I’ve still got two places for this weekend - some of the best wreck diving in the UK.  Please contact me if you’re interested.  Suitable for BSAC Sports/PADI Advanced upwards with some UK diving experience.  Semi-dry suits OK.  We’re on a superb boat - Tango - and accommodation has been arranged in Weymouth.

One of our newer members, David, has been kind enough to contribute a trip report for the most recent Weymouth trip. It sounds like it was a great weekend, scuppered karaoke plans notwithstanding.
If anyone has any pictures (taken either above or below the water) from this weekend, then please email them over to me and I’ll add them to the report.
Similarly, now that diving season is finally underway, don’t hold back with trip reports of your own…

This is a non-GLUG dive - a mixture of people I know.  I’ve got two places left.  It’s a 3-day event over the bank holiday, diving off X-Dream and staying at a comfortable B&B in Weymouth.  Diving is £37.50 per day and accommodation a bargain £18 per night inc breakfast.  Any UK drysuit diver welcome - please contact me for a booking form.

Still one place left for any UK drysuit diver.  Lots of fun, loads of scallops - come and join in!  Please contact me asap if you’d like to come along.

Calling all UK dry suit divers - I urgently need to fill the last two places on the Weymouth weekend.  It’s quite cheap for UK diving - £75 covers the diving and the B&B is around £25-28 per night.  Please contact me if you’d like to come along or if you’d like more information.

After a shameful delay, I have finally added three long-overdue trip reports to the site:
Daedalus, Rocky and Zabargad (Blue Seas) by Fred Wynn
Mallorca by Anna Bohach
Weymouth (August 2007) by Andy
Thank you, Fred, Anna and Andy. Not just for the reports, but also for your saintly patience.

We also have a hot-off-the-press contribution from Alan:
Marsa Nakari by Alan Larsen

I’ve managed to find a B&B to replace Tolpuddle Hall. It’s the Alverstoke Guest House, 43-44 Lennox Street in Weymouth (www.alverstoke.tripod.com) and has 4 single rooms, 3 twin rooms and 5 doubles, not all en-suite. I’ve reserved 1 of the doubles and all the rest for now. No single room supplement. Costs range from £25 to £28 per night. Now just need to find a local eatery…

We have two new trip reports on the site:
Weymouth (May 2007) by Ian Chapman
Djibouti by Brian Broadbridge
If anyone has any pictures from the May Weymouth trip, please email them to me and I’ll add them to the report.

I have a last-minute place available for the Weymouth weekend, 11-12 August. This will be the last time we can use Tolpuddle Hall for accommodation so please do join us to bid the place a fond farewell. Contact me for details.

I’ve got a few spaces on a dive I’m organising for my local BSAC club. They’re GLUG friendly - in fact we often combine Dorothy Divers and West Wickham training. It’s a brilliant hard boat - Skin Deeper - skippered by Len Hurdiss who used to take GLUG out on Autumn Dream. Accommodation is at a nearby comfortable B&B. Let me know if you’re interested.

I urgently need divers for a 3-day weekend (bank holiday) in Weymouth. It’s a non-GLUG dive, but there are GLUG members on it. The boat is the luxurious Lamlash and accommodation has been arranged at a comfortable B&B in Weymouth. Please contact me if interested. I have 3 places, but have a couple of people who could make the Saturday only.

I’m running a non-GLUG dive weekend in Weymouth on the last bank holiday of May (26th-28th). Diving is off a large hard boat called the Lamlash. Accommodation is at a guest house in Weymouth. PADI Advanced/BSAC Sports minimum qualification needed + dry suit. I have one place left if anyone is interested.

A place has become available on the first bank holiday in May dive in Weymouth. 3 days’ diving off the hard boat X-Dream with accommodation at a local gay hotel. Desperate to fill the place. PADI Advanced/BSAC Sports upwards qualification needed + dry suit.

I am looking for volunteers to write up trip reports for a number of the trips taken during 2006. I realise that many of them are in the dim and distant past but all we need is a few short paragraphs (unless, of course, you’d like to write more). These are the trips that we still need to cover:

Southern Red Sea on Blue Seas
Littlehampton
Weymouth (August)
Plymouth

If anyone has already submitted a report for any of these (sent it in for the now defunct newsletter, for instance) then please let me know and I will try to track it down.

