another gig to Lochaline very soon. Peter appeared to get everything spot on and I'm sorry that I just buggered off - I should have stayed on as a non-diver and enjoyed the crack. I don't think I'd have been great company tho'

It was great to meet everybody and I'm sure I'll see you sometime in the near future. Thanks again for the offers of help - next time I'll take my singles wing too !!

All the best

Gav

 

[Hobby]

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4wd''s and diving don't mix mate.No.Hope the kit and you two are OK.
They be jinxed they be,oooar!
They stopped Bren and I diving too!
On Saturday Bren and I went for a tootle around the island to recce some sites.Altough the conditions were "interesting" on the S and S/E of the island the conditions were OK on the other side.We looked at a couple of sites that were good with vis etc and decided to dive them on the Sunday.
The Land Rovers 1st attempt to foil our plans was to suddenly develop a liking for the opposing side of the road as we approached a junction,it worried the guy coming the other way but we put it down to high spirits,Bren not really knowing(who said looking there at the back?)where he was going and the road conditions.
The next day I arrived at Chez Tierney(a sort of Imperial Raj hunting lodge cunningly disguised as Bren's holiday chalet....so he tells me) in a brisk wind.Under garments on and dying to get in the wonderfull surf that was growling away.Rear tyre was flat on the Landy.
Round 2. No jack,we found that,underthe bonnet(because there's no room in the bloody back is there?)What was missing however was the adaptor for the locking wheel nuts.No it was'nt supposed to be where it was.Bren's patience in the face of incompetent phone operators was impressive,altough the technician he eventually spoke to was OK.Land RoverAssist (the L.R.D.G. never had that!)said they'd send someone out.
They did.
He rang Bren.
Bren told me the techie was at four mile bridge(most of the YD lot had gibbed it by now and gone so the 2 of us were going for it).We waited the few minutes it would take and waited some more.
And some more.
And then some.
It was getting on,we looked at each other like Iraqui border guards.
I got changed.
We were'nt going to get wet....only from the spray.
I went back.
The techie arrived from.............Liverpool...it transpires that Bren needs a hearing aid not a bleeding twin set.To be fair it was windy and hard to hear anything.And that was that.The God's transpired against him,us,whoever,who knows what the weather will do.I've seen conditions around Anglesey get very bad very suddenly while the world enjoys sunshine.And vica versa.
Commiserations Gav..et al.and Bren.
YD - O, 4WD's - 2.
And the Gods?They do indeed piss down our backs and tell us it's raining.
Hobby.

 

[Fi]

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<font color='#736AFF'>Just to pitch in with my thanks also to PeterK for arranging the Lochaline trip.  

Gavin and I certainly had an interesting drive there on Friday night.  We nearly drove into  a "heeland coo", a regular coo, a stag, some deer and many many sheep.  I thought, this is nice - all at one with nature and everything, nice company and diving to boot!

However, as Gavin has already explained, Lady Luck had other ideas and stepped in to ruin those plans.

Thanks also for everyone's kind offers of help and assistance when the kit came tumbling down.  I was sorely tempted to go diving myself (my kit was fine and I was assured of a substitute buddy!) and I was very sorry to miss out on the surface interval in Tobermory (Mull) - it is one of my favourite places!  

However, I wasn't sure I would still have a lift home when I got back off the boat

and Gavin wasn't in the mood for accompanying Peter as a non-diving particpant.  We had hoped to get Gav's kit fixed and come right back, but that was not to be either.

Anyway, Gavin has promised me we can go back soon - it looked like it was shaping up to be a great w/e - we'll let you know when we have a suggested date for the return visit.

Fi

 

[parahandy]

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Bad luck Gav and Fi
We were all gutted for you and the misfortune.
There will be another time.

Regards
Tony

 

[daz]

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<font color='#000080'>Gav,

Sorry to hear that the love of your life was involved in an automobile accident.  

Still at least it was not fatal,  I am sure it will make a full recovery in no time.

Isn't it always the way, just when you have everything set, you turn your back and the fcuk-up fairies pay a visit.

