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Dates: April 14-17 2006
Reason: Pleasure & training
Accommodation: Raleigh Stile Guest House
Organiser: Chris Ord

Wrecks from a Small Hardboat

The Easter weekend has traditionally been a time when HUGSAC ventured down to Plymouth to run its annual 'training week' event, during which time the trainees (typically having started at the beginning of the University term, in October) would get their first dives under their (weight)belts. In recent years, the trip was moved to Portland and over the past couple of years hasn't been run at all due to changes in the way we now train.

However Chris decided that he'd organise a return trip to Plymouth, not out of Fort Bovisand, as has been the case in the past (largely due to now being closed to divers) but out of Mountbatten, using the charter boat Plymouth Storm.

Following text taken from emails on the list:

Additional back slapping etc for Chris from me... Good weekend, excellent accommodation, the boat was a little awkward for entry/exit (entry was by means of a sideways roll off the side of the boat, facing forward with one leg over the edge, knee resting on the gunwhale (spelling?). Back to basics, you might say. Not really set up for twinset diving but we coped.

Water temp was pretty consistent at 8 degrees C, very cold for the time of year when you think back to our Bovi days when I'm sure it was more like 11/12.

Vis was good - 5 metres or more.

Only downside to the whole weekend was the traffic on the way home. I think it was a really good idea to leave the roadworks/restrictions in place on the M5 south of Bristol over the busiest weekend of the year "for our safety".

Muppet of the weekend was Tony for losing his fin as he rolled in over the the Rosehill.

Lucky git of the weekend was Tony as Plymouth BSAC happened to find it later that day and find out who it belonged to.

Peter B:
My thanks again go to Chris (codpiece) Ord for organizing a most entertaining and dive filled trip. The weather gods were kind with light winds, no rain, occasional sunshine and good vis. Excellent accommodation, far better than the normal divers scuss holes we have frequented and a great team effort provided by Rod and Ann!

Best dives for me were both sections of the James (of course!), the Persier covered in life with shoals of fish everywhere and the unknown trawler/tug with vis of 10m+.

Great banter and much high jinks added to a very good trip. Who'd have thought one small bottle of talc could be such a source of amusement? Top marks and thanks to everyone who went along and made the trip such a laugh.

CodPiece:
You forgot to mention your dive on the "Rosehill" !!

Peter B:
Ah yes our dive on the Rosehill (Plymouth) that wasn’t. Nobby and I faithfully followed a shot line (put in by another boat) down to an empty sea bed, no wreck, we then proceeded to dive HMS Vicinity for 20 minutes having failed to find the Rosehill, well its only a small wreck isn’t it? My suspicion was that certain persons unknown had dragged it off the wreck, purely by accident of course! ;~)

Anyhow that was a great 200th dive for my log book…not! ;~( Still it still beat being at home decorating or worse still being at work! :~)

Peter S:
It was good of them to drag the shot back onto the wreck for when me and Brian descended about 10 minutes later. We had to wait for the finless wonder to get back on board.

Brian:
And yet those who went in *after* you still found the wreck :)

Strange that....

[for those who didn't find it, or make it onto the shot due to losing their fin when rolling in, its actually a reasonably sized wreck, lovely intact gun on the stern, congers, big boilers....rudder and prop visible...]

Perhaps somebody was practising their DL 'moving the shotline around the seabed' drill or something ? :)