YO-HANCHA
In the know at Kernow
Yo-Han Cha is a fan of West Cornwall , camping and gluttony , and thus ideally qualified to cover the Kernow Dive Festival
I
’ ve got to hand it to the organisers of the Kernow Dive Festival , which took place in September , attracting 70 divers from 10 clubs . The clubs brought their own RIBs and took divers on a tour of some of the best dive site in West Cornwall . Add to this a barbecue and raffle evening to raise funds for DDRC , and you have a significant event to organise ... a headache , even , especially so when you get awkward types * asking if the organisers could also throw in vegan breakfasts **. I think Dave White , who was co-ordinating all the diving , got the joke , although next year he may have the last laugh and put me down as vegan for the barbecue .
Of course , Covid-19 had put paid to the June date for the 2021 Kernow Dive Festival , but where there ’ s a will , there ’ s a way and it happened in September instead . There were a few differences to the planned event , as there was no marquee and the sun set a little earlier , but most importantly , the friendly atmosphere of divers coming together from different dive clubs , meeting old friends and making new ones was still there .
The rain from Friday had dissipated and the sun shone as two waves of divers departed Penzance across numerous dive sites . Dave had worked wonders and managed to get most people their first choice of dive site . He had even managed to organise some great visibility underwater , which was handy on my dive site of choice , the Runnel Stone , where the swell was , let ’ s say , sporting . It may even have caused my buddy , Roisin , a bout of sea sickness . Regardless of the swell and any other upwellings it may have prompted , the Runnel Stone is a beautiful site covered in jewel anemones – even Roisin was happy to be able to dive there .
Once the diving was over , everyone congregated at Cardinney Camping Park for the barbecue and raffle . Everything was outdoors , as life wasn ’ t completely back to normal , but the weather remained dry and most of us had brought a camping chair or two . There was plenty of laughter about the day ’ s diving and life in general over a feast that kept flowing from the barbecue . As the night drew in , most of us wrapped up ( Yvonne Oates , you were
Once the diving was over , everyone congregated at Cardinney Camping Park for the barbecue and raffle
right , I was only pretending not be cold ) and kept the party going until the campsite ’ s 10pm curfew kicked in .
The winds picked up on the Sunday , which meant all the boats stayed dry but shore diving was still available for the keener ( or the dafter ) among us . Roisin and I finished the weekend with an amazing dive off Silver Steps , Falmouth [ incidentally , Neil Bolton , it was awful , so don ’ t feel bad about missing out ], we saw a stalked jellyfish , two different species of pipefish , what I call vegetarian nudis ( I think Elysia viridis ) and as we were heading back , some cuttlefish decided to show up . But , yeah , Neil , it was awful , as in awfully excellent . I do love diving off Cornwall and the Kernow Dive Festival is a great place to meet people who feel the same way . Here ’ s to next year ! * Your author , in case there was any doubt . ** No disrespect intended towards vegan readers . The organisers covered everything but the breakfasts . �
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