Swanage Megatrip

Well it was sunny and the traffic was horrific. Yes, that time of year again - the Swanage megatrip weekend.

Due to some last minute drop-outs the megatrip ended up rather smaller than in previous years with 14 divers. Still, that meant no clambering over the shore or cursing whilst loading the RIB so few were complaining.

It was an early start to get a place on the pier: leaving plenty of time for an egg sandwich. The first dive with BigDinghy was a non-drifty drift around the headland. Excellent for those who like their wildlife in the weed and mud variety...

Although the first dive was infinitely forgettable it was more than made up for by the afternoon on the Betsy Anna. For those that found the wreck that is.

Due to the number of boats on site the skippers decided just to use just one shotline. Fine, except when a diver from one of the other boats decided it would be a good idea to inflate the shot’s lifting bag with pairs still descending.

A disappearing line when in 20 odd metres is a very disconcerting experience! Top marks go to Ellie who managed to take a bearing on the angle of the shotline before it vanished. The less quick thinkers had an ‘interesting’ dive on a flat sandy bottom.

But those who found the wreck reported a riot of fish, enormous crabs and life of every variety. Judging by the rust on Phil’s and Katherine’s suits there were plenty of places to wriggle through!

Whilst Dee bravely accompanied Janos on a dusk dive on the Kyarra, attention was turned to something far more serious - food. Non-diver Sally excelled herself by preparing an amazing barbecue - for both the carnivores and veggies. And many thanks for a most excellent birthday cake!

With some heads a trifle worse for wear in the morning a nice soothing start was called for. Unfortunately a swell had blown up over night and the water was distinctly choppy. For some having a full breakfast proved a mistake.

Down on the wreck itself - the trawler in the bay - the conditions were less that perfect. Swell in the shallower areas, a strong current running around the port side and about a metre’s visibility made for reasonably challenging conditions.

But the sun came out in the surface interval and the sea flattened to set-up far better conditions for the afternoon. The final dive on the Kyarra was the most memorable of the weekend - maybe the early season.

Descending quickly down the shotline in excellent visibility the Kyarra loomed into view. Although the number of dive boats on the surface was unpromising, the sheer size of the wreck meant that the only time we saw other divers was at the shotline.

Fish were everywhere and dropping off the side of the wreck we saw enormous wrasse and cod hiding in various holes. As the second dive of the day we unfortunately only had around 30 minutes on the wreck - not nearly enough time.

Back on the boat the overwhelming consensus was that in such perfect underwater conditions an hour would have been about right. Tricky was not the only one looking with renewed interest at Janos’ twin 12s on the way back to shore....

Many thanks to Tricky for organizing the weekend, to Ellie for marshalling excellently and to Sally for her slap-up BBQ on the Saturday night. Thanks also to everyone else on the trip: Janos, Phil, Kathy, Paul, Tony, Dan, Matthew, Dee, Katherine, Julie and Claire.