If you log into the members area of the website, you’ll see a few changes, following an upgrade to the latest version of the Wordpress software.

Most changes are to the style of the pages, but one important change is that it’s now easier to add photos, video, documents, and even sound to your posts. On the Write Post page, you’ll see “Add media:” with icons for each type of media (Documents come under “other”). You can either upload the file from your computer, or if it’s something on another website (e.g. a YouTube video), just enter the URL (link) to the file.

As always, if you have any problems, contact me!

Neil.

Several people have asked for details on when the Rare Species Conservation Centre (the Trust is the UK registered charity which owns and operates the Centre) was holding our fundraiser, so I’m posting it up here. We’re holding it the evening of Saturday, May 17 at 6:30pm, at the zoo in Sandwich, Kent. The function will include a South-East Asian barbeque, cocktails, beer and wine, and special functions with the many nocturnal and crepuscular species at the RSCC.

B&B spaces in the area are filling up rapidly so if you’re thinking of attending and staying the night, I recommend you do so quickly so that you can make sure you get a room.

All funds raised on the evening will be going to the in-situ conservation projects we help to sponsor in South-East Asia, including helping such species as Sun Bears, Clouded Leopards, and Owston’s Palm Civet, all of which are on exhibit at the RSCC. Because many of the animals that the RSCT supports aren’t very well known in the West, projects to protect their natural habitats and protect them from poaching are often very desperate for funds. This is a particular problem at the moment with several small projects we sponsor in Cambodia, where an unexpected and immediate loss of funding from one large American charity has led to animal welfare suffering due to lack of money to provide food and veterinary care. In such countries, the price of your ticket can go a lot farther than it would in the UK, so every little bit really does help. Furthermore, your entire ticket price may be considered a charitable donation under the UK’s Gift Aid policies if you’re a UK taxpayer.

The print version of the invitation can be seen here: RSCT Fundraiser Invitation 

If you’re interested in attending, you need to fill out the RSCT Invitation Response Form and send it into the zoo with payment.
Hopefully we’ll get a chance to see some of the GLUG people there!

Dear All,

Neil and myself had exchanged a few comments following his posting of ‘Please sign this petition’, relating to the appropriateness of using the GLUG blog as a media for postings of political nature.  For those interested please read the trail of comments posted on the website.  I hope that we can have a discussion on this at the next monthly meeting. 

As Neil mentioned, for those unable to make the meeting, further comments will be welcome.  However, as per my last comment, I won’t say anymore here.  I am mindful of the risks of causing misunderstanding and bad feelings by such postings.  There has been a couple of incidences in the past as a result of exchanges of messages between GLUG members via this website.  

Ben

Ocean Optics are holding an Open Day, with renowned Underwater Photographer, Mark Webster, on Saturday Jan 12th.

Mark’s credentials are impressive - a well established photo-journalist writing regularly for the major diving, photographic and wildlife magazines. He has also been selected four times to represent Great Britain at The CMAS World Championships of Underwater Photography winning silver and bronze medals. Further competition successes include the BBC/British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the Agfa Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Blue Earth 2000, Geographical Magazine Photographer of the Year 2000, Ocean Realm Magazine Marine Photo 2000, Diver Magazine Image 2001 and 2003 and Subios 2004 along with numerous other awards.

On July 9, the Galapagos National Park (GNP) immediately suspended dive operations in the area, affecting 15 liveaboards.

Some have stopped running, others are only doing Southern itineraries and skipping Wolf and Darwin Islands. Only Peter Hughes’ Sky Dancer and the Galapagos Aggressors I and II are still operating. They have special GNP permits to combine diving and land activities while the others do not, however the GNP hasn’t required these permits in the 18 years Galapagos liveaboards have been diving.

The decision came a week after the United Nations placed the GNP on the list of World Heritage sites in danger from environmental threat and overuse. The liveaboards are negotiating with Ecuador’s government to reopen dive operations. Divers worldwide are also putting on the pressure by protesting to the Ecuadorean ambassador in their country.

An agreement may soon be worked out to let dive boats finish their 2007 trips and apply for dive permits in 2008. If you have booked a GNP dive trip, contact whomever you booked for more information.

I’ve just uploaded to the gallery some of my pics from a week’s ‘muck diving’ in the Lembeh Straits in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, which I did at the end of March.

