Over the weekend of the 11 th -12 th July, ten divers from Reading BSAC dived out of
Portland on the club R-HIBs, ‘Reading Cormorant’ and ‘Reading Tornado’. The force
5 to force 7 easterly wind limited diving to within the harbour, but it was an
opportunity to explore some sites that were unknown to the club.
There was a whole range of ages and experience on this trip, which was a great
representation of the inclusiveness of Reading BSAC. A particular special mention
must go to Belle (14) and Tom, for whom this was their second open water diving
weekend since recently qualifying as Ocean Divers. The visibility was poor, but all
divers managed the challenging conditions well and no-one got separated, showing
good buddy discipline. The weather was a balmy 28C and the water a lovely 19C.
Clearly, the only one with any sense in our group was Rob who was the only diver in
a wetsuit. The rest of us had to cope with ‘semi-dry suits’ with the amount of
sweating going on.
James D and I towed the boats down on Friday afternoon. Typically, there was very
little wind. Saturday arrived, the wind picked up, and everyone met at the WPNSA
slipway to load the boats. We dived on the landing craft first. With the limited
visibility, nobody manged to find the rope to the bombardon unit! Next up was a
bimble around the Countess of Erne. We stayed in the Portland Bill bunkhouse
overnight after a meal in the Eight Kings. The accommodation was great and
excellent value. Gas was obtained from the gas shack and we kept the boats in the
marina overnight. On Sunday, I dropped a shot on the co-ordinates I had for Enecuri.
The first wave duly went in, but two sets of bubbles were heading in opposite
directions. As with diving any unknown site for the first time, a Dive Manager is
always anxious to get it right. However, in this instance, one pair was probably
wrong, or else the wreck was much larger than expected! Unfortunately, Rob and
Mark E had missed the wreck and ended up diving the harbour wall. Excusable
given the conditions. Similar to the Countess, some beautiful jewel anemones can be
found on the stern. The last dive was on the Cragside, which was again a first for
me. The bow section is enormous and still has deck rails in place.
And just like that, it was all over. With the dust from the WPNSA car park still on the
cars as a reminder of the weekend, James D and I towed the R-HIBs back to the
clubhouse where we were met by some helpers to manoeuvre the boats back into
their beds. In summary – making it happen safely, despite the weather.
—
James Hickman