And, also, a gentle reminder to the following people who have already volunteered to write up reports:

Alan L - Diving for Life in St Lucia
Andy S - Pembrokeshire
Brian B - Sark
Brian B - Djibouti
Martin J - Tenerife

We have at least two GLUG trips to Weymouth every year. These trips would suit divers with UK/cold water diving experience.
Minimum qualification needed: PADI Advanced/BSAC Sports Diver

Please choose a report from the following:
Weymouth on Tango - May 2008
Weymouth on Channel Warrior - August 2007
Weymouth on X-Dream - May 2007
Weymouth on Autumn Dream - May 2006
Weymouth on Tango – August 2005
Weymouth on Autumn Dream – May 2005

Weymouth on Tango - May 2008

by David

Hi all, I’m David, one of the newer members of GLUG and I have just completed my first dives with the group down at Weymouth on 10-11 May. After arriving in the sleepy little town on Friday afternoon I had a look around and got myself familiar with the area – the BnB, food outlets and of course where the boat was leaving from. Little did I know that once Saturday comes around, Weymouth comes alive with the tourist market. A full English for most of us and a packed lunch to go and we were out on the boat quite early.

Forgive me for not knowing the name of the first wreck but to tell you the truth… I don’t really care. The first dive for me was surreal. As an Australian, with limited UK experience, I was quite taken back by the fact that by around 15m it felt like the whole world was closing in on my buddy Mark and I. At a max depth of around 30m it was my first ever daytime “night dive”. Quite a few times I looked up to see if any light what-so-ever was able to penetrate the darkness. I found it quite fascinating. After checking we were both ok, off we went on a discovery mission of crabs and lobsters on the parts of the wreck we could find/see, keeping a max separation of less than 2m at all times. The fluorescence of my gauges was for the first time high-lighted as an essential function. Did I see much?…not really. Was it a good dive?…it was exciting, unexpected…and I loved it. Can you believe though that I was thinking in the morning…should I take a torch???

The second dive was a drift dive along a kelp field. I thoroughly enjoyed this if not only for the fact that I just had to get neutral buoyancy and then just lay there…(the best type of diving) but I am quite a fan of kelp and the fabulous shapes you see as it “blows” in the currents.

A pint or so after the diving and later we met for dinner (HUGE roast meal where you can help yourself to the roast potatoes…sorry that all the crunchy ones were gone) and then out to a pub. I am not sure who recommended it, but it was a laugh… I think it was hens night in Weymouth with lots of girls running around in skimpy “Bob the Builder” outfits. The pub looked like something from an old family gathering where the bouffants were high, the necklines plunged, the music worse than my collection (although the boys would say that I was loving it – I just have a happy disposition). I think we were looking for Oz…but instead we found Kansas, Dorothy…give me those slippers cos I wanna see if they work in reverse. On the way back I wanted to go to the karaoke place…but majority ruled (ie I was the only one who wanted to) and we were off to bed.

The next day, 2 more dives – stunning weather, beaches packed … first dive was much clearer than the day before and scalloping for our 2nd dive where I was chastised severely by the gang because I brought up scallop shells… yeah that’s right…. Just some old shells…you’d think I was vegetarian.

The BnB was just lovely, as were our hosts at the Alverstoke Guest House. We had a very skilled skipper on Tango and Corinne is the consummate organiser. I felt so included and had a brilliant weekend. Anyone out there thinking, ”Should I join?” or “I’d like to try/do more UK diving,” - I can’t think of a better bunch of neoprene and membrane covered individuals to do it with. Has this gone on too long…oops.

Thanks all !!!

Weymouth on Channel Warrior - August 2007

by Andy

For those of us who got away reasonably early on the Friday, we were in time to stop and feast at a favorite gastro pub “Coventry Arms” en-route to Tolpuddle Hall. As we arrived, we were met by Paul & with the help of Corinne, directed to our rooms, after which, those who required refreshment, assembled in the drawing room for a night cap. Where we found to our relief that Ben’s hairdryer had not blown the electrics yet & he was having a good hair day.