For anyone who hasn’t heard about ‘muck diving’, it’s quite unlike anything you’ve ever done underwater in warm seas. It’s essentially diving over a black sandy (and often rubbish-strewn) bottom, but in which you can find the most amazing array of weird and wonderful critters. For photographers it’s a high-yield destination - there is so much to see that you almost run out of media on a two-tank boat trip!

If anyone wants to see more, I’ve got loads more pics… Enjoy!

Please choose a report from the following:
Tenerife - December 2007
Mallorca - July 2007
Tenerife - March 2007
Tenerife - November 2006
Tenerife - June 2006
Gran Canaria - September 2005

Tenerife - December 2007

by Ray

What better way to escape the UK’s cold, icy weather than having lunch sitting outside a relaxing harbourside cafe, having done your first dive of the day. Chilling out in the gorgeous sunshine whilst your suit dries out and you quench your thirst. Yes, for those wishing to chill out for some relaxing dive time with friends and not stretch the Christmas budget, Tenerife offers that bit more with plenty of choices for good food at very reasonable prices.
Diving, although not very challenging, is ideally suited to either beginners or novices and Tenerife is an excellent venue for warmer diving, giving a taste of adventure and yet not costing a small fortune, with regular flights at under £100. David and Yvonne who run the dive operation make sure you feel welcomed and ensure all runs smoothly for your diving, sorting anything you may need…it’s all there for you. Apartments are right next door to the dive centre and have their own attractive pool.
Being close to the centre of Galletas, and a short drive down to the harbour, their dive centre is excellently placed and convenient for the accommodation on offer.
Getting back from the day’s diving, with a warm rosy glow, it’s time to relax, have that post dive refresher at the nearby bar and chat about the diving and the interesting things seen under the warm sea.
Diving with both the friendly locals and ex-pats, we regularly headed out in the spacious large RIB where we were met by the brisk sea breeze, reminding me we were in the Atlantic and giving similar conditions to being back home on a windy summer afternoon. The trip out to the dive sites proved bumpy yet exhilarating and refreshing with salt water spray to brush away those morning cobwebs!
Dropping off the boat we were met with that gorgeous azure blue you get from warm water diving with a superb “viz” to match. Once below the waves, all is at peace with the thought that here we are at long last, enjoying ourselves whilst everyone else back home is huddled round their heaters! Once resting on the sea bed its time to wonder at the beautiful and graceful marine rays (not me!) that start to gather. They are obviously used to divers coming down with tasty morsels and we were also most pleased to come across the resident inquisitive turtle who is quite a regular at the dinner table apparently.

Fish life is not quite as abundant as that of the Red Sea and Tenerife is not a venue for those looking for large coral reefs but does offer its own unique interests … what struck me most was the abundance of sea urchins which, due to overfishing of their natural predators, have multiplied in abundance. Touch them at your peril! What was also striking was the geology lesson offered by the underwater terrain, to the extent that island’s volcanic activity has shaped the basalt rocks below the water level, providing views akin to the “Giants Causeway” in some areas. Rocky arches provided swim-throughs and nooks and crannies where morays have made their homes.
It is only a few minutes out of the harbour to any of the locations we visited and a stiff easterly breeze provided some roller coaster moments…especially heading into the wind on the return journey which meant holding on tightly. Very invigorating!
Apres-dive evenings..after the obligatory tea time post-dive snooze…following the (ditto) obligatory pub visit gave us a wide choice as to where to have our evening meal. Yvonne and David were most helpful, with tips on where where to eat out and we were suitably satisfied with the wide and inexpensive choice of restaurants. Excellent, value-for-money food really enhanced our enjoyment of the week. We were never at odds as to where we wanted to go. And some restaurants were visited more than once, they were so good!
This sums up the week we had, Tenerife is not just about diving… it’s about the whole relaxation thing and offers a superb venue in a relatively low cost destination, only 4 hours away. It should appeal particularly to those wanting to learn diving, but also to those wishing to increase their skills and add some more dives to their log book or just those keeping their hand in during those long winter months when the dark, cold, chilly shore dive or quarry just does not appeal. I think we can all agree …we’ll no doubt return for more happy memories of friends and adventures!

And Martin adds:

On Sunday morning, 2nd December, Anna, Ray and I could not lie-in after the Christmas dinner (and I hasten to add, not with each other). We had a flight to catch to Tenerife as we were fitting in a weeks diving before Christmas. Now I must add that there is something rather unique and luxurious about leaving everybody else to battle through crowds of Christmas shoppers in the cold, wet and windy weather and opting instead for the slow pace of recreational diving in Tenerife .

