London Hellfins Scuba Diving Club - Littlehampton August 2006

So, the three of us sign up for one of Jack Ingle's south coast expeditions. The aim is 3 days of diving on the best of our mid-channel wrecks. Better put that trimix training to good use!

The trip was due to start on Wednesday, but the gods decided otherwise. With a force 5-7 blowing, day 1 was cancelled - so I stayed at work and saved some holiday. Ho-hum!

Travelled down to Littlehampton on the Wednesday night to the B&B, which was some 50 metres from the boatyard and our vessel of exploration - Voyager http://www.divedefiant.co.uk/

Thursday morning finds Helen, Ed and I at breakfast with 2 more divers who are part of the trip. One large and hearty breakfast later (my, it really was large), we're waddling over the road and getting kit on board and ready for a very convivial 9.30 am start.

The plan is to go out to the Moldavia (more about her later), a 26 mile trip each way. Within half an hour, it's apparent that the northerly is still force 5, so we head for the "Duke" instead ("as it's only 16 miles out").

By the time we get to the site, a fair few divers have been "feeding the fishes". Helen's too ill to dive and I abort the dive to look after her ("one out, all out" being the team motto - along with "mine's a stella"). None the less, just over an hour later 11 divers surface with tales of 15 - 20 metre visibility. Helen's a bit upset, but there's always another day.

Ask Ed what the Duke is like (or alternatively watch Sea Detectives). The trip back to Littlehampton is "BOUNCY" to say the least. The forecast is much better.

We wake on Friday to a gentle force 2-3. Once again, the plan is to dive the Moldavia and this time the trip out is very gentle, with hardly any swell and glorious sunshine.

"The Moldavia was a 9505-ton P&O liner, which became an armed merchant cruiser in the WW1. A U-Boat sank her in 1918, captained by Ober-Leutenant Lohs.

Lohs is said to have concealed his periscope inside or beside a floating wooden soapbox tied to the conning tower. Lookouts on the British ships in the convoy are said to have failed to note that the box was moving against the tide until too late.

Don't believe it. Lohs chased the convoy flat out on the surface, but he dived before being spotted. The Moldavia, carrying 907 American troops, then zigzagged back across UB57's bow and Lohs fired one torpedo at her from a bow tube while at periscope depth."

Arriving on site, we kit up and Helen and I are the last in the water, with Jack waiting for us at 40 metres, checking all the buddy teams are ok.

And then we're off and heading towards the bow. She lies at 49 metres and we happily swim through, over and around the wreck, which is covered with ling, pollock and conger. Portholes cover the wreck; we spot the 6 inch guns and there's even a bath. We turn the dive at the planned time and enjoy a leisurely bimble back to the shot line and make our way up to the deco trapeze, with small bubbles whizzing past - as they're exhaled from the divers below.

The visibility was at least 18 metres, with good ambient light streaming down on to the wreck. The water clarity was great, with hardly any suspended particles in the water.

Back on the boat, Helen enthused about how good the dive was - it was her first "tekkie" dive in the UK mid-channel. She couldn't believe it - the overall viz was equal to, if not better than, the red sea, the south china seas and the caribean (all places that we've been to in the last year and a half). I joked that the only better viz she'd get was in a welsh mine, but I still haven't persuaded her to undertake cave diving (and he's not likely to - Helen).

So the UK has lots to offer, on par if not more than sunnier destinations around the globe. Ok, it does mean some more "faff" but the results are worth it, even now I'm smiling as I write this and I've been on the wreck before.

A jaunt across the sea with jack

2-4 August, 2006