Fifteen of us headed down to Swanage for the weekend, a mix of Sport Divers and Sport Diver trainees, and entirely by accident of the calendar, landed slap bang in the middle of Swanage Festival. It made for a very enjoyable time topside between dives and in the evening.
Saturday started very early (is 7am ropes off too early? possibly) with the Betsy Anna at 25m, a fair way out from the pier. Visibility was decent for UK waters and the wreck gave us all a proper first dive of the weekend to settle into once we’d finally woken up. For later risers a pier dive was arranged, which was a lovely & calm bimble; exactly why Swanage Pier is such a good site for trainees and old hands alike. It also turned into an unexpected airshow as the festival flyover came in at 11am and caught a few of the group just as they were surfacing, which was quite something to watch on the float back to the steps.
The afternoon dive on the Carentan (30m) was somewhat of a different story. The swell had come up considerably and made one diver (no names thanks) who momentarily misplaced his computer and thought he’d be useful on the boat instead of diving regret his decision somewhat. (The computer spent the dive on the pier, it turns out.)
A pair from the group peeled off and did the Valentine Tanks (18m) instead, which was noticeably calmer across the bay and a rewarding dive with conger and bib aplenty.
Back on land, fish and chips on the wall in town set us up nicely in the evening, followed by a few drinks for some. Swanage was heaving for the festival; Spider-Men, samba dancers & drummers. It added a genuinely lovely vibe to the evening, with the fireworks at 21.45h rounding off the day.
Sunday dawned grey and looked a bit windy from the shore (and even more so on land), but out at sea it was better than expected. However we did change from the Kyarra (30m) as none of us fancied a repeat of the swell we’d experienced on the Carentan the day before. So an early Valentine Tanks (18m) got us going, followed by (for those who partook) the Fleur de Lys (15m). By the time the last pairs got to the scallop drift (20m) the sea had calmed off nicely, and we were joined on that dive by a very keen and enthusiastic user of lift bags.
A successful weekend: six sites dived across two days with some quality time in the water and in a good mix of conditions. Adding the festival to it gave the whole trip a lovely summer feel.
Thanks to everyone who came along and made it a lovely summer dive trip.