We arrived in good cheer and Ray had found us an exceptional car rental deal, so after an extensive tour of the rental car park, we located our vehicle and were on our merry way.
The next day we were rearing to go and had to report at the dive centre at 9am ish to collect kit and be driven to the jetty to board the rib “Volador Escoces!”.

Now, a brief word about diving in Tenerife with the Taylors . This will not be demanding diving –it is geared at the recreational market. The diving is easy and very good value for money. This is an ideal location to learn to dive or to brush up on old rusty skills. Dave and Yvonne Taylor have a great relationship with us and seeing them again is like meeting old friends.
We could dive for 5 consecutive days – Monday through Friday, 2 dives a day. On Saturdays the dive centre is generally closed. The weather was pleasant, with day time temperatures soaring to 23 degrees and at night cooling to 13 degrees. Very pleasant compared to temperatures in the UK at the time. It never rained in the day while we were there but it was windy. The wind did influence the diving conditions and, at times, did add a challenge to the dive. Water temperature was in the early 20’s – very pleasant and suitable for a 5mm semi dry suit. Visibility varied from 15 to 25 metres depending on the cloud cover, currents and activities of previous divers etc.
We dived all the popular divesites listed on the website, so I don’t propose to go into detail here. The pictures speak for themselves…
Finally, staying in Las Galletas is not just about the diving. Each night we went out to a different restaurant and each night the food improved on the previous night. I can recommend the German tapas (but be warned: book a table!), Paella at Atlantida, Steak at Alexanders (see picture) or Totem, and fish at the restaurant on the far side of the harbour.

In summary, this was an inexpensive, value-for-money trip, which was easy going. The diving was pleasantly undemanding and the company, scenery and cuisine excellent.

Mallorca - July 2007

by Anna Bohach

In mid July I was leading a holiday trip to Mallorca for my service users with learning difficulties but I managed to sneak out for a couple of cheeky dives.
I was diving with Big Blue Divers of Palmanova, a PADI diving centre run by a friendly German-Italian couple Kirsten and Giosue Spinosa, which this year celebrates its 10 years of prosperity.
We were diving at a marine reserve El Toro, which was about 25 minutes fast ride on a RIB from the centre. The air temperature was a baking 38C, so it was nice to feel a fresh breeze and sea spray on my face. When we arrived at the diving site we drifted for about 10 minutes, waiting for another boat to get off a buoy. There are only two mooring buoys and the boats are not allowed to drop the anchor. This is to prevent a crowd at this diving site and damaging the corals.

On the first dive, which was led by Giosue (the owner) we descended to a rocky platform at about 6-7 meters, covered by variety of short sea plants, and met there. Then we swam a few meters over the ridge and started descending down. The viz was very good and on our way we saw a variety of fish including Barracudas, Sea Breams and plenty of very tiny blue fish. We descended to 29m looking at interesting rock formations and on our way up we saw the first Common Octopus and a Black Moray hiding in rock crevices. We also saw Golden Moray, Peacock Wrasse, Damsel Fish and Sea Bass. Giosue spotted another octopus and showed us by directing a powerful torch light at it.

On the second dive Giosue stayed on the RIB and the dive was led by Adam, a PADI Divemaster from Cornwall. We dived from the same spot but after descending to the platform we swam at a different direction. As soon as we ascended we saw briefly one octopus heading away from us. On ascent to 22m we saw a Scorpion Fish and as we swam around we saw more Barracudas, Dusky Sea Perch, Black Moray and Giant Clam. At a depth of about 15m Adam started waving his torch to attract our attention. When I looked in a shown direction there were three octopuses fighting. When we came closer, one of them swam over the rock ridge and descended down. Another two were trying to hide themselves in the crevices but Adam found them and highlighted them with his torch, so we could see them. They were changing their colours to blend with the environment. We returned to the platform for a safety stop and, as we were swimming around, I spotted our fifth octopus on that dive. It was actually very brave and did not run away when I came near to take a close picture. May be it got used to the divers by now?

They were two really great dives. I had my wet 5mm suit half unzipped as I was too hot. The water temperature was 24C at depth and about 26C on the surface. This diving site is a proof that there is a marine life in the Med. Octopuses are intelligent creatures and it is a pleasure to see them thriving at least in protected areas.

As this really enjoyable diving happened less then two weeks after I completely embarrassed myself in an attempt to dive in the UK, I have decided to stick to warm water diving for now.