Saturday morning, an early start after breakfast, as we were off to Bridport harbour to get kit & brains on-board Channel Warrior, in plenty of time to get out to the first dive site (only 10mins late). Conditions were excellent, slight breeze, flat calm & glorious sunshine. 10 minutes before arriving at the dive site, it was announced that whilst slipping into her dry-suit Corinne’s neck seal had split, but, being a brave soul, she donned the skippers for an enjoyable, albeit very soggy dive. Meanwhile, Terry was unable to get his hose to fit, so unfortunately had to make a timely withdrawal.

The first dive was the St Dunstan a dredger 25-30mtrs, viz about 4mtrs, plenty to see, especially in the open areas good start to the weekend. After a very leisurely lunch back in harbor, with repairs done & the appropriate hose size apprehended, we set off again for our second dive at Sawtooth Ledges, 20-25mtrs a gentle drift dive scalloping, managing to catch just enough for tea. Back at Tolpuddle Hall it was all go, showers, snoozes & whatever! Except for those cooking or preparing for the banquet later - thanks to Jazz, Peter & Steve for putting together fresh pan fried scallops followed by a wonderful sweet & sour chicken & rice (oodles of TLC or was it MSG), finished off with a delightful fruit crumble & custard, FAB!!!

Sunday morning, an extra 30 minutes to laze in bed before breakfast and saying our fond farewells to Tolpuddle Hall, before setting off for a second day of diving. A much more relaxed start to the day, having a good hour and a half to the first dive site; unfortunately, we were missing 3 divers from the previous day. We were all in good spirits considering the conditions, windy, choppy & cloudy, as we were all looking forward to diving the Moidart a wreck of a trawler 30-38mtrs, broken in two but intact enough to be really enjoyed, well worth another visit loads more to investigate.

Lunch was served as we headed for the coast & our last dive. By now, Ben had decided that he was having a bad hair day after all, then, what do you know, after changing tanks my hose exploded. Thankfully Corinne, who was now not bothered about getting wet again, lent me her nice pink one. High Ground, was a reef & shallow wall dive, 10-15mtrs, ledges, crevices, nice flora & fauna with a good amount of fish & crustaceans, a nice dive to finish on. A grand weekend, great diving & excellent company.

Weymouth on X-Dream - May 2007

by Ian Chapman
I had been looking forward to the 3 days diving in Weymouth. I’ve done around thirty dives in the UK, but most of them were inland training or practice dives. My only real UK diving was last year’s Pembrokeshire trip. Most of my dives have been in Egypt, although I’d done two cold water dives in New Zealand.

I thought we’d beat the bank holiday weekend traffic by leaving at 1pm. The drive took 4 hours, we had the worst coffee in the world en route!

We were the first to arrive at Tolpuddle Hall (which is in a lovely village near Dorchester) and were greeted by the owner. After unpacking and still being the only ones there we decided to head out to Weymouth to find the diving centre we’d be collecting our tanks from the following morning. Had lovely fish and chips, found the dive centre (Old Harbour Dive Centre) and did a spot of shopping for drinks and chocolate – essentials on a dive trip.

Got back to Tolpuddle Hall late evening and walked to the village’s only pub. Were joined by other GLUG divers and had a few drinks.

Slept relatively well, considering the tiny bed.

All met at breakfast at 7.45 where Corrine talked us through the plan for the weekend. Despite earlier weather forecasts predicting a scorching hot bank holiday weekend, it was looking like a good day on Saturday, poor weather on Sunday and the likelihood that we’d be blown out on Monday.

Buddy pairs were agreed – I was paired with straight Terry. Terry and I left to pick up my rental tanks and then met all the divers at the North Pier entrance where we helped load up the boat.

The boat was the X-Dream, skippered by Paul, a very friendly guy who Corrine had worked with on many occasions previously. He was extremely knowledgeable about the area. The boat was relatively small compared to other UK dive boats I’ve been on but this was more than made up for by the hydraulic lift. Luxury! We had a chaotic and cramped first fifteen minutes while the boat was loaded up and everyone assemble their gear but once the bags and surplus kit was put away the boat ended up feeling very spacious.

At this point, at around 9.30am, the weather was overcast but looking likely to improve. We departed at 10am because the drawbridge is only raised at certain times of the day.

First dive stop was Lulworth Banks. Corrine had established that for most divers this would be their first UK dive of 2007, so Lulworth Banks was a good choice. No other divers, relatively sheltered from any currents, it was a nice easy dive. Everyone had goody bags and was told they’d not be allowed back on the boat unless everyone brought back a good number of scallops.

