New Year's Resolution

This is from one of my favourite blogsNew Year?s resolution ? would you like to become happier? Good Medicine

It fits well with some of these Noble Eightfold Path - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

so if we skip the religious taint then i'm going to;
exercise more.
eat less and better quality.
enjoy the dives not the process and kit.
meditate and be more mindfull.
cherish my loved ones more.

CBT formulation of training dive anxiety.

The Last Resort!

Pointy Heads and canned dives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/webcams/looe_harbour_webcam.shtml

Who watches the weather watchmen?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/webcams/plymouth_webcam.shtml

Plymouth sound web cam.

Celestial Warning

verily thou hast been warnedeth

Late September Sun.

"If God persists, persists in saying yes; I guess we'll have, we'll have to test ourselves. Maybe the Summer, will come and clear our minds. And find the impulse, to love the sunshine".

I declare the rainy season over. The Sun will shine and the wind will sleep until late september.

Well it's a most peculiar feeling, like sunburn in the evening

The 2nd weekend was to Dartmouth, new territory for most of the Posse, but well worth it. Day one was the Devon Classic of the Maine, a WW1 casualty but still intact and upright so providing a fantastic dive. Viz was 5-6m and the depth meant that it was a good enjoyable dive. The Skipper shotted the wreck at the stern and most worked their way forward getting the best out of their time.

Lunch was in sheltered bay near Salcombe, but the boat had a definite lean over to starboard on the way there. At lunchtime we discovered the cause- the size of the DIY lunch that skipper Tony Hoile had prepared was stored on the same side of the boat as Neill, so once Neill swapped sides the boat rode true again. On the way to the afternoon site, we had 4 seasons in one day. Torrential rain and hail, thunder lightening, all of which Brian and Jo braved whilst the rest sheltered under the awning.

Dive 2 was tucked under Prawle Point and consisted of a number of rocky fingers protruding in a SW direction, covered in anemonies and other reef life. Dom and Suzi found a Huss chasing its tail.

Day 2 dawned a beautiful day that bronzed the crew all the way to Start Point Lighthouse where a reef dive to East saw a fantastic array of reef life and the most extensive mussel beds in the area of the Start Point race. We however dived at slack water. Neill, Brian and Rob discovered the remains of a wreck, thought to be the "lost" wreck of Marana (previously believed to be W of the Lighthouse). The second dive was again on the Maine and it was better than the first, everyone having a better idea of what was where. All had a good dive, but John and Neil racked up 12 mins of deco by getting lost - almost eclipsing John R and Alan Smith's epic "losing the Maine" 3 years ago!
Another fabulous DIY lunch followed and the long trip back to Dartmouth. However the blazing sunshine has other hidden delights. About 20 seals were hauled out at Start Point and we got really close without them spooking. Taking the longer route on outside of the Skerries bank Alan spotted a dorsal fin and it was a 2.5m baby Basking Shark hovering up plankton so the trip was more rewarding than normal. Well done Dartmouth, you have come up trumps.

Chris

At least a beaten dog knows how to lie.

Whilst not 100% sure, I think I've done every dive of every posse diving weekend that has taken place dating back to when we first started in 2002. During this time, I've had some extremely memorable trips including last year when we saw the basking shark, the first time that we visited the Eddystone aboard the Amoco and two excellent visits to Falmouth. None of these compare though with the weekend that we've just had.

Why was it so good? Well I thought the combination of weather, sites, skipper and some excellent good fortune combined almost perfectly. Even though the Maine was a slightly controversial choice, given that it can also be accessed from Plymouth, I think the contrasting reports of visibility on the two sides of Start Point proved that it was the correct one. We were also extremely fortunate to get on it both times on slack and, even better, to get it to ourselves on the Saturday. I've been looking forward to getting back here for a long time and was really pleased to be able to explore it pretty much fully over the two dives.

Whilst neither of the other two dive sites suggested that they were going to compete with the Maine, I was very pleasantly surprised with them. If you saw nothing on the Saturday pm dive then I suspect you'll have found it very dull but we were lucky enough to spot the Bull Huss and a lobster that made the dive. I believe that Fluff/Rudders also saw the dogfish on steroids too! Sunday's dive was also unpromising but was a first for me as I'd never dived on mussel beds before. The quantity of edible crabs was also far in excess of anything I'd seen before. If only I can persuade my wife to overcome her membership of the crustacean protection league. Of course, the most exciting aspect of the Sunday morning dive was the (re)discovery by Brian, Neill and Rob of the boiler and bows of some long lost wreck. It isn't often that you see a skipper get quite that excited by something that newcomers have discovered!