Tenerife - March 2007

by Fizz

We were met at the airport by our friendly hosts from “Tenerife dive” and whisked away to our apartment accommodation. The apartment was basic but near to the pool, dive centre and the beer.

Weather-wise it was a tad changeable and a few hours were whiled away watching the rugby (we lost) and having a wee drink during the wettest episode.

Diving was from a RIB - from sites a short hop, max 15 mins, from the shore at Las Galletas. We saw some fantastic hexagonal rock formations and had a ray feeding trip on the impressive first days diving. We also got harassed and chased by a mental turtle.
On the second day we had a wreck dive in the morning and were given strict instructions not to penetrate it (!). We liked the dive so much two of our party decided to leave their masks as gifts to the fish.

Lunch stops were very civilised and were spent in dripping wetsuits, eating fresh fish and garlic chicken and chips.

The last dive took in a few swim-thru’s and rather worryingly 2 underwater memorials to dead divers.

The weather brightened up and I spent the last evening chilling with the girls in the sun and having a beer. Later the whole group enjoyed a meal together and a few people decided to stay out late and impress the locals with their drinking and dancing skills.

We spent the following day in recovery before flying home.

Tenerife - November 2006

By Martin J

In September 2006 Anna suggested a GLUG trip to go diving in Tenerife for a week in November 2006. Take up for the trip was slow, it appeared that it was a difficult time of year for people to take a week off to go diving.
I had just completed my PADI open water qualification privately in the UK and was looking to do some proper sea diving. I was very new to the group and as I had only dived in a freshwater reservoir in South West London was very apprehensive.

On 25 November 2006 three of us, Anna, Chris and myself set off. Anna and Chris travelled together and I arrived a couple of hours later.
The trip started well with Yvonne of Tenerife Dive collecting us all from the airport. This was to set the standard for the trip with Dave and Yvonne Taylor and “Ami” Maxim Zigelman taking good care of us for the entire week.
While there were only 3 three of us staying in a self catering apartment together we all got along fine and I was looking forward to the week ahead.

The next morning they fitted us out with the necessary kit and off we went. This was going to be my first sea dive and I was quite nervous. Well, there was no need to be. Once in the water I was surprised how easily it all went. Were were diving from a rib (rigid inflatable boat) and our first dive was to be at “Montane Amarilla” or Yellow Mountain. I had some minor issues equalising and with buoyancy but the dive started off shallow enough to sort out these initial problems. The dive was along a cliff face and we saw lots of little fish and anemones.It was awesome. I was hooked and immediately signed up for the PADI advanced course together with Anna.

We returned to the shore for lunch at a quayside cafe enjoying the winter sunshine while remembering that everyone else at home was Christmas shopping! I must add that we followed the same routine for lunch every day but it was fine, the weather was great and by then the food was welcome. The cafe has a varied menu catered for all tastes and was very reasonably priced.

Our second dive was on a small purpose-sunk wreck and was my first sight of rays, who were very curious.

We finished our daily dive early - around 1530 each day and after cleaning up our equipment had the rest of the evening to ourselves. We usually went for a short “siesta” in our apartment before doing our homework and then heading out to dinner together. Dave and Yvonne were only too keen to recommend local restaurants and highlights were the paella eaten at a local Spanish restaurant and a great German tapas restaurant, which we went to twice.
Chris was doing his nitrox course and Anna and I were doing the PADI advanced course. As we had an early start we never stayed out late, that said we were quite tired after the two dives so it was good to get back to our flat relatively early. We were always ready to go by 0845 and Dave or Yvonne and Oscar, the friendly cocker spaniel, would collect us to go to the dive school.

All the dives were special but highlights were the wreck dive on the “Condesito”. This was a deep dive with great visibility and the wreck was spectacular. We saw lots of trumpetfish and even a couple of barracuda in the distance.
“The Steps” was also a good dive along a steep cliff face with excellent visibility where we saw large schools of fish and a Canarian lobster.

We also dived a site called “The Rays” where a small school of rays can be fed around a purpose-sunk wreck. Immediately when we started to descend 4 rays came to meet us expecting to be fed. There was also a large Atlantic ray and a turtle expecting sardines too. Absolutely awesome. I had some problems equalising with this dive which I found very frustrating. Fortunately Ami came to assist me and I managed to dive just by descending slowly and taking it easy. This is probably one of the most important lessons for a new diver to learn - there is no need to rush anything underwater.

