The Pimp, Scallops & Breeze
(by
Kirsten Lea)
Following
our training weekend in Weymouth I now feel my initiation into the sport of
diving is complete and I sit here writing this with a smile on my face
remembering the many “events” of the trip.
The build up started the week before; making sure I had all the equipment I would need; filled tanks etc, etc. With the number of vehicles heading south I rashly assumed that it would be easy to hitch a lift. Wrong! Unless assisted by a trailer all dive cars have only two seats. So Friday lunchtime found me helping Ian load his trailer with an unbelievable amount of kit. We collected Diane at about 1600 and the ensemble was complete, man, white Mercedes, trailer and two blondes………
Our
journey south was long and arduous due to the traffic, doubly so for Ian forced
to entertain myself & Diane! By
21:00 we were tired, hungry, still some distance from Weymouth and just outside
a very inviting country pub. Walking
in we wondered what the locals might think of our trio; Ian the Pimp was born!
A swift half and a crackling mobile call established that we still had
time to meet the rest of the Bedsac team at the Smugglers’ for dinner and we
were on the road again.On
route we tried calling ahead to order our food, but were defeated by the quality
of mobile coverage in Dorset. Following
this we picked up the Pimp theme, discussing services, rates (up to 50p?),
Ian’s cut and much more… Until
we were interrupted by Ian’s hands-free phone telling us that the recording
would finish in ten seconds. Definitely
an “Oh My God” moment. Our
whole conversation had been recorded on Tim’s answer-phone.
On arrival at the Smugglers’ we took the only action we could.
Head straight for Tim & get his phone.
The entertainment had arrived…
Our
accommodation was in a local caravan park, organised with military precision by
Tim - the height of luxury, given the absence of kids & snoring partners!
Tango was much bigger than I expected, and the Rib much smaller. We created quite a spectacle in the harbour loading the boats, a real team effort. I started to appreciate the “privilege” of my position on board the Rib – part of the trainee initiation I presume. Despite this I really enjoyed the ride; fun, fast, bumpy and we all had a chance drive. I was a little nervous at the prospect of diving so far off-shore, but my Buddy for the day was Kevin Hopton, so my nerves were minimized. The tension level increased when we were intercepted by the Coast Guard on route to our planned wreck site – out of bounds due to army exercises, including live firing from the cliff top!
Finally on site we started our dive.
Kevin left the boat smoothly, like a seal.
I got my fins stuck under gear in the bottom of the boat and hit the
water like an octopus. We were
diving on “The Great British Inventor” and I led down the rope without
getting us lost, which I was very pleased with.
Exploring the wreck was great fun with Kevin pointing out many
interesting details, the names of which I have now forgotten!
I got really excited when I found patches of bright red coral on the
ironwork. Returning to the boat I
performed my “beached whale” impression.
For lunch we headed back in-shore to Lulworth Cove and the beautiful
views of Durdle Door.
For
the afternoon a drift dive had been planned, apparently some of the hard-boat
divers had prepared fish bait. The current was not strong, but enough to push us along.
After a few minutes at the bottom the scallops lifted, masses dancing up
and surrounding us, a very special moment in my dive experiences.
Sunday
morning did not start well. Quite apart from the heavy rain, I had a recollection of a
“marriage conversation” that I really should not have had with someone about
to take his vows… sorry, Tim.
Tango
was waiting for us and I prayed for Kevin to be my buddy again because it was
rough and getting rougher. We moved on from the “will-we or won’t we?” stage to
“we could couldn’t we?” and started loading the boat.
Even the Coast Guard towing another dive boat back to harbour did not
dent our resolve. We cast off,
worried but “up-for-it” and wearing our masks to keep out the rain &
spray. The full force of the storm
hit us the harbour entrance; it could have been a scene from “A Perfect
Storm”. There were no dissenters
when it was suggested we return to harbour.