2005: PLYMOUTH AND SWANAGE
It wasn’t until we'd paid several deposits that Dan and I realised we'd managed to book ourselves on three consecutive dive trips. Since the first two were Plymouth and Swanage, we decided to give the tent an airing and go for a holiday.
In Plymouth we explored the James Eagan Layne and the purposely-sunk Scylla. I was having problems with my ears on the JEL so unfortunately we didn’t explore it as much as we should. The Scylla was more successful, and it was quite interesting seeing the sea life slowly colonise it and claim it as their own. Another buddy pair in our group came across a John Dory but all we found were the webcams that broadcast live footage into the nearby National Marine Aquarium (well worth a visit). And yes, we waved.
We stayed on in Plymouth after everyone else had upped and gone back to work, and dived an amazing site called Fairyland. The skipper dropped the shot in and told us to keep going until we hit the seabed, otherwise we’d miss it. Sure enough, we followed the line down, got to the top of a pinnacle at 12m and then descended down the side to 24m. This is a wonderfully scenic dive with brightly coloured wrasse all around and the rocks covered in pink and orange jewel anemones.
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The rain drove us out of Devon and we met up with the early arrivals in Swanage. We then spent the next day and a half under the pier. At an average depth of 3m a cylinder of air can last rather a long time, which is a good job because there is plenty to see. In fact, we met our first British cuttlefish which was very exciting. He didn’t take too kindly to Dan much as he went into his 'attack' mode whenever he came too close, but he didn’t seem to mind me bobbing around in the water next to him. We dived the Kyarra twice, and it was even more wonderful than I remembered from last year. It's conger city down there, and wall-to-wall bib. The congers are such a fabulous blue colour in the water, and eyes are peering out at you from every nook and cranny. Tompot blennies were perched around everywhere, and we even saw a blenny pounce on a tiny crab that had scampered out of it’s hiding place. Oh dear! I still feel sorry for that poor little crab. The Betsy Anna and the Fleur de Lys were the other two wrecks we dived. The Fleur de Lys was packed with life - a big difference from the year before. And the Betsy Anna has to be one of my favourite wrecks - it is a little shallower than the Kyarra so you notice a bit more sunlight getting down there. Silver bib of all sizes are everywhere, and congers galore. I found one hiding under some wreckage on the seabed - I could see it’s tail and body but not it's head. I positioned myself next to it so I could judge the size, and I'm sure it was longer than me! Lobsters and crabs hid in every crevice as well. |
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We had a great time - luckily the two-night stop in the Swanage B&B meant we managed to dry some of our camping stuff out! Thanks to Graham and Tony for organising the trips - can’t wait for the next time!
LB