Chris and I dived every day for the 6 days we were there. Anna took a day off in the middle of the week and took the time to prepare us a great dinner of calamari and noodles. Next morning we couldn’t apologise enough for the garlic calamari we had the night before!

We returned to London on the evening of 2nd December taking the day off from diving and to fully use the duty free shopping on the island. It was great holiday, we all achieved what we set out to do - suntans and all.

I can really recommend it to persons new to GLUG to just “take the plunge”, get your basic qualification and come along.

Tenerife - June 2006

By Peter Morris

My first dive trip with GLUG and I couldn’t wait! Corrine is my cousin and I’ve met Steph through family things so it was just three new faces to get used to: Tym, Allan and my new best buddy Virinia. We all hooked up to do Tenerife Dive Club - 8 days in sunny Tenerife, a dozen dives, nibbles on the patio every evening - June seems so long ago!

So, what of the dive shop? Fantastic plus one! We’ve all met helpful and enthusiastic dive staff but I’ve never dived with people who were more supportive than Dave & Yvonne Taylor. Ferrying us and others about in the van; lending suits, instead of hiring them out; repairing our kit at no cost; sacrificing their dive so others can go down. Top people with the cutest puppy you’ve ever seen!

Dive sites pretty good on the whole and most less than 5 minutes by boat. It was early June so the waters weren’t right up to temperature but most were happy in 5mm longs. Lots of coral, maybe not achingly pretty, but plenty good enough to attract and nourish big varieties of critters. Even rarities like Squat Lobster and Sea Horse (didn’t see it myself cos I thought Dave’s impression of a jockey was him skipping - plan your signals in advance everybody). Huge shoals of grunt, large octopus, interesting wrecks, tame ray, loads of pretty tiddlers.

Like most places, Tenerife will be nice when it’s finished, not that it ever will be. Quite cheap on the whole and absolutely top notch comestibles. Best of everything, though, was the company. I couldn’t have wished for a better group of people to holiday with. I miss them so!

So, on to the bit you’re all waiting for. Did Corinne embarrass herself? Who got the DQ award for the week? What secrets were spilt? Oh dear. Normal rules apply - what goes on tour stays on tour. Still, I can be bribed. Send your questions on the back of a blank cheque to me!

Gran Canaria - September 2005

By Fred Wynn

Now if I mention Gran Canaria, then what comes to mind is the ‘Yumbo Centre’, those lovely sandy dunes with afternoon tea and cake at Cafe Wein (lovely Austrian cakes!). A quick search on Google found a dive club based in Playa de Arinaga and soon thereafter two days of overseas diving was booked. Richard (my partner) and I went to Gran Canaria in September - having been told well after the holiday was booked that this was the best time of year to go diving there. Much to my surprise, three guys staying in our hotel complex were from the UK and were on a beginners diving holiday with a PADI school - so as you can imagine there was a lot of diving talk over breakfast each morning - much to the horror of
my partner - I joke, he is fairly tolerant.
The wow factor certainly kicked in after the first dive - a fantastic opportunity to explore El Cabrón Reserve where all dives are shore based. A little tricky getting in and out, but the whole experience was quite overwhelming - the excellent viz, different fish and the underwater terrain. It is handy to note that the dive club offers a collect/drop off service from your hotel and transport you to and from each dive site - so you only have a short walk to begin your shore dive. Assuming you want to complete two dives, after the first time, the club transports you back to the centre to have a coffee/tea, decompress and to debrief with your diving buddies - and then back to another dive site to begin your second shore dive. This club also offer PADI and BSAC courses - having given them prior notice, an instructor was able to give me one to one instruction on one of my BSAC Sports Diver modules.

We have a GLUG trip to Plymouth at least once a year. These trips would suit divers of all levels and make an excellent introduction to UK/cold water diving as drysuits are not a necessity during late summer.

Please choose a report from the following:
Plymouth on UK National - August 2008
Plymouth on Storm - August 2007
Plymouth on Storm - August 2005

Plymouth on UK National - August 2008

by Dany

Plymouth was my second dive trip with GLUG after Jersey. After the not so wonderful summer we had since the end of July, I was bracing myself up for a very wet week-end indeed…I thought that it couldn’t go on like this: there can’t possibly be any more rain left in the sky to fall!
 

I drove up to the Mayflower after work on Friday evening and met the landlady who gave me the keys to my room. I was hoping to meet up with the other GLUG members but some had already hit the town, or more likely the pubs, and other hadn’t arrived yet. So, I was left roaming the streets of Plymouth on my own (sob!)
 