At 25m visibility was around 3 metres and the water temperature about 12 degrees. Because this was a drift dive, Terry sent up his DSMB, as agreed. He held onto the reel, and I held the line – this way it would be harder for us to become separated in the green haze that is UK diving. There was a lovely slight current running, which made it a very easy drift dive.

The drift dive had a mission: scalloping for our evening dinner. I confess I didn’t really know what I was looking for, having never knowingly seen a scallop in the sea before. Knew what they looked like on a dinner plate, but had no idea what they looked like underwater. Fortunately Terry knew. I saw him picking up a shell which looked like the Shell Petrol Station logo. Unfortunately there were very few scallops, so we spent most of the dive looking at sand and a few tiny hermit crabs.

Both Terry and I came across these tiny scallops which were swimming through the water, seemingly at us, like wind-up false teeth chattering open and closed. I’d not seen that before.

After 30 or so minutes we were both starting to feel the cold so we began our ascent. I’ve had problems with my under suit clogging up my dry suit valve before and had a few uncontrolled ascents but fortunately Corinne’s tip of putting ‘tuby grip’ around my arm worked again and I ascended at a safe and comfortable rate; the valve working perfectly.

The X-Dream had been following the DSMBs throughout the dive so was close by when we surfaced. The lift was luxury compared to the ladders I’ve normally used. We had collected five or six scallops. Other buddy pairs had done better, others worse, but everyone was surprised at how few scallops there were to be found. The skipper suggested that scallopers had beaten us to the site.

Once everyone was aboard and had had a hot drink and chocolate bar, we anchored off Lulworth Bay for lunch. My kind of lunch: pasties and chocolate. And during lunch the sun really started to shine. With few clouds around it was as hot as an August summer day. Nice.

The second dive was a wreck dive: The Black Hawk. It was to be another drift dive, over the wreck and then along the bottom for, hopefully, a better supply of scallops. Unfortunately after we followed the line down we only found unrecognisable scraps of the wreck and that passed us pretty quickly as we drifted by in a strongish current. Even worse, we saw hardly any scallops. I think we saw one reasonably sized scallop towards the end of the dive, by which point we couldn’t be bothered to bag it. However, Terry did spot our find of the day: an artillery shell from the wreck. Wonderful find, about 16 inches long and in very good condition. We looked at it for a while and left it where it was. If we hadn’t found the shell, I would have written off the whole day as “poor diving, but good practice dives” but the shell made it a good day. Thanks to Terry for spotting it and showing it to me.

We got bored before we got cold, so surfaced and returned to the boat. Very few people had had a good look at the wreck. Some said the line had detached from the wreck, others said it hadn’t. Fortunately some buddy pairs had been quite successful at scalloping so we’d have something for dinner. Someone bagged a fairly large crab. I was quite astonished to hear that some people would have brought up the artillery shell. Throughout all my dive training I’ve been told, “Take nothing but photos, leave only bubbles” so the thought of taking the shell hadn’t even crossed my mind. Terry and I both agreed that it was better to leave it behind, so other divers could experience the same excitement we’d felt when we came across it.

The sun was still shining when we got back to Weymouth. We helped move the kit into the boat’s hold and cabin areas, then unloaded the tanks and took them to the Old Harbour Dive Centre for filling overnight.

Got back to Tolpuddle Hall. Unfortunately there wasn’t much/any hot water. Made it back in time to watch Dr. Who. Peter and Steven were responsible for dinner on Saturday evening. They cooked the scallops we’d caught during the day and provided a most amazing chicken pasta salad and two of the largest apple pies I’ve ever seen. The vegetarians among us had tuna steaks which were equally yummy. After the meal, some stayed at the B&B drinking what they’d brought with them. Others went to the local pub.

By Sunday morning the weather had deteriorated. After breakfast we picked up the filled tanks and loaded up the boat. Although we would be diving, our choice of sites was limited because of the poor weather and the threat it could get much worse in the late afternoon. So we stayed local and sheltered.

My buddy from the previous day wasn’t diving, so I was paired with Graeme and Mark, both very experienced UK divers. The dive was another scalloping drift dive. The water temperature was 12 degrees again (although another buddy pair claimed it was 14 degrees where they were!) and visibility was around 3 metres. Again, no scallops to be found so we spent the time drifting around looking at sand.