Daz

 

[Fi]

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<font color='#736AFF'>

Quote[/b] (daz @ Mar. 10 2003,18:14)]Gav,

"Sorry to hear that the love of your life was involved in an automobile accident.  

"

Love of his life!!!

are you trying to get hime into trouble (he usually manages that all by himself!!) or are you looking for trouble???  

The "Love of his Life" stood by patiently as the air went blue, bits of equipment were thrown around, made placatory remarks all the way back to Edinburgh AND THEN offered to drive him back to Lochaline and home again the same day!!!

(I was thinking I might get "a wet" then too!! - so a bit of self-interest.)

Ah well - as you say - at least it wasn't fatal and we'll be back soon I hope.

Fi

 

[Lou]

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Oh no!  I feel worse for you than for us.  At least we bonded in adversity and no-one told us tales of great dives - you guys had to miss out on a weekend that happened.

Bad luck indeed.

Next time you'll have to come with us then it won't matter if your kit is stuffed, you can join us talking rubbish in a pub with no name, deafened by the king of "club singers"!!

Ho hum......who didn't sacrifice the virgin tot he gods of diving then?

 

[Gavin Yates]

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<font color='#000F22'>I'd like to point out that despite being initially upset and slightly sweary I did calm down and only refered to four or five drivers on the way back to Edinburgh as "useles c**ts."

The love of my life was indeed with me and not in the boot as Daz had inferred but she could have gone diving and I'd have only been on the quayside cutting my wrists slowly.

As it happens everything will work out fine and I'm already planning the next jaunt.

That's if Fi lets me do anything and not have to have dinner with relatives ubtil July!!!!

God I'm in trouble now

 

[daz]

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Quote[/b] (Gavin Yates @ Mar. 11 2003,11:26)]I'd like to point out that despite being initially upset and slightly sweary I did calm down and only refered to four or five drivers on the way back to Edinburgh as "useles c**ts."

The love of my life was indeed with me and not in the boot as Daz had inferred but she could have gone diving and I'd have only been on the quayside cutting my wrists slowly.

<font color='#000080'>Perfectly acceptable language considering...

Just kidding on the love of your life and big respect to Fi for being so supportive...   What is it they say about every cloud...  Lucky bugger,  my missus would have been on the boat before I had chance to pick my kit up...

Daz

 

[Dr Stevil]

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<font color='#0000FF'>Sorry to hear about your mishap Gav, this is why we UK divers need to be part-time philosophers, we'd go mad if we didn't half expect FUBARs at every turn.

Anyhoo, when (approximately) do you have in mind for the next Lochaline jaunt?

Chee-az
Steve

 

[peter k]

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Hi Gav,
        I had a cunning plan this morning but like all my cunning plans it was about four days too late. Fiona could have done the dives on Sat and you could have went to Oban to see if it was fixable. If it wasn't then you could have came back and used Fi's gear on the Sunday. At least this way you would have both got a couple of dives done.

Steve W,
         I'm doing a joint gig Augustish with 1 boat of my lot and 1 boat of YD'ers. I'll give the lot that came on this one 1st refusal and then fill the rest of the spaces up. There is the possibility of 3 boats but I'll figure it all out when I discover my own situation.

Peter
PS- A full trip report will be coming any day now. Hold onto your seats with sweaty anticipation!!!!!

 

[darthmoll]

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gav, could peter at the loch alline dive center not sort out a set of kit to allow you to dive ?

 

[Gavin Yates]

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<font color='#000F22'>To be fair - Peter offered me a set of twins - but they would have needed filling - then the bands moving - then I'd needed to piss about with hoses and weighting and I was so ARRRGGHHH it wouldn't have been a good idea. I should have just had Saturday off and then rigged sommat up for Sunday.

Very nice bloke tho' Peter - I even helped move his compressor for him.

 

[Dr Stevil]

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<font color='#0000FF'>Re August, just a quick reminder that some of us are booked in for the Clyde on Kev W's trip, off the top of my head I can't remember the dates, Kev - are you out there....?
Chee-az
Steve

 

[Gavin Yates]

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<font color='#000F22'>Kev posted on planned trips that he was still men short and he'd be deciding to go ahead or cancel today I believe.

I sent my deposit !!!