We all gathered on Saturday at 8.30am for breakfast and headed up for Mountbatten for 9am. Corinne and Steph were already there waiting for us. Our boat, UK National arrived soon after and we were helped to get our kits on board by Richard and Jackie.

The weather was a bit greyish but soon lifted to bright sunshine and blue sky for our first dive at the Persier (32m).
The 5382-ton Belgian steamer was launched at Newcastle in 1918 with the name War Buffalo. On 8th February 1945 she left the south of Wales to take food to liberated Belgians with 63 people onboard. As part of Convoy BTC65 the Persier was passing between the Eddystone and the shore when one of her escorts raised an alarm - a periscope had been spotted. Shortly after this a premature torpedo explosion shot a column of water into the air, another torpedo whizzing past the port side. At precisely 17:25 hours a torpedo struck, opposite hold No 2 on the port side, just forward of the bridge.

The Persiers cargo of food supplies (powdered egg, baby food, meat and blankets) began to swell with the flooding water weighing the ship over onto her side. The call to abandon ship was given but sadly this went dramatically wrong. Lifeboat No 1 with 11 crew members launched successfully, but the heavy Force 7 seas unhooked the boat at the bow and left it hanging by the stern, spilling everyone into the sea. Lifeboat No 3 was pulled into the Persiers propeller and shredded. A nearby smaller cargo ship, the Birker Force, came alongside and managed to rescue 44 members of the crew; after which the Persier was last seen drifting into the night with her stern high and her bow low in the water. Silent and unseen she sank in the dark. It was not until 1969 that the Plymouth Sound BSAC found her after being told by a local fisherman that he would always snag his lines in the area - 20km northeast of the Persiers last known position.
After a spot of lunch on board and a kip for some (no names here!), we made our way to Renny Rocks (7.8m). This is a lovely dive site with lots of marine life and the visibility was over 6m.

On Saturday night, we all went for a meal at Platters, a fish restaurant. The portions are very generous and it was good value for money.

On Sunday morning, after an early-ish night for me, the skipper and Corinne decided to head for Pier Cove (17.5m). I saw the biggest edible crab ever and tried to get as close as possible but far enough from the fierce claws! Still fairly new to diving (only 60 dives over 2 years), I am not that familiar with the marine life and therefore, I’d rather let them be…but I know this much: a crab pinches, and hard !!!!
Again, we had about 2hours rest for lunch and other call-of-nature breaks…
After a relaxing lunch, and since the sea was a bit choppy, the boat headed for the breakwater fort, a 13m dive site.
The bottom was very silty and any movement too close to the sea bed stirred the silt up and reduced the visibility from 2m to nil! I personally had difficulty diving this site, which I found quite technically challenging. My buoyancy was all over the place and my friend John later said that, somehow, there was a source of fresh water around the fort, which explains why I was up and down all the time. Where sea and fresh water met, the mixture became blurry. I kept losing my buddy and was by myself for sometime before John found me again. I was also struggling against an invisible current since there was hardly any plant down there that could have given me a hint as to which direction the current was going. Well, this dive was very “educational” if not pleasurable!

Monday morning started with a light wind and some rain, so some of the group decided to go to a garden centre to have a cream tea instead! However, 4 of the most optimistic went ahead and we had the boat to ourselves. Fantastic! I think the picture above shows that we were right to have faith for a brighter day!

Plymouth on Storm - August 2007

by Martin J

I’ll start by saying that I would be failing in my duty to report properly if I don’t mention that no amount of watching 80’s camp TV prepared me for the sexual innuendo of the August UK bank holiday weekend trip with GLUG to Plymouth….

We arrived, after an uneventful drive, at Venn Farm early evening to find Corrine and Steph propping up the bar in the Fox & Hound - nothing new there then… We were hungry and there was much to discuss over dinner, this being my first UK dive trip. I was surprised to find out that I would be part of a diving threesome with Corrine and Steph… We didn’t waste any time getting fed though -the pub food was great.

I went to bed early as I wanted to have a clear head for my first day diving.

Up early for the legendary Venn Farm breakfast. Some of the divers in the group were seriously reconsidering their diving weight after consuming said breakfast. Sadly Chris had ordered too much and Steph had to help him out, commenting on the salty aftertaste of his sausage…

The weather was perfect - a bright, calm, cloudless day, possibly the best weather for the summer so far and perfect for diving.

