Preparing for a journey to South Korea, Yo-Han just about has time to squeeze in a wet weekend in Plymouth
YO-HANCHA
A shy octopus on the wreck of the Scylla
Friends and sunset at Plymouth
Time for a quickie?
Preparing for a journey to South Korea, Yo-Han just about has time to squeeze in a wet weekend in Plymouth
As I was due to fly out to South Korea on the Wednesday, the sensible thing would have probably been to have a weekend off diving. I had a week’ s worth diving organised in South Korea, so did I really need to squeeze in a weekend of diving, days before catching a flight? Just in case any of you are wondering if I had left enough time between diving and flying, it was more than 48 hours. If anything, it ensured that my dive kit would definitely be dry when I packed it, saving a few precious grams in my hold luggage. But I love going diving, so it was always going to be tough to talk me out of it, so even when I was booking flights to South Korea, cancelling my trip to Plymouth with Reading BSAC was never an option.
The weather on the last weekend in August was a scorcher and the winds were light. If I hadn’ t gone diving, I would have been suffering serious FOMO, scrolling through social media with a huge amount of envy and jealousy. But none of that happened, because I was going diving. It’ s not often that I complain about being too hot when I’ m UK diving, but it was definitely scorchio at the surface. Despite my drysuit not having any leaks, I was having to hang my sweat-drenched undersuit out to dry every evening. Which reminds me, I need to
“ The visibility on most of the sites was great” wash that before I go to South Korea. But what’ s UK diving without a bit of discomfort?
It was just the opposite temperature discomfort to what I’ m used to! And apologies to the passengers of the Mountbatten ferry who witnessed a rather strange strip show – taking off my sweaty, clingy undersuit top during our surface intervals. This strange sight of a man half in a drysuit but topless also got me kicked out of the Hotel Mountbatten bar until I put my top back on.
The diving was amazing. The visibility on most of the sites was great. I don’ t think I’ ve ever dived the Scylla with more than five metres of viz; at deeper sites such as Hands Deep, the visibility seemed to go on forever. As this The Year of the Octopus, they were spotted regularly throughout the weekend. Well, they were by myself and my buddy Mike Godley, or Team Octopus as we named ourselves. The rest of the club still had plenty to admire. The jewel anemones were beautiful as always and there was usually a cuttlefish or two hovering around. I got to dive a wreck I hadn’ t dived before, the Rosehill, whose boilers were full of crayfish.
All in all, it was a great weekend. My BCD still isn’ t properly dry, but I’ m hoping that placing it next to the dehumidifier overnight will fully dry it out by tomorrow morning, when I need to pack! But even if it isn’ t, no regrets, absolutely none. �
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