Plymouth 2004
12 April 2004
Trip report by Morgan Peat
First published in London Diver, May/June 2004
My first diving trip of the year was, as is traditional, an Easter Weekend in Plymouth. We had the benefit of both Friday and Monday off work to make a long weekend and get some good diving in, prior to the season 'proper'.
This kicked off in style on Friday morning with a trip to HMS Scylla, a new 'artificial reef' sunk in Whitsand Bay. You will probably have heard of her, as her scuttling was televised two weeks previously on BBC News. She lies within spitting distance of the James Eagan Layne in about 20 metres, with a slight starboard tilt. Huge holes have been cut all down her sides to allow the slightly more foolhardy to neb around inside.
We were joined at the Scylla on Friday by about two-thirds of South-East England's diving community. TJ helpfully suggested giving a unique signal to the boat upon surfacing, so that we would not mistakenly pick up other divers. Unfortunately, several other boats had the same idea, and the same signal. If we had a little less selectivity in our pickups I'm sure that, after picking up our twentieth pair of divers, we would have noticed something odd.
Saturday morning brought a repeat trip to Scylla, so there must have been something interesting there. There were less divers (we could see them all on the Eagan Layne), but still not much aquatic life. I think we can all now claim to have 'done' the Scylla, as no one seemed particularly keen to dive there again the next day.
Sunday saw us speeding out to the Eddystone Lighthouse. We had a beautiful, still, clear day with sea like a millpond. The outward journey was somewhat better than the dive, however, with the sort of temperature and viz that you would expect swimming in chocolate milkshake. A few of us left the RIB to visit the Eddystone itself and clamber about the rock. This was interesting for a few minutes, and I'm glad that those in the RIB decided to pick us up… Eventually.
Other diving during the weekend included such Bovi standards as Hillsea Point, the Mewstone and the Breakwater (both inside and out). The Mountbatten Centre once again served as our base, providing welcome refreshment from its first-floor bar.
Our evening entertainment only involved one trip across to Plymouth Old Town. For anyone interested, I can confirm that the proprietor of Platters has not significantly increased in size, and that his syrup still (just about) fits. Our pre-Platters drink was rather odd, as a local TV presenter (quite famous in 'those parts', apparently) walked into the pub, complete with full complement of camera and soundmen, producers and assistants. Tobias and Alex may have had their fifteen minutes of fame, being filmed having their girths measured to see who is the largest. Alex made friends by asking, "Is he local? He looks like it", to an extremely local-looking regular.
After such a large meal of fish n' chips, a few of us decided to take a stroll around the marina to wear off dinner. This proved slightly longer than expected, and made us miss the ferry; but provided an interesting look into other parts of Plymouth. Highly recommended. [unlike relying on the boy Peat for navigation, which is most definitely NOT to be recommended… Ed]
All in all, a very good trip; the short break seemed much longer than it was. We were very lucky with the weather, although the water was slightly cold. We even saw a (kind of) celebrity: Louise Trewhatshername (from DIVER magazine) was based out of Mountbatten too.
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Labels: photos, plymouth, trip report
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