St. Abbs, North East
Coast, July 2005, Julia Clark
I
joined BSAC 18 in October 2004 so it seems a
little odd that it took me until the beginning
of July 2005 to actually go and dive with my
club. This rather strange sequence of events
resulted from me already having a lot of diving
commitments outside of BSAC and also having done
nothing but pleasure dive for over a year I was
keen to do some skill development courses. So,
in for a penny in for a pound and all that, my
first weekend’s diving with the club was also to
be the trip where I had to demonstrate my
marshalling skills in order to complete my dive
leader qualification. No problem at all except I
didn’t know who was who, what their diving
experience was or anything else about them! Oh
well. Many thanks to Diane Hepworth for holding
my hand through this task and helping me to have
a go at marshalling this weekend.
 So
there I was on Friday tea time with all my dive
gear packed and awaiting a call from some chap
called Richard or was it Frankie? It seemed I
was getting a lift from a bloke who didn’t even
seem to know his own name. He arrived at the
appointed time, and we set off. We had a lovely
journey, with very little traffic and very
pleasant conversation. In which we discovered a
mutual interest in Rock Climbing and travel. We
also followed a stunning sunset which finally
reached it’s conclusion as we pulled up outside
Billy’s.
So far, so good. I
got introduced to most people, some of whom I
had met in the pub and some of whom I hadn’t but
they were all very pleasant. Diane and I planned
buddy pairs for the next day’s dives before we
all retired to bed after a couple of drinks.
Billy has a new boat
which is bigger than the old one and has a
lift!!
 First
dive on Saturday was Tye’s Tunnel. An
interesting dive that I had done for the first
time only a couple of weeks previously. It can
only be done at high tide and this time it
looked completely different to last time I dived
it so I concluded I must have done it from the
other end last time. I was diving with Ray and
very pleasant it was too. The viz was great all
weekend and St Abbs as usual was teeming with
life. As a photographer I love the combination
of good viz and something to see, as you need
both for decent pictures!
A pleasant surface
interval and refreshments care of Alison and we
were ready to dive again.
Second dive was
Anemone Gulley. Cant remember much about this ,
a bit of a drift I think. St. Abbs is all about
bimbling along and
 enjoying
the view. Plenty of Crabs and little lobsters
were spotted.
For the wildlife
spotting I definitely ended up on the wrong team
this weekend since almost every dive Diane
Hepworth returned claiming to have spotted yet
another octopus or was it two? Does she keep
them in her pockets just ready to whip out and
show off to her buddies at every opportunity???
I think we should
frisk her next time to check before she goes in.
Saturday Night was
an unusual event. We had a barbeque at Billy’s
and it didn’t tip down with rain all
evening. It did feel a bit odd standing around
with a drink outside as I felt that an umbrella
is obligatory
so just goes to show that the sun
 does shine on
the righteous sometimes. The food was delicious
so thanks to all those who contributed to it’s
purchase and preparation. Frankie was doing a
great impression of a Guy Falkes on a bonfire as
he cooked all the food surround by smoke and
leaping flames. He still seemed to retain his
eyebrows but I have no idea how. I was also
introduced to our Diving Officer’s idea of bar B
Q food, bananas with chocolate buttons.
Delicious!
Before we retired we
again planned the following day’s dives. Dive
one was to be a choice of the Glanmire, a wreck
in 30m or a nearby scenic. Luckily I managed to
buddy myself (marshall’s perk!) with our clubs
self-appointed Glanmire expert, Stephen
Hepworth, who declared that it is possible to
see the whole wreck in one dive!
Sunday
Dive one : The
Glanmire at a sprint.
Steve and I were
first in and raced down the shotline, then
having got our bearing set off round the wreck.
I realise now that the previous times I have
dived this I haven’t seen even half of it. So
there and back again, all the way round and back
to the detached bit (the pointy end I think)
which is across the sandy bottom. This was full
of tiny little fish, rather like the glassfish
you see on red sea wrecks. Very pretty and even
the sun came out. At this point we were just
about out of no-deco time and with 80 bar left
we started our ascent. A lovely dive accompanied
by an expert guide.
 Dive
two: hmmm log book says” nice st abbs bimble “
so that must have been it. Steve spotted an ugly
yes fascinating fish on the bottom which I now
know to be a lumpsucker. Never seen one of those
before.
All in all another
lovely and relaxed st Abbs weekend. Staying with
Billy and Alison makes it hassle free and just
allows you to enjoy the diving.
It took me a while
to finally go diving with my club but it will no
doubt be the first of many.
Jules |
