PART1

Good morning it is just before 7:00am on Bank holiday Friday April 2010

The story so far........

After leaving Ilfracombe at around 6:00pm last night with the car packed to the roof and the club RIB hitched up behind we started the long trek to Penzance. Now due to the slightly late start to the schedule we feared we might be putting the tent up in the dark.

As the journey progressed we had problems with the state of the art entertainment system in the car. It seems like we could have heat and no music or slight heat and one speaker working (sadly this was the rear one buried beneath all the kit) or the final choice of no heat and music. Obviously being divers we settled for no music, warm feet and stimulating conversation.

Ten Miles down the road all tall stories told we decided to alternate between heat for ten mins then a couple of songs then more heat. Apart from a short stop for people refuelling (we do have swaps if anyone is collecting McD's Monopoly tokens)the rest of the drive down was uneventful. We pulled into the campsite and started to look for somewhere to park. Some dodgy reversing later we abandoned the Rib in a space (sort of).  After finding the tents/vans of other club members we proceeded to drive up and down the campsite looking for the nearest pitch with a hook up. The time is now 10.30pm and we proceeded to pitch the tent with the help of the only club member who wasn't in hiding under the duvet already (thanks for the cupper Matt). Tent up, lights on and the media center up running we were ready for the off  and after a quick trip to the car for the fan heater we settled down for the night. We know how to do this camping thing, its not so bad.

Back to this morning well apart from the slight chill in the air and the never ending rain, so far so good. The DO has just driven off to look at the local conditions but due to the wind I fear that we may not get any diving in today. So I will just do a quick google search for local public houses and points of interest more to follow later ...............Stu.

PART 2. 

After a short trip to the petrol station for fuel for the Rib (I've never put so much petrol in anything in one go before)we joined the rest of the club at Penzance car park. Well I say car park they were all actually in the cafe eager to get going?

It turned out to be eager-ish and we had time to join them for a 2nd brekkie of the day. Then the frantic panic that is usually seen at these events known as "kitting up" began. I think that most people's kit went together smoothly apart from a certain someone who had a leak on his twinset so only had one full tank.

Then we put the boat in and onto the rib we went, the D.O. acting as skipper and Piers as crew.

 As we rounded the harbour and headed out towards the Primrose for a nice little bimble we realised that overnight someone had put speed bumps in the sea and not only that but they were wet!

After just a few minutes we seemed to be taking rather a lot of water over the bow and we were all soaked but never mind we were nearly there and as we approached our dive site we decided to just use the shot that was nearby on the inner ledges, as the conditions were gradually worsening.

All the divers managed to get away even though this early on in the season I am sure we all looked like a bunch of numptys as we kitted up on the rib with fins and masks floating all over the place. With the swell almost coming into the boat it was almost a case of fin out rather than roll off. But once away all onboard seemed to have a good dive with the vis being 4m plus most of the time and some people reporting as good as 10m during parts of the dive with the water a very inviting bluey/green colour.

As we all surfaced and started going through the ritual of getting back onto the rib it became apparent that the conditions were starting to worsen with an increase in the wind speed. So it was decided that once back in Penzance we would recover the Rib straight away and return to the camp site for an afternoon kip!

So once again here we are sat huddled in the tent with the weather alternating between hail, rain and what seems to be quite nice sunshine. More to follow.........................Stu 

 PART3

The afternoon kip was followed by a very nice meal in the bar at the campsite accompanied by a beverage or two. This was then followed by an interesting night of wind, rain and hail and in the interest of keeping moisture away from the media center the heater was deployed. The plan is to meet at Penzanze car park at 7 to decide what to do. There is very little movement so far this morning with most of the tents being occupied by snoring people. The time is 6.54am  and only a handful of people have left for Penzance so far. Yours truly has taken the sensible option and looked online at the weather forecast and knows that there is no need to rush as the forecast has changed with the wind now veering not backing, so the North Coast looks out but maybe the South Coast later on looks like a good plan..........To be  continued Stu

PART 4

With everyone keen and ready to go, (well Nicola didn't sleep well due to Mat dropping the air bed on the BBQ the night before), we launched the RIB in hope of better sea conditions. It was 09.30am and four pairs of divers with Martin and Bev in charge headed back out to the Primrose. The sea wasn't a lot better with a large rolling swell but we arrived safe and sound and all got in to the water. Of course the DO was the only one to find the wreck due to his superior navigation skills,(or sheer luck!!) but Matt had a great dive and saw a octopus. I dived with Dave Quinn, who's computer unfortunately failed within 2 mins, (lucky he won a new one in the xmas raffle, don't forget to buy your tickets for next year). Vis was about 3-4 meters, but at 8 degrees after 20 mins it was time to surface.

The next wave of divers were novices and they went close inshore for a quick bimble, unfortunately the sea conditions were not kind to them and there were varying levels of success, but all learned something.

With the tide dropping it was decided to recover the RIB and head back to the campsite for tea and biscuits, which is where we are now. The weather for tomorrow looks better and the the bar this evening looks great. Leigh.

News extra

It has come to the attention of the communication centre team that due to other members of Ilfsac being envious of the standard of our set up some of them snuck off to the shops and have been out and brought heaters!

PART 5

Well we have reached day three a few people have fallen by the wayside, Nicola is not at all well and spent most of the night being very friendly with the toilet but we have new arrivals of Racheal and her family so we awake to a better day. The wind has come round, the sun is out and the sea is flat. First wave of divers off to the Alice Marie at 08.30. Conditions are great, except for the vis, in places I wouldn't have seen this keyboard in front of me! I dived with Stu and as is tradition we lost each other but stumbled on each other again and the shot line, so cut we our losses and up we came. The DO, showing yesterdays navigation was sheer luck, missed the shot on his return. Treasure was found by Ricky and he has spent the rest of the day waving a several year old marigold at us!

Second dive was the Conqueror and what a difference, 4 meters vis, a great wreck. Racheal, Lorraine and Kelly all had great dives, so we returned with the next wave. We went back to the slip about 17.30, definitely a good days diving. Tomorrow the weather doesn't look too good but we will see. Leigh

NEWBIE'S REPORT

FIrst time in the sea, first time off the rib, only one word seems quite fitting ;"nerve racking" ! It's a feat to convince yourself to stride of a sturdy platform when you know how much weight you're carrying, but it's a whole lot different rolling off the back of a small rocking boat.

Everyone was so helpful and I soon found myself descending the shot line. I guess it would seem trivial to all the experienced divers but I was so amazed at the life I saw thriving on the wreck. Simple stuff like starfish didn't cease to amaze me. 

I suddenly discovered my dire need for ankle weights when I was hanging upside down from the wreck which I have to say is not my favourite past time! Luckily I found some makeshift ankle weights in the form of Leigh during my safety decompression stop!

Overall it was an amazing experience and I loved getting to know everyone. Racheal Ilfsacs youngest diving member.

 D.O’s Easter diving report

In time honored tradition club members made the annual pilgrimage to Penzance to kick off the dive season; this was despite the horrendous weather fronts looming over the Lands End peninsula. We had a few members drop out due to the expected gloomy weather fronts but the majority of the list made it safely down to Penzance. We were all gutted for Paul, Lynz and Ellie who made it all the way down where the gear box of their camper died and they had to be recovered back to N.Devon    

It was decided that early on Friday we would assess the weather to see if we were diving north coast, Lizard or Penzance due to the unfathomable wind variations. We started the day with a fry up in Sullivan’s and commenced diving on the reef near to the Primrose and managed to get everyone who wanted to dive in the water before an early finish due to guess what?  The weather was blowing in and picking the sea up.
In the evening we retired to Cardinney for a few beers and tales of great viz, mermaids, dolphins and whales….well 3 metres of viz which wasn’t bad considering and a few wrasse; importantly we all got wet and dived.  

Saturday arrived with the same early morning weather conference in Leigh and Stuarts tent. Thanks to the lads with their internet connections for accurate weather updates it really helped, along with Rick’s BSAC flag and a piece of damp seaweed? This time the wind was swinging round to the north west was it backing or veering? I can’t remember it changed so many times. Chris and Rick organized the day and again we managed a couple of waves and everyone went diving.
Despite a drifting shot I had a cracking dive with an excellent buddy(thanks Mick) and managed to get to the Primrose.
Martin Stone and Bev came down to crew the boat, it was really appreciated and it was good to see them and Roger and Tracey who popped in on their tour of the southwest or was it an extension to the Scottish tour? 

Diver of the day, this has to be Hayley who despite feeding the fish twice whilst kitting up carried on into the water for a dive before surfacing to feed the fish once more!
 
Sunday: the best weather of the Bank Holiday, wind now North Westerly so decided on a run to the Alice to give everyone a treat after some in house child care arrangements for little Oliver (thanks to Kelly the clubs very own registered child minder).
Hmmm! back to the Primrose I think, less than ½ a metre of viz. With the swell now gone the second dive was to the Conqueror with novices Lorraine and Racheal having successful and enjoyable dives. With a good 4 metres of viz it was decided to get another wave onto the same site. 

Monday: again the forecast was not good and with a dropping tide against a strong South Westerly it was decided to call it a day finishing on a high from Sunday.

Overall the weekend was a great success, despite some challenging weather we managed over 40 dives, and a huge thanks goes to all the members who made the effort to get down for the Bank Holiday  as that is what makes these trips a success.
N.B thanks also go to Leigh and Stuart for towing the RIB and all who crewed the boat.

Having caught up with Facebook I understand that there were also club members visiting Brixham to dive on Sunday, making the most of the best of the weekend weather. I am looking forward to catching up on the details.

Critter spot of the weekend….
whilst Yvonne was diving with Matt she spotted an octopus
(fist sized) on the Primrose - nice one!