The water temperature was 17 degrees and I was diving in a 7mm semi-dry suit, which was quite adequate for the conditions. Our first dive was the famous “James Egan Layne”. This was not a demanding dive as the conditions were fine and the bow of the wreck is at 6m - a great place for a safety stop. We saw lots of pollack and dead mans fingers.

Our second dive was the wreck of HMS Scylla, a purpose sunk wreck. It is an ex RN Leander Class frigate. The wreck sits upright in about 30m of water. This was another fine dive with good visibility in near perfect conditions. You can look here for more information about the Scylla.

On completion of the dive we were alongside at about 1530 and good team work ensured that we got all the dive cylinders off the boat and to the dive shop for refilling.

I was absolutely knackered and went to bed early after a hearty meal and some liquid refreshment. Others in the group attempted to check out the local talent in Plymouth. I believe they were back well before midnight, so please draw your own conclusions…

Our second day started with the usual feast for breakfast. Everybody was at breakfast on time - possibly due to the continuing great weather and early night… Steph did not have the same appetite for Chris’s sausage…

Good team work again saw to it that we loaded up the boat and ready for dive three. This was to be another wreck dive - The Persier. This wreck is now starting to fall apart rapidly but lies, fairly upright on a sandy bottom, at about 35 meters. The bow and stern are in fairly good shape, but the midships section is a bit of a shambles. The visibility was about 3-4 meters, but the first thing that we noticed were the many fish. The bow section appears huge, stretching up and away into the murky waters. As we swam over it we saw large expanses of steel decking disappearing into the gloom. Finning along this steel plain we arrived at the two massive boilers. Further aft the steel plate gives way to large areas of twisted and jumbled girders. All in all it was a very good dive.

Our 4th dive of the trip was “west of mewstone”. This was in a forest of kelp. Unfortunately there is nothing about kelp that excites me. This was also my coldest dive and for that I blame the kelp. We did see a rather spectacular female ray which is rather unusual for UK water -even in August.

When we got alongside again around 1530 good team work ensured that the dive bottles were delivered to the dive centre for refilling. One word of warning - beware of Jazz when there are ice packs around!

Corrine had a real treat in store for us for dinner. The whole group went out together, to the Elverston Hotel. The food was great but unfortunately we were sat with some really dodgy company from the Channel Islands. Fortunately they could not dive with us the next day as they were flying to Guernsey so we had the boat to ourselves…

Our final days diving was fairly uneventful. The boat was less crowded and everything seemed to go very quickly. Our last dive was on the James Egan Layne again and just as spectacular as the first time. On completion we had to get back to London while Corrine and Steph sensibly decided to stay another night and return at their leisure, avoiding the end of bank holiday traffic.

This was another successful dive weekend organised by Corrine. I can really recommend going along, it certainly changed my view on UK diving.

Plymouth on Storm - August 2005

by Lee Brown

Well this was a nice trip, helped by the Devon weather which was doing a passable imitation of the Mediterranean….blue skies, nothing but blue skies, tum te tum…
We all met up on the friday evening at the pub opposite Venn Farm Guest House where most of us were staying, with myself under canvas at the Venn Farm campsite [which surprised me as being so diver friendly that the GPS info for the wrecks was nailed to the loo!]
The following morning we loaded up Storm with our dive kit and reacquainted ourselves with Anne and Rod who run it. The boat is small but bijou, and they limit themselves to 8 divers. The pier at the Mountbatten centre is fairly easy to load from, despite all the crowds waiting for the other dive boats and the foot ferry over to Plymouth proper. With clear skies and a calm sea we pootled out of the harbour and up the coast to do our first days diving. The James Eagan Layne is a large US liberty ship, partly intact but huge and very impressive. Sadly the viz was a bit iffy and I managed to get separated from Chris about half way through the dive…never mind, both of us followed proper procedure, looked around for a few minutes then worked our individual ways back to the surface.I don’t think we missed much, which was sad as last year I dived it with our Madame President and it was awesome.