Added to some great and varied sites was the weather and sea state that meant even the normal suspects managed to largely escape seasickness. A thunder, lightning and severe hail storm added a bit of excitement to proceedings but didn't manage to change our plans at all.

Perhaps the piece de resistance was the sitings on the way back from the last dive of approximately 20 seals enjoying the sun and another large basking shark. I hope that this justifies Brian's decision to dive over his wife's birthday this year!

Finally, many, many thanks are due to Neill for his continued hard work in organising our weekends, Suzi for sorting the cottage out, Alan/Suzi for doing the honours with scoff and Chris for the supply of eggs.

Safe Diving

Dom

And you think you're so clever and class less and free

An average weekend had by all.

Don't need a shrink but an exorcist

Weather for Dartmouth

Into the sea, you and me. All these years and no one heard

I fancy doing watcombe caves......

As you walk on by, will you call my name?

This is a dive briefing for Dom. See all of the above.

There's a touch upon my lips

Found this webiste today whilst surfing. Have a go at the quizes and some of the downloads might by useful.

http://www.ukdivers.net/index.htm

My Therapist said not to see you no more...

The Plan is to dive the Maine on the Saturday. Also the Bretagne on the Sunday.

the above map is from Dive England's greatest wrecks by Rod Macdonald

I thoroughly recommend it.

Dartmouth 7th & 8th June

http://www.dartboat.com/diving.htm

We are diving in Dartmouth. I will confirm all the details in the next 24hrs. The only site I mentioned to the skipper was the Maine. I would be happy to do 2 dives on this beauty but will go with the boat vote ( as usual).

Tony the skipper normally limits divers to 10 but we are 12 so can I remind everyone of the need to keep your shit to a minimum.

We also need to minimise the number of cars. More discussion later.


Details to follow...


Elrico

Love taught me to fly.

Did the Cannonball Alley on Tuesday, 14.2m for 42 mins (8c temp. youch) Air consumption to warm an irishmans heart. What a tidy little dive - very pleasant in the late spring sunshine.

Change my pitch up.

Now call me perverse but I do enjoy the curmudgeonly and downright abusive. I have come to appreciate being well and truely insulted and chided. The realm of the dive skipper has great appeal in this regard because they are, like the ocean, moody and given to sudden foul temper. Dave is a relative saint, but can at times be less than 'Happy'. The above photos shows him having a laugh with me. This years favourite is from the pearl of grumpiness at Aquanauts who when advising myself and Mr. McManus it was nearly time to dive hissed - " Get yout shit on and get the fuck off my boat". I would gladly pay for such eloquence and it sent me beneath the waves with a warm glow.

A Glimpse of the future

Alex with Torpoint u7 and the FA Community shield

Where Shall We Dive?

Any suggestions boys and girls?

Eddystone or Hand Deeps - offshore viz is good.

Neill's Drop Off or Thornback Patch?

Oregon and Hillsea Point

Rame Barge?

any more?

Photo above shows Rob after diving the Fylrix - do it once.....

Ist Diving Weekend of 2008 - 10th & 11th May.

The first weekend is nearly upon us and we are hoping for fine weather and great viz. The forecast is good (we are a long way out, yet) and the Viz has been very good. The water is 10C at present so it may be a soup and pasties weekend.

Can I encourage everyone to be very minimal about what is brought on to the boat as we are going to be a bit squeezed.

Essential info.

Amoco.

0830

Mt Batten Public Jetty.

cost estimate £60 or £67 minus deposit of £15. ( Dave has not increased his prices but I would hope we can chip in a bit if we go offshore)

1st Dive of the Season

Well The eejit, Dive dad and Elrico set off for the first dive of the season in what could be described as marginal conditions. However the RIB we were on was fully airbourne several times and on one occasion going 'round the corner' we were flying for what seemed like a full 10 seconds before crashing down. Brian complained long and bitterly that the O2 cylinder had landed on his toe. Conditions on the JEL were foul and there were standing waves and a mess of white water. Being Low water Springs we would have felt it on the wreck and I called the dive requesting we return to the lee of Rame Head. No one argued. We had a very cold 30mins at 10m in 3m viz near the Penlee Cannon site. Hey it's a dive and a shake down. Had the most awful headache for the rest of the day - had to go to bed with some dubious pharmaceuticals. Roll on the summer.

