My Dives

I had always wanted to have a go at scuba diving from watching Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt was an American action adventure television series that aired from 1958 to 1961 which we used to watch on a black and white TV each Saturday afternoon after we had spent our pocket money on pop and sweets we would settle down for the underwater adventures of an ex-navy frogman. Played by Lloyd Bridges.

My first bite of the cherry was in Corfu on a shallow dive, no more than 5m I was hooked. When I returned to the UK I joined the local dive club that met each Thursday evening for training at what is now SLL swimming pool, Stevenage. The first thing was to pass the swimming test, then the snorkel test and finally how to use an aqualung.

My first open water dive was in an old claypit and then the old Airman lake by Henlow camp used as a rubbish tip for many years by the RAF. My first sea dive was on the James Egan Lane which became one of my favorite wrecks to dive. Within no time I was organising weekends or a weeks away staying at Weymouth or Bovisand. It was built as a result of the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, of 1860 located on the entrance of Plymouth Sound.

Fort Bovisand was used during WWII for defence of Plymouth Sound. In 1942 the remaining four 12-pounders were replaced by two twin 6-pounders, to combat E-boats. At his time a three-storey observation tower was built to direct the fire. Then in 1943 a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun was installed.

On the dissolution of coast artillery in 1956 the Ministry of Defence abandoned the fort. In 1970 a lease was granted and the old fort was converted into a national commercial diving school and scuba diving centre.

The photo below shows the old gun ports which were converted into sleeping quarters. Above you can see the old restaurant and bar. There were times when the waves would reach upto the gun ports so no diving on those days.

The main wreck to dive from Bovisand was the James Egan Layne

The links will take you to a small selection of my dives.

The wrecks listed are just a small sample of the wrecks I have dived as a Member of the Stevenage Sub Aqua Club (SAA) the photos below are just a small selection from the club dives.