Then to a little cove for lunch and thence back to nearly the same location to join the melee of boats above the Scylla. This is the new specially planted battleship and I think is most impressive. Despite the large number of divers there the viz was pretty clear and Chrisand I were able to do the complete circuit including a couple of swimthroughs to the bridge and the helicopter hanger. We came down and returned up the bow shot and this makes it all very easy and pleasant. There is quite a bit more life on it this year than last.
The evening spent in the pub again with dinner…and the next day we were out again with clear blue skies and calm seas. The first of the Sunday dives was to visit a rather nice reef opposite the Fairy Ring on the cliffs east of Plymouth Sound. This is rather nice ridge and canyon u/w landscape with masses of fish…cuckoo and marbled wrasse galore, some quite sizeable. We bimbled hither and thither and eventually found a huge lobster under a wall…this one was of a size to fight back and we left him alone! Chris was doing his DSMB drill as well at the end and got it perfick this time. Still, he needed the practise so did it for the rest of the weekend, heh heh! The second dive was an unnamed boat which was nice enough but not huge. Steph reckoned it must have been a tugboat from the shape of its hull and the wooden high deck. Seems quite plausible. We swam off and immediately found a weightbelt and a snorkel, both had been there a while! I learnt that carrying a second weightbelt is not a good idea but managed to get it to the surface. On the surface we discovered Delia’s fins which she had attempted to send to a watery grave but had floated back up to the surface [long story....]

Bank Holiday Monday again being fine ,it was decided that we were to head 12 miles out to sea to near the Eddystone Lighthouse to dive a wall at the Hands Deep [oo-er!]. This was a very curious dive. As soon as we dropped down the shot it was clear that it was unclear in the water….not good viz. Persevering to the bottom of the shot and then down the wall it was clear but dark. Here there is an awesome stepped wall that gets pretty deep. We went down to 29m and saw the pretty jewel anenomes, sponges and dead mens’ fingers ,mainly
by torchlight. The viz down here was maybe 10m or better but as soon as we got up to 20m it dropped at the top of the wall to 2 or 3m. Here there was kelp. Lots of it! Put up DSMB and returned to the boat. Some of us had been unable to do very much on this dive as we had not actually found the wall from the end of the shot and swam around in the kelp and the murk! Turns out there has been some dredging going on around there lately. The last dive of the trip was closer to shore on the west side of the Mew Stone. This is a delightful 13m bimble around the kelp, sand and rocks annoying the wildlife and being chased around by cuckoo wrasse anxious for a tasty snack. Chris was trying out my full face Aga which he apparently enjoyed and we had a very nice relaxing time in the clear warm sunny water.
Yet again thanks to Corinne for flawless and highly efficient organisation of a trip I will remember for quite a while.

The London Diving Chamber are organising an evening of Dive Lectures at the Royal Geographical Society, on Thursday 25th January 2007. For details of the speakers, see the bottom of this post…

The lectures are free, but advance registration is required. I can thoroughly recommend this as a great evening out, having been for the last two years.

If you would like to attend, please either send me an email (log in, then click on the envelope at the top of this post), or leave a comment below, before 25th 21st November, and I’ll make a group booking for us.

Among the speakers will be:

East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust have started a national campaign to encourage people to store emergency contact details in their mobiles.

Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader for the Trust, hatched the plan last year after struggling to get contact details from shocked or injured patients. “It’s difficult to know who to call. Someone might have ‘mum’ in their phone book but that doesn’t mean they’d want them contacted in an emergency. ”

The idea is that everyone should store the phone number of their emergency contact under a entry titled “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) in their mobile phone. If the worst happens, and the person is involved in an accident, the emergency services will immediately know who to call.

This is such a simple idea, I’m surprised no-one has thought of it before.

Neil.

I’m interested in joining the Peter Hughes ‘Star Dancer’ in Papua New Guniea this October. They offer a 10 day itenerary starting 17.10.05, it’s approx. 200 us dollars per night and diving after the discounts (20% immediately/10%GLUG kickback). Flights are not included.
I know of two others who might want to come and we’re thinking of staying a few extra days to explore the island. Since there is such a short booking window (by Wed. 17th March) decisions need to be made fast. I guess once we got the discount secured we can sort out flights etc. and take it a bit more slowly. If anyone is interested please contact me immediately to reserve one of the limited spaces available.
Thanks Gerhard 07764 679019

Gay Games VII in 2006
London Presentation
SATURDAY, 13 November, 2004
NOON to 2 pm

London City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA,
Committee Rooms 4/5, Lower Ground Floor (map)

You’re Invited!

Greater London Authority and London’s umbrella sports group, Out For Sport, are hosting Chicago Gay Games representatives for a special information session for London area athletes, artists and. This event takes place from noon to 2 pm at London City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA, in committee rooms 4 and 5 on the lower ground floor. All are welcome. There is no charge to participate.