Wraybsury go to Weymouth

The cars are loaded, we’re ready to go and the sun is even shining!  Arriving at Weymouth we search for Tango – as the name suggests its bright orange and can’t be missed.   Once everyone arrives the boat is loaded skipper Phil goes through the rules and we are ready for the off.  The sea is deceptively calm and we may not have the need of all the sea-sickness tablets, Boots the chemist’s profits go up whenever we go out as Aunty Les buys all the Kwells available!  On leaving the harbour a couple of Dolphins came to play in our wake before shooting off into the bay.  A fairly long trip out gave those of us who can’t handle an early morning the chance to catch up on some sleep (that will be Ruth then).

We arrive at the first dive site, one I have wanted to do for a while, the M2.  There are some wonderful films of the M2 before she sank and it is worthwhile watching these before you go as it gives you a feel for the wreck. The wreck itself is intact and navigation is not a problem.

Down we go and as I reached 25m I was looking forward to seeing the majestic wreck appear before me, alas no this was not to be, my first sight was Paul seemingly having some kind of fit, the worried look of his buddy Mark rapidly turned into fits of laughter as he realised he was not having a fit but needed his dry suit hose connecting! Moral of the day – REMEMBER TO CONNECT YOUR DRY SUIT HOSE!

 

The day we did the dive the viz was very good and the dive was a complete pleasure, the sea had an amazing blue colour to it and there was plenty to look at.  Phil being Phil was trying to catch every lobster we saw.  The biggest one was obviously used to divers trying to catch it as it had a very good hiding place in the compressed air tubes that extend from the hanger.  We swam around the whole wreck which is still intact at the moment and the dive was only marginally spoilt by someone’s dive computer beeping the 30m warning, oh yes that was Ruth…again! Returning to the top of the wreck we dropped into the conning tower where there was lots of wildlife.  The dive seemed to end much quicker than I wanted it to and from that depth a slow ascent is in order making sure to follow your dive computers safety stops.

On surfacing the nice blue sky had disappeared and clouds had gathered. The trip cross the bay gave time for a snack for those who could eat; those who couldn’t have the opportunity to reach for more sea sick pills!

The second dive was a drift dive over Lulworth bay to catch as any scallops as possible for Richard’s dinner.  Again I was buddying Phil, who is a bit manic when it comes to collecting scallops, but unfortunately for us Richard and Yvonne had already been there and instead of scallops there were just holes in the sand where they used to be!  Unexpectedly we passed over the wreck of the British Adventurer where I found myself trying to travel backwards through the drift to watch the huge number of fish hanging around there.

Back to the harbour and the sooner the boat is empty the sooner we can get into the pub for the après-dive beer, with this in mind a human conveyor belt gets all the kit off the boat and soon the dockside looks like a bizarre car boot sale selling dive kit and numerous bags of scallops.

Luckily the pub is next to the fish and chip shop so we sit on the dock pondering the days dive, beers in hand and waiting for the fish and chips to be ready.  A peaceful end to the day, eating and drinking, only to be ruined by a shout “who ordered the two faggots?” Phil jumps up “oh that’s me!” ... and he wonders why we worry about him!

The Chamber

The latest location to witness the crazies from Wraysbury was the The Diver Clinic in Reading!!

After a little detour round Reading......(Its not the easiest place to find!) we arrived at the Clinic, to be greeted by Spencer and his colleague Tim. If only they realised what they where letting themselves in for.

After the introductions including Paul's shocking admission that he only likes diving because of the rubber, Spencer began an interesting and informative lecture/discussion on DCI. This included the signs and symptoms, treatment , accident figures( there aren't that many !) and some cracking stories about the chamber and its visitors.(Don't worry no names were mentioned)

We then ventured to the Chamber.........after changing into our free t-shirts and jogging bottoms. Due to the nature of the chamber no out side clothing can be worn inside the tube.

 Due to the size of the chamber we split into two groups, so Duncan ,Yvonne,Clive, Paul and Arthur went in first.

The dives were to be to 7 metres for approx 20 minutes, the one the everyone noticed was how quickly you had to start equalizing , almost the moment we left the surface. Once moving the real fun began when you start breathing Heli-Ox(a combination of Helium and Oxygen). Lots of squeaky voices and giggling. Thanks to technology those outside the chamber can hear what's going on inside......and the windows give you an interesting view inside.....