Richey James Edwards 13 years - not 4gotten.

01.02.95

Shore Dives

There is an interesting thread on South West Mafia - http://www.southwestmafia.com/forumswm/showthread.php?p=38423#post38423

My favourite shore dives...........

Talland Bay - Shore diveable wreck!

Eastern Kings - dark and scary.

Portwrinkle - Lobsters

Bovi Beach.

Cirkewwa - Malta

Old Harbour -Puerto del Carmen - Lanzarote. ( saw a topless woman - bonus on a dive eh!)

Dom's Marathon

Well he's come back from the Imperialist war and now having spent no money in the desert he's after ours!! Cheek. Anyway it's for a good cause and the pain is instructive for him. Please give money to Dom's charity Combat Stress who support service people with mental health needs.

This is copied from Dom's comments but is just worthy of a post.

Dom said...
Top 5 diving goals of 2008 - an interesting question. Working on the assumption that I try to achieve things, how about:

1. After the awesome experience that was the Red Sea 2007, agree when our next big holiday is going to be.

2. Avoid getting irritated by the usual suspects ...... (John, people with all the gear, etc)

3. Persuade Suzi that Truk/Bikini is what we need to do .......

4. Dive The Maine again!

5. Try not to lose my new computer (after I've figured out how it works again!)

Neill says - I don't recall John having any diving difficulties last year at all - he had his shit well together. You're just cranky from the war and the rugby.

Dom goes plop - no fuss

Dom's Top 5 dives of 2007

There is no doubt that 2007 was an absolutely mint year for my diving. Not only were there some fantastic sites, both in the Red Sea and the UK, but the experience was multiplied by the great group that we’ve got. For me, it is really special being able to go diving with my family and friends and share the experiences with them. It’s difficult to narrow it down to 5 but I’ll go for:

1. Wreck of the M2. This is a legendary dive that I always enjoy although I don’t think that Suzi enjoyed this quite as much as me! We caught it early in the season so it was cold but also very, very murky. Vis was limited to a metre or two and it was very difficult to get much of a feel for the size or shape of the wreck. Anyway I enjoyed it!

2. Wreck of the Scylla. It’s my top 5 so you can all poke off! I enjoy it and this year it was great to see the significant change in marine life as the sea starts to claim it for its own. As well as the shrimp that festoon the inner passageways, Suzi also saw a large Conger and we both saw a cuttlefish lurking under the prop shaft. This is a wreck that will just get better and better .....

3. Wreck of Rosalie Muller. In my opinion, equally as good as the Thistlegorm with the added bonus of being considerably less popular! Although lacking the prettiness of its much better known neighbour, it makes up for it with far more atmosphere and being far more intact. As ever, my biggest disappointment was the limited time that we had to fully explore although Suzi did manage to clock up 45m on this one....

4. Jackfish Alley. Although we started this as a group, Suzi and myself stayed in the cave a bit longer than everyone else and ended up in the drift by ourselves. The current was something I’d not really experienced before in the Red Sea and it made for a great dive especially as there was plenty of life moving round for us to see. You know that this dive must have been good as it has pushed some of my favourite wrecks out of the top five!!

5. Sara H/ Kingston/ Shag Rock. I’ve done this a few times before but it has never been as good as this year. The vis was awesome, coral stunning, the current just about right and we ended up by ourselves just drifting along in a beautiful warm sea for over 70 mins! On the way we encountered 4 turtles and a whole host of other marine life ......


Dom

Neill -Thank you very much Dom. I note this is posted just as you return from service in the desert. Surely you can't be serious about the Scylla!

My Top diving goals for 2008

What do I want to achieve in diving terms for 2008? Well it must be said that this year is one of consolidation and one in which I am unlikely to do any more training or buy too much kit. I would like to dive three new wrecks Bretagne, Oregon and Louis Sheid. I would like to get to the Rutts as a reef dive. Old favourites to visit include the Maine and the reefs of Hand Deeps and Eddystone. I would like to cover more ground at the Mewstone drop off as well as explore the other drop off. I would like to investigate some alternative shore sites with Rob and Brian. Let me know what you are hoping for this year.

Neill

The Mighty Amoco is confirmed for May and September

In Dave we trust........

Summers Coming

I have made a provisional booking for 5th & 6th July 2008 with Teign Diving Centre for their Hardboat SeaQuest. I have suggested the itinery is likely to include the Bretagne.

http://www.ssbretagne.co.uk/

http://www.ukdiving.co.uk/wrecks/wreck.php?id=70

http://www.teigndivingcentre.co.uk/

Quite exciting...........

Regular Trick

Seems like I know you from somewhere. Been here before?

First Dive of 2008

Shit viz, 28c temp. Dry suit but no gloves. Guess where I am.

Scuba Surfing

I thought I would bring you the benefit of my procrastination. Some Jolly fine diving websites that are seldom visited gems.

First the Deepblue diving website. DBD in Plymouth have moved away from Rec diving to focus on more adventurous stuff. They have and excellent links page which can take you on many a long wander.

http://www.deepbluetech.co.uk/links.htm

A strange scuba do it yourself site which has a few little gems.

http://insel.heim.at/malediven/350052/proj_e_e.htm

A very good value alternative to the 4th Element undersuits. You know how good I'm gonna look in these beauties.

http://www.xcelcius.com/int/acatalog/xmt01.php

A cool on-line logbook site.

http://www.diverecord.com/Welcome.asp

and a very usefull site for looking at kit in depth............
http://www.bitz.fsnet.co.uk/index.htm


I am so good to you.

Eejit's Top Five Dives of 2007

1. Drop-off although I did not dive with you and dive dad and was in a semidry lovely dive all the same (Neill - I thought I did this once with the Daddy Lobster and once with the Eejit Monkey?)


2. The night dive on the Giannis D fantastic wreck had a bit of trouble getting back to the mother ship.


3. The Kingston the drift over the reef was the closest to flight i think i will ever be,


4. The Mammeries at Eddystone - new depth record for me at 40.2 this is the best dive so far dive buddies Neill and Rob (dive dad,Robster the lobster) call him what you will - big shark, jewel anenome, big viz. PS where were you shallow? Hal Ha Ha He He,


5. Hands deep


6. Eddystone photo on my blog http://eejit71.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html buddy rab loads of sea life 1st time i dived in the eddystone area.

Love The Eejit

Neill's comment - sneaking in a bonus Paddy? Thank you Mate.

Josephine's Favourite Dives of 2007

The Thoroughly lovely Fiend gives us her 5.....

Best dives of the year..

1) Eddystone on the last dive weekend of the year - great visibility, fantastic jewel anenome and big fish.

2) Dive on the Thistlegorm going out to see the trains followed by the Robinson family attack on the forward gun - great dive and lovely opportunity to do it as a family.

3) Chrisoula K (aka tile wreck) - loved the site and amazing opportunity (if a little scary) to go through the engine room with Adam even if we were a little unprepared!

4) Rosehill - loved the wreck even if the water was as green as pea soup. Great life on the wreck and great gun (we're suckers for big guns!)

5) Kingston - good wreck with great life, but drift dive afterwards was the best ever. Like being on a conveyor belt and watching the reef fly by - luckily the current slowed by the time the turtle made an appearance!

Neill's Comment - Thanks to Josephine for contributing. Top Hardcore Wrecker UK diver - picks ace UK dives ahead of shandy soft Red Sea prettyness.

1st Draft Diving 2008

10th/11th May 2008 - Plymouth (Neaps /HW 1018)

Goals - Offshore reefs/Maine/ Local favourites


7th /8th June - Plymouth ( Coming off springs HW 0923)

As Above.

5th/ 6th July - Salcombe/Teignmouth ( Small Springs HW 0823)

Goals - Maine / Bretagne / Orestone

6th / 7th September - Plymouth ( coming to neap HW 1003)

Stone, Deeps or Hatt Rock, Drop Off, Thornbacks.


Please get in touch gang to tell me if these are a working set to approach skippers.