It could be the dive of a lifetime to some, or a basic bimble to others. Kirsty Andrews reflects on a weekend of mixed fortunes
KIRSTYANDREWS
Trash or treasure?
It could be the dive of a lifetime to some, or a basic bimble to others. Kirsty Andrews reflects on a weekend of mixed fortunes
My most recent Plymouth dive weekend was a bit of a mixed bag due to prevailing weather conditions; you know the score, I’ m sure. Saturday was an unexpected win; the winds weren’ t as strong as predicted, and we managed to venture offshore to the Eddystone lighthouse, one of my local favourites. Sure enough, