You've been good and steered the trainees through their initial open water dives - now it's time to enjoy yourself. If you're newly qualified, the same applies. John Liddiard talks to dive-club members about their plans for the new season
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After a winter of pool training, the early-season trips of most diving clubs are directed towards getting the new crop of divers into the water and building some basic experience.
Then we get further into the season and the emphasis moves more towards the experienced divers. The new and up-and-coming divers may join the trips, but training is no longer the primary objective. So what are some of our favourite locations, once the training phase is complete?
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Colleen Baker and husband Andy are members of a club attached to the East Anglia School of Diving, based in Over, Cambridgeshire. The club is a regular for long weekend trips from Lyme Regis using charter boat Blue Turtle, an Offshore 105 skippered by Doug Lanfear.
"Last year we stayed at the Smugglers Inn in town, a super atmosphere and a grand breakfast," says Colleen. "The weather was beautiful, the sea was like a millpond.
"A couple of us suffer a bit with sea-sickness, so we appreciate the flat water, but it also makes the surface interval more enjoyable, as this is when Doug supplies the divers with a nice lunch. Lounging around the boat eating lunch in the sunshine between dives is bliss."
Lyme Regis is ideally located for all the well-known wrecks spread across Lyme Bay. Of the wrecks they dived, Andy speaks highly of the World War One steamship Chateau Yquem because, among other reasons, "we had it to ourselves". They also enjoyed an old favourite, the aircraft-carrying submarine M2. "The visibility was great and the congers loved to be tickled," says Colleen.
The WW1 wreck of the P&O liner Salsette is one of the most famous dives in Lyme Bay, so it's surprising to hear that Andy didn't enjoy it so much.
"The visibility wasn't that good and I had a bad dive," he says, "but this may have been due to the lack of air in my cylinders, which had developed a leak on the drive to Lyme."
Perhaps Colleen enjoyed the trip more than Andy.
"He learnt the lesson of not placing your mask on the engine cover when people with twin-sets are kitting up, and how not to get locked in the toilet," she says. "Nevertheless, we'll be back this year."
East Anglia School of Diving, www.easod.co.uk
Blue Turtle, www.blueturtle.uk.com
Chateau Yquem: 1913 ton steamship torpedoed by U40 on 30 July, 1917. Upright in 44m with the superstructure cleared.
M2: M-class submarine modified to carry a seaplane in a watertight hangar forward of the conning tower. Lost with all hands when the hangar flooded in a training accident on 26 January, 1932. The wreck lies upright and intact in 32m. Look for congers in the torpedo tubes.
Salsette: 5842 ton P&O liner torpedoed on 20 July, 1917 by UB40 while on route from London to Bombay. The wreck is broken down to main deck level, lying tilted to port in a general depth of 44m, rising to 34m. Don't miss the gun at the stern.
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Looking for conger eels in one of the M2's torpedo tubes
Salsette's starboard anchor
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Boldmere Divers from Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands took the club RIBs and 15 divers to Pembrokeshire for a weekend. "We keep returning to the area because there is plenty of good diving to be done for all levels of diver," says Diving Officer Darren Slater. "I wasn't DO for last year's trip, just a club-member."
He witnessed a good object lesson on tides: "Those tasked with finding out where to launch, and the tides, got some hands-on practical experience of what happens if you get it wrong - lack of water!"
Getting down to the diving, Darren recommends two old favourites: "The best dives were the Dakotian and the Behar. Both are nice wrecks at a depth that allows divers to make the most of their bottom-time.
"There are swim-throughs, and when the visibility is good it just makes the dive, though one of the boats decided to die on the way back from the Dakotian and had to be towed back, with much swearing going on.
"We stayed in a mixture of static caravans and B&B. One of the good things about the area is that weather doesn't stop the diving."
Boldmere Divers, www.boldmeredivers.com
West Wales Divers, www.westwalesdivers.co.uk
Dakotian: 6426 ton steamship. Struck an air-dropped mine on 21 November, 1940, sinking in 18m in Dale Roads. The forward part of the wreck was dispersed after the war. The stern has collapsed significantly in recent years. Polish the bales of tin-plate in the aft holds.
Behar: 6100 ton steamship. Struck an air-dropped mine in Milford Haven on 24 November, 1940 and beached off Great Castle Head. Subsequent attempts to refloat failed and the Behar was salvaged in situ. The remains now lies well broken on a slope from 6-14m, the most intact part being the stern.
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Inspecting the winch near the bow of the Dakotian
gun-mount on the stern of the Behar
tin plate among the Dakotian's cargo
and the connecting rod and coupling from the Behar's engine
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Members of Ashford Dive Club from Kent made their first trip to Scapa Flow last year.
"The group that went are a bit of a wreck-keen offshoot from the club and Scapa is rated as the place to go if you're a UK wreck-diving fanatic," says club member Simon Powell. "We dived from John Thornton's boat mv Karin. Accommodation was a bit of a shock at first when compared to the luxury of a Red Sea liveaboard - a bit basic, but functional.
"The weather was overcast but calm, so the diving conditions were perfect," says Simon. "Everything we did was excellent. My most memorable dives were the Kronprinz Wilhelm for its sheer size, the James Barrie for its intactness and the Tabarka for its cavernous interior and exciting currents on ascent!
"Scapa Scuba also deserves a mention," he insists as an aside. "It fixed a busted neck seal overnight with remarkable speed and effort. Excellent service.
"We would all love to go again and I expect we will, but nothing is planned as yet."
Ashford Dive Club, www.ashforddiveclub.com
mv Karin, www.scapaflow.com
Kronprinz Wilhelm: König-class battleship of 25,388 tons. Scuttled with the interred German High Seas Fleet on 21 June, 1919, the wreck lies inverted on a 38m seabed, the keel rising as shallow as 13m. The deck is tilted a few degrees to starboard, so the port side offers the best opportunity to see 5.9in secondary guns, or to get underneath to the main turrets with 12in guns.
James Barrie: This steam trawler of 666 tons ran aground in the Pentland Firth on 27 March, 1969. She subsequently floated loose and was under tow by Kirkwall lifeboat towards Stromness when she sank in Hoxa Sound. Lies capsized and intact in 43m, port side rising 10m from the seabed.
Tabarka: 2624 ton steamship originally sunk as a block ship in Kirk Sound in 1941, then raised and moved to Burra Sound in July, 1944. The wreck lies inverted in 12m.
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The main 12in gun turret on the Kronprinz Wilhelm
Simon Powell and friends from Ashford Dive Club
inside the hold of the James Barrie
secondary 5.9in gun turret on the Kronprinz Wilhelm
and the wheelhouse of the James Barrie
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Bristol-based Severnside Sub-Aqua Club's usual trip at this time of year is to the Manacles on the Lizard, but in 2004 the members decided to try Penzance for a change.
"We had good reports from four club-members who took a boat there the previous season," says diving officer Chris Ingham. And he emphasises the level of planning for the trip: "Bob Bryant spent many an evening trawling the Internet and ringing local dive clubs about the area, and managed to produce some nice A4 sheets with info on the sites in the area and maps."
Accommodation was a mix of camping and static caravans about 20 minutes from Penzance. Club-member Phil Shean comments: "It was a bit early in the year for camping but some people prefer it. Static caravans were reasonably priced and comfortable and warm. There was lots of room to park boats on trailers and the site-owner was diver-friendly."
As a club, Severnside is well-equipped with club RIBs and members' RIBs. "There were 16 divers on the trip and we took four boats belonging to club-members," says Chris. "There were a few other divers around, but it was mostly quiet. Launching on the slip at Penzance was a doddle.
"We had excellent weather close in, but it wasn't flat, so longer drives like Wolf Rock were out of the question."
They did make it to the Runnelstone, although Phil reckons it was one of the shallower dives that came out top. "For me, the best dive was at Logan's Gully, because I dived with a seal. Personally, I wouldn't bother with the wreck of the Primrose again because I've dived it a few times now."
Chris has a couple of final tips for clubs planning a trip: "It's worth doing at least once to see what it's like. Traffic is always a nightmare on bank holidays, so bear this in mind when you plan your journey."
Severnside Sub-Aqua Club, www.severnsidesac.com
Air from Bill Bowen on Penzance Pier, 01736 752135.
Logan's Gully: Logan Rock is a rocking stone above Castle Treveen Point. Just to the west of the point, a series of ridges and gullies run out to the south-west, with gullies running north-west to south-east, depths ranging from 10-25m.
Primrose: Small 272 ton coaster Primrose struck Low Lee Ledges off Penlee Point on 23 August, 1906, when approaching Newlyn with a cargo of coal.
Runnelstone: Granite reef south of Gwennap Head, the Runnelstone used to break the surface until the 6094 steamship City of Westminster broke the top off on 3 November, 1923. Wreck can be found among others directly west of the rock.
Wolf Rock: Remote granite pinnacle, marked by a lighthouse, 8 miles south-west of Land's End. The lighthouse is surrounded by a shallow reef which then drops rapidly to 60 or 70m. Plenty of marine life on reef, but no wreckage. The many ships wrecked on Wolf Rock have all sunk in the surrounding deep water.
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The boiler of the Moorview beneath the Runnelstone
a RIB out of Penzance
and an anglerfish on the Runnelstone
taking a close look at plumose anemones in Logan's Gully
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Members of Mole Valley Sub Aqua Club from Leatherhead in Surrey regularly go to Weymouth at this time of year. In 2004, they used both their club RIB and charterboat Dive Time, an Offshore 125 skippered by Paul Pike, to take 20 divers on the trip.
Diving officer Mark Powell explains why Weymouth is a regular on the club's calendar: "Weymouth is very well set up for divers, with a selection of boats, accommodation, dive shops and dive sites. Despite diving there for years, there is always something new to see.
"The best dive of the trip in 2004 was the Aeolian Sky," says Mark. "The visibility can be bad during May but we had two dives with surprisingly good visibility for the time of year."
Those on Dive Time enjoyed soup with their lunch. "The RIB came over to Dive Time to see if there was any soup left. Afterwards the cox zoomed away towards Lulworth Cove without realising it was behind him, then stopped after a quarter of a mile to turn around, looking very sheepish," says Mark.
For a shallower dive, he enjoyed the bow of the Black Hawk: "There was excellent fish life, and as this is a nice shallow wreck you can do a long dive even as a second dive without running into decompression." he says.
On the other hand, he isn't at all enthusiastic about Lulworth Banks: "It's only of interest if you're looking for dinner, otherwise it's a very disappointing drift."
On a bank holiday, Weymouth can get pretty crowded. "Most of the charter boats seemed booked up," observes Mark. "There were often two or three other boats on each dive site. A kite festival on the beach attracted most of the general tourists to the beach and away from the harbour area."
Mole Valley Sub Aqua Club, www.mvsac.org.uk
Dive Time, www.divetime.info
Old Harbour Dive Centre, www.deepsea.co.uk/shops/ohdc
Aeolian Sky: 10,715 ton freighter. Sank on 3 November, 1979, 5 miles off St Albans Head, after colliding with the Anna Knuppel. Wreck now lies in 30m with starboard side rising as shallow as 18m. Plenty of fish, especially at the stern. Look out for Land Rover and truck chassis among spilled cargo.
Black Hawk: 7100 ton Liberty ship. Torpedoed by U772 on 29 December, 1944. Stern was blown off and sank in 47m off Portland. Forward section was taken under tow and beached in Worbarrow Bay on 30 December. It was subsequently salvaged in situ before being dispersed once to clear the site for navigation, then again to make way for the outfall from the Winfrith nuclear power station. General depth is 12m.
Lulworth Banks: Series of banks and low ledges running parallel to the shore between Lulworth and Weymouth. General depth is 15-20m.
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Swimming through the superstructure of the Aeolian Sky
Mole Valley get under way
pouting shoal on the Black Hawk
Land Rover chassis on the Aeolian Sky
waiting for a fill
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