Boredom got the better of us, so we began to surface. Which is when my shoulder valve decided to stop working. I ascended slowly and comfortably to around 8 metres at which point I was struggling to remain neutral. I stayed at around 8 metres for several minutes then ascended. The ascent wasn’t too quick (still, quicker than I wanted), but I missed my safety stop.

Hot teas and coffees awaited us on board. Everyone had had similar dive experiences, i.e. nothing to look at but sand. The weather was worsening too.

We had lunch by a port breakwater (more pasties and chocolate, yay!) before getting ready for the second dive of the day. Corrine had dived the site before and said it would be a good site for sea life. I’d decided not to dive because of my uncontrolled ascent and my sticky valve. Brian had decided not to dive because he’d dived the site before and didn’t think it was worth it. Maggie decided not to dive because she had been uncomfortably cold on the previous dive.

The divers came back raving about the dive. They said it had been the best dive of the weekend – loads of fish, scallops (they brought back a lot) and crabs. Darn it, of all the dives I skipped, I skipped the best!

The weather was really starting to pick up by this point, so we quickly headed back to the harbour and took the tanks back for filling for Monday. At this point we were assuming that either Monday wouldn’t happen at all, or if it did, we may have to dive the two local and sheltered sites we’d done already.

Sunday evening’s meal was excellent – sea food starters and beef for main, with an equally popular and wonderful spinach pie for the veggies (although everyone had at least one slice, it was so good).

The pub beckoned for me and my partner, while everyone else stayed at the B&B.

At breakfast on Monday morning, we’d decided that we wouldn’t dive because of the weather. Corrine had been unable to reach the skipper or the dive centre by phone. We got to the pier at 9.30am, waiting about 30 minutes for the skipper to turn up who agreed we shouldn’t venture out. After unloading the boat we headed home.

In summary, the dive sites I dived weren’t great but that doesn’t bother me. I’m relatively new to UK diving and so I’m still enjoying it all. I learn something new with each dive trip, either about technique or equipment. The three dives I did during the weekend were no exception. And now I know what a scallop looks like underwater.

Weymouth on Autumn Dream - May 2006

by Fred Wynn

Having been a member of GLUG for coming up to a year, I had never been on a GLUG organised diving event. Living in Guernsey makes commuting to the UK mainland a little tricky for short weekend visits. After pondering the boat and flight times, and getting some very helpful advice from GLUG, I thought I would ‘go for it’ and register my interest for the Weymouth dive trip for the weekend of 13-14 May. During a conversation with one of my dive buddies I briefly mentioned this weekend away to learn that he was keen to come along too. Ray has become a good friend since I took up diving in July 2005 and we now dive together on a regular, if not weekly basis. I don’t think he will mind me mentioning – he’s straight.

Flights booked, excess baggage sorted, hire car arranged and several e-mails later, we were ready to go! Since I travel a fair bit with work, it’s quite handy to know the airport check in staff well ! Especially when Ray and I turned up with all our diving equipment, pony’s and all. The local airline, Aurigny is very accommodating and will try and help where possible with any sports based holidays – subject to what baggage is on the plane at the time.

The drive from Gatwick to Weymouth, Tolpuddle took just over 2 ½ hours. First mission; to drop off our dive gear and head to the local pub to see if any of the others had arrived. I recognised one face from the GLUG gallery (does have it’s uses) and within an hour or so, more of the crowd had turned up. As always, it’s really good to put faces to names.

Waking up on Saturday morning – the weather was perfect. Ray’s an early riser (no pun intended) and we were out of bed taking a tour of Tolpuddle village at 6am. A really pretty village, about half an hours drive to Weymouth – the setting of our accommodation, Tolpuddle Hall was quite idyllic. I understand from the group that the Hall has been upgraded over the years to provide relaxing, comfortable accommodation with fantastic breakfasts – the ideal thing you need to start your diving day.

Soon, we had all arrived in Weymouth, and loading all our kit onto Autumn Dream, helped by Len our skipper for the weekend – not forgetting Len’s wife Maggie who provided excellent cooked food and drinks on the boat throughout the weekend.

