2011-03-12: Stoney Cove

I was taken by Paul Anderson to Stoney Cove today for sessions OD3 and OD4.

We had a really enjoyable day, though Paul feared I now think him a fibber.

We had agreed a start at 8:30, accepting we would have to walk from the top car park; Paul made a point of mentioning the need to get there about 6:00 to get onto the bottom car park. However, he was more spooked than amazed to not only get a spot on the bottom car park, but to note there were about 20 more spaces there. Fib number one.

Paul had said there would be good visibility because there would not be much algae yet. Wrong - the water was green, and previous divers had acted like bulldozers at the bottom. Fib number two. Oh, well, at least I have logged a low-viz dive!

Dive #003

After the usual briefing and kitting up we jumped in at the bus stop, sorted ourselves out at the surface and descended; we had agreed that we had make-believe coral below us so would hover clear of the bottom. I hovered well.

The mask clearing and DV retrieval went well also. The assisted ascents, both donor and recipient, were to a particularly high standard.

We then went down the wall towards the 22m bottom. I found he had some difficulty clearing one of his ears, but took my time and succeeded. We found the anchor chain and followed that to Stanegarth, where I, after looking around the bow, went through the passageway behind the wheelhouse. Penetration!

A gas-check showed I was at 100 bar so we went to the stern, agreed OK, and ascended the shotline. I did over-shoot the 6m stop, but recovered.

Dive #004

During the two-hour interval the sunshine Paul had specifically ordered arrived; it was a really pleasant spring day.

We talked through a dry run of CBL, kitted up and again jumped in from the bus stop. The lift was indeed very well controlled. I, as usual, found the towing strenuous.

We again went down the wall to find Stanegarth's chain. Wow, the visibility was dire because the water was thick with silt. Having found it. we went along it. I did float up a bit at one stage, but recovered. At Stanegarth we went into the engine room and out at the stern, where again I had 100 bar. Up the shotline we went, with no over-shooting.