Leaving central London at midday after a mega busy morning at work was such a relief. I finished packing and was ready to leave home at the exact moment that Les rang the door bell. I had already phoned him during the morning to advise that Pip, suffering from a bad cold, would not be travelling with us or joining the other members of Batsac and Sasac, Lisa and Jason, Rob, Wanda, Alan, Steve Greenham, Steve Gore and non diving Teresa, for what would turn out to be a great weekend. Pip also missed riding in Les’s new van, as we all know, only SERIOUS divers have vans. Les has a NEW VAN! The rest of us will just have to make do as best we can.
Les and his new van, which is an excellent vehicle, took us safely and efficiently to Fort Bovisand, Plymouth which was our base for the weekend.

A sound night’s sleep, although initially cold, prepared us for a leisurely breakfast and first briefing about the days dives. Kit preparation and then assembly at the quayside, only 150 metres away, saw all on board the RIB Dive Eclipse. A 20 minute ride over flat seas and we were above our first dive of the day, HMS Scylla. A final briefing and buddy pairs were away on our latest adventure.

Sitting upright on the seabed with a very slight list to starboard at 26 metre depth, tide dependant, HMS Scylla is a purpose sunk shipwreck/artificial reef. Holes had been cut into her sides to allow easy access and exit from all parts of her. I enjoyed my dive with Les on the Scylla. It was different: even from the dives I have completed on other purposely sunk ships. This morning’s dive enjoyed 10 metres of visibility and 15 degrees warmth. As always, everyone has their own opinion and I will leave you to form your own, when you make this dive.

All divers were collected safely with the journey back to base cox’n’d by Teresa, who made a superb job of it. In fact, she carried out a good proportion of the boat work during the weekend, which must have been great practise for the boat driving course she is currently undertaking.

Our return to harbour and lunch preceded another boat ride for our afternoon dive to almost the same place. The Scylla and James Eagan Layne lie on the same heading approximately 200 metres from each other. The same buddy pairs went into the water; this time on what must be everyone’s idea of a shipwreck. The JEL sits upright at a similar depth to the Scylla. The bow section is still mostly complete and whole and presents itself as a big ship. Swimming along either side does not detract from this impression. Even where the plates have fallen from the ships framework, and you can swim between, it’s still a big ship. Although part salvaged soon after the she sunk, some of the recognisable cargo is still in situ.
I’m sure one could repeatedly dive on this ship and never get tired of it. All of our divers’ opinions appeared to be similar of the JEL. We had been privileged to make such a dive!

On Saturday evening most of our party drove into Plymouth for an early meal at a curry house. It was an easy, friendly, casually stylish affair with constant chatter on a variety of subjects, jokes and laughter. Surely the epitome of the aspired social side of club membership. A detour on our return via a local supermarket to buy ice cream and fireworks preceded the revelation of two pyhro maniacs, Les and Rob amongst our numbers. Their take over of the fireworks and improvisation of their use was noted by their appreciative audience. Unfortunately it could not last for ever and eventually sleep called to all. 

A nights rest and an earlier start than on Saturday saw a subdued party collected for breakfast. The dive plan for the previous day was repeated, first the Scylla; a return to base for a short break then back to the JEL. 

The boat ride out to the Scylla was smooth even though there was more surface water movement than the previous day. Once again a good dive with Les and me exploring much of the Scylla including the engine room in the lower part of the ship. Other pairs reported similarly satisfying dives. Again Teresa impressed us all with her boat driving skills on the journey back to Fort Bovisand.