Saturday – two dives, the first Bennendijk, a Belgium Steamship and the second dive that day was Lulworth Banks. This was a drift dive where we had a mission here – to catch our food for dinner ! Ray and I try and do one scallop dive each week – we have a good technique of doing this. Lulworth Banks was awesome – something I have never seen before. The scallops were almost jumping into your catch bag ! The group decided to cook our own dinner and having offered Ray’s cooking talents, he was to cook our scallop starter. A quick tour of a Weymouth shop provided him with all the spices etc. Starter by Ray, main course cooked by Corinne and pudding by Peter – if my memory is correct all for the great value of £6 per head.

Sunday – again, two dives, the first Aeolian Sky, a Greek Freighter. The second dive was back to Lulworth Banks to catch more scallops.
One of the highlights of one dive was the sudden appearance of a RAF rescue helicopter which came VERY close to our boat and put out a signal ‘67′ out of the window – apparently, this means – can we use your boat to do a mock rescue. The deck was cleared and within minutes one of the crew was being lowered onto our boat. The best was yet to come. He wanted a volunteer to be winched up with him to the helicopter, so a quick spin and return to Autumn Dream. At this point a scuffle occurred, shoving, elbows and all, fighting for ‘the place’. I’m
joking – but it would have been my wish to have gone up the rope with this guy.

Getting off the ‘rock’ is good for us Guerns – it helps keep us sane. Ray and I thought the whole weekend was fantastic. Great company, excellent dives, good food and to top it all, the weather was perfect. Thanks guys (and girls), it was great to meet you all and we are sure our paths will cross many times in the future.

Weymouth on Tango – August 2005

by Corinne Sarjeant

Our Weymouth weekend in August was on Tango, ably skippered by Phil Corben. We did the tried and tested Lulworth Banks as a first dive. Managed to get a decent haul of scallops. There were loads of baby scallops around – always good to see as it suggests a healthy reef. We also spotted a few edible crabs and one large flat fish (a dab perhaps?).

We did a wreck second (unusual order, but we weren’t getting up at the crack of dawn to do the first slack!) – the Binnendyk. Always a favourite – about 27m and usually has a lot of life on it. This time we saw a conger, a couple of lobsters (one of them enormous – sure I saw him last year and named him Schwarzenegger), an edible crab, shoals of pollock and bib and a few tompot blennies.

On the Sunday we dived the Elena R – a 30m wreck with, again, plenty of marine life. Several edible crabs (one of which we nabbed), a couple of lobsters and loads of shoaling fish. Worth having a good look in the nooks and crannies. Definitely need a torch for these Weymouth wrecks. We finished off at Sound Range – don’t remember doing this before. Similar to Lulworth Banks, but calmer. The sea had turned a bit choppy, so it was a good alternative. It’s more difficult to spot the scallops on this site, as the seabed isn’t as smooth. However, we got sufficient scallops and also saw a couple of dogfish, a few crabs
and, oh deep joy, a cuttlefish.

The dives this year proved some of the most enjoyable I’ve done. We were so lucky with the weather, especially as my colleagues in other dive clubs seem to have had plenty of dives blown out. Littlehampton and Pembrokeshire must class as the best conditions possible – sunny and flat calm. Let’s hope 2006 proves as good.

Weymouth on Autumn Dream – May 2005

by Corinne Sarjeant

Autumn Dream, a comfortable offshore 125, has to be my favourite boat. Loads of room to kit up, a hydraulic lift, an excellent cooked lunch and Molly the dog to greet us when we surfaced.
The first GLUG dive of the season was a gentle one on Lulworth Banks. Usual suspects – wrasse, crabs and scallops. We managed to get sufficient scallops to have as a starter for dinner. Water was a bracing 10ºc – roughty-toughty award goes to Allan Isted for doing it
in a semi-dry. The weather wasn’t particularly good, so we stayed in sheltered waters for the second dive, near Balaclava Bay. There were quite a few crabs and assorted wrasse in amongst the concrete blocks. My buddy and I even spotted a lobster.
On the second day we managed to get out to a wreck – the Binnendyk. Quite a lot of marine life – a few lobsters, crabs of various varieties, pollack, bib and wrasse. Had an interesting experience when one of our divers turned round and knocked me into a hole with his twin set. I extricated myself in a very inelegant fashion, due to being convulsed with giggles. For the second dive, we again hit Lulworth Banks. The skipper, Len, remarked that it was as well we didn’t dive there more often, as there’d be no scallops left.