Sark Bank holiday weekend 25 – 28 May 2007
Fantastic – that was agreed by everyone who attended this weekend in Sark.
Having had great sunshine and weather for the week, the forecast for the bank holiday weekend did not look too good. On Friday afternoon an unwelcoming blanket of fog kept Guernsey totally enclosed from air traffic which meant that nothing was going to get in or out of the island. Sitting in the airport terminal in Guernsey, I started to become more anxious as I could not even see the runway! The first flight with two guests from Exeter – “plane circling overhead” on the airport monitor was not a good start. However, slowly but surely, the fog started to lift and two planes from Gatwick managed to land, although a bit late. Eventually, after circling for sometime, the Exeter/Guernsey plane was diverted to Jersey.
The group this year consisted of myself, my non diving partner Richard (he comes for the food and social entertainment), Ray the “Chef”, Val, Debbie, Allan, Brian and a guy from my local dive club in Guernsey. We were also to be joined in Sark by a diver who is known to my club – so, eight divers in all, a nice number for the boat, “Starfish of Sark”. It should be mentioned that I have dived from this boat many times, it being very strong and robust, and a great boat to dive from.
Ray the “Chef” and I ferried all the guys from the airport to Guernsey harbour, to be met promptly by our Sark skipper, Andy. An hour or so later, we were in Sark, tanks, luggage and us all loaded on the tractor and on our way to our thatched cottage accommodation in the north of the island with panoramic views over Guernsey. What a team, all unpacked in no time at all, with Ray the “Chef” already starting to prepare dinner for us all. Ray the “Chef” and I had already done the ‘shop’ for the weekend the previous Thursday evening, getting all of the food for the weekend – at a cost of some £12.00 for each person (bargain !). The cottage itself has a lovely feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, a turkey and its young chicks on the front lawn, geese not too far away and the wonderful Sark fresh air. A three course meal, washed down with wine and beers provided by our skipper, we all caught up with each other, and new people were soon felt part of the weekend group.
With the weekends weather forecast not looking good, Andy (Skipper) informed us that Saturday morning was our ‘window’ to do a good wreck dive off the coast of Jersey. The SS Heron, is arguably the best wreck dive in Jersey, rediscovered in 2003, the Heron sank in 1961 on the Paternosters Reef. This wreck sits in approx 25-30 metres of water and lies upright in a pristine condition, sheltered by the nearby reef. Internal navigation is easy with lots of swim throughs, the floor of the galley has its black and white tiles and sinks still intact. As Dive Manager, buddy pairs were agreed to ensure that local guys were matched with people from the UK. I have never had the opportunity to dive this wreck, but Ray the “Chef” and my club buddy had done so, and were excited at having this opportunity. Our first dive of the weekend, I would say that this was the best wreck dive I have done in UK waters. Andy dropped a shot line for easy descent and ascent with the first dive pair going in to make sure the shot was in place and secure. My buddy, Debbie and I agreed our dive plan, to dive the outside of the wreck and if we felt comfortable to penetrate the hold. Going down the shot line, most of us know the feeling when a wreck comes into view – it was incredible with excellent VIZ. Debbie and I “dived the plan”. You could have sat in the hold for much longer, watching the sea life swimming past you. It was a relaxing dive with lots, probably far too much to see and a wreck that needed to be dived a few times to fully appreciate it.
Back at Creux Harbour in Sark, we spent the next couple of hours in the harbour café which had opened especially for us divers. Lunch went down well with mugs of tea.
Second dive of the day was in a sheltered location, Gouillet Mass, near the island of Brecqou – well known for the castle owned by the Barclay brothers. I have dived this site before and have never been disappointed – it’s a good second dive.
Saturday evening – I decided to book us all into a local restaurant together with our Sark diver, her husband together with our skipper and his wife. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, lovely food and a bit of entertainment as my partner had spent that afternoon having lunch with visiting Guernsey friends. Needless to say, he was in excellent form!
The weather again was planning our diving for us on Sunday. It did not look good, but we soon learnt that we were in the “eye of a storm” and we had a good window to get a couple of dives done. After having breakfast, prepared by Ray the ‘Chef’, arriving at the harbour, it initially did not look good, with the sea having a fair amount of swell. However, skipper Andy confirmed that it was dive able, with all but two divers deciding to go for it. That’s exactly what we did – to do two fantastic dives. The sea was like a pond, the VIZ again excellent. What about the cuckoo wrasse ? Didn’t they come up close to us when you click your fingers – very inquisitive. For those who have not done any diving in the Channel Islands – it has to be said that Sark is the jewel of the islands, rich with soft corals and sea life; fan corals, beadlet and jewel anemones to name just a few. As the VIZ was so good on Sunday – the ocean floor brought back memories of easy diving in the Red Sea. You don’t find such beauty in waters of 14 degrees !
Monday. Some of us were kept awake due to the storm overnight and the severe rain outside the cottage. The general feeling was that we had had two days of good diving and we would use this day to chill out and explore some of the island. Showers turned to sun, although the wind had not dropped. We braved the gusts and had a walk around some of the cliff paths and then into town, a small street with a few shops on each side with the road itself only used for pedestrians, tractors and bicycles. I have been to Sark many times, and nothing ever seems to change! Most of us indulged ourselves with a nice cream tea with Sark cream!
Our time in Sark for this visit had come to an end and out skipper was ready to take us back to Guernsey at 4pm. The sea looked rough – but we managed to all get back not suffering too many ill effects.
Much to the surprise of two members, who would have known they would come on a trip and expect to have some training provided. My Guernsey dive club member, an experienced BS-AC N.I. kindly provided two members with NITROX training and did a PADI Divemaster crossover to BSAC Dive Leader !! That was not expected at all !
Monday evening was spent at my home (no floor space, as everyone stayed overnight to reduce hotel costs), with nibbles and wine, followed by a dip in the hot tub. An excellent way to end an enjoyable weekend. Watch this space, a future trip to France looks possible, using the services of our Sark skipper.