This all made for an interesting experience........Then it was the second groups turn, Mark, Chantelle, Louise and Simon ventured into the tube. Twenty minutes and loads of giggles later they emerged.

An enjoyable and fact filled evening that gave us all an insight into how the chamber runs and how best to avoid going there in the first place.

We would like to thank the staff at the Diver Clinic for their time and patience with our motley crew, and for making such a serious subject good fun.

Nemo 33- The Belgium Adventure

Preparing for any kind of dive expedition takes meticulous planning, we had Paul do all the arrangements for us– enough said!  The night before saw everybody gathering kit and packing, the list was exhaustive, swim suit, towel, mask, qualification cards, passport and ticket, yes it’s that simple and no massive kit bags are required. 

Arriving at St. Pancras in the early morning found a quick coffee and breakfast to be in order. At this point we discovered the first flaw to our plan, no bacon sandwiches  - come back Arthur, all is forgiven!

The journey in itself was unremarkable, Mark read his kindle, Richard and Neo Slept, Yvonne and Chantelle nattered, Ruth laughed and Paul bounced around like a kid with ADHD!

Once in Brussels we were guided by Yvonne and seasoned traveller Neo, however the trams were nowhere to be found and taxis were only conspicuous by their absence. Our hero Paul eventually leapt in to save the day, taking his  life in his hands by jumping into the road to stop an oncoming taxi. It was then our turn and we all diced with death and Belgian traffic police -  seven people squeezing into six seats with a taxi driver who had no idea of where we were going. 

The front of house staff at Nemo do little to help you or explain what to do or where to go, but once the bell rang and we headed to the pool the support staff there were much better at explaining what do, in Italian, French and English! All the kit is ready for you to use, but check carefully what you pick up as some of the kit is fairly worn and getting a bit rough round the edges.  All of our tanks ranged from 140 – 160 bar so for any new divers a reminder to keep a check on the air is important.

Finally we get to dive, well after ten minutes of snorkelling!  Don’t expect to see anything exciting in the water, there is no lifeboat and certainly no fish, but you can have fun waving at people in the restaurant whose windows look into the pool.  After playing at ten metres for a while we headed towards the 33 metre tunnel.   There are some amazing sights to be seen in diving and looking down the 33 metre tube will never be in the top ten for divers who have been there and done that, however for people who have never dived in blue water or past 15 metres or so it will be number one.  At first it just looks dark and dim but as your eyes adjust you can see the bottom and can’t wait to get down there.  A downside, can I think of one, oh yeah, lots of dive computers means lots of beeping it may not be you, but it could be. Keep an eye on your computer and make sure you know what you are looking at, that no deco time runs out faster than you think.  When you are coming up it is easy to go too fast as you get lifted by the bubbles of people below you, there is a ladder on the wall so when you get to your deep stop it is really easy to be safe and keep at the right depth.  There are three ‘caves’ to explore.  But unlike the unfortunate divers in ‘Sanctum’ you will have no difficulty finding your way out the amazingly room shaped caves!  Overall this is a great venue for training and gaining experience.  It gives new divers the chance to experience deep water in a warm and clear environment.  More experienced divers can practise skills or play with cameras.  For me as a fairly inexperienced diver to have the likes of Mark, Richard and Yvonne around to keep an eye on things and to share good practise was invaluable. 

There are certain rituals in diving, some are for safety like checking your o rings, but the best ones are for fun like the after dive beer and where better to find a nice beer than Belgium?  A short and cheap tram ride gets you in the city centre of Brussels where there are a multitude of bars and restaurants and we spent a very pleasant afternoon eating, drinking and putting the world to rights before realising that we had to hit the chocolate shops for the various wives, husbands, children and significant others that we had left behind.  A little side note for Paul’s better half Johanne – yes, Paul really was in Belgium, and yes I think you should have had a much better present than a box of chocolates!

There are various tales from the day which will go down in Wraysbury legends, Chantelle desperately needing the loo, but with a lack of 30 cents giving the Belgian toilet attendant a ‘souvenir’ £2 coin.  Or indeed Neos effort to educate us in the way of culture by wanting to take us to the Museum of Famous Belgian People, if you know who they are answers on a postcard to . . . .

This was my first outing with the Wraysbury crew and all I can say is “Oh my god that was so much fun.  Where are we going next?..... When are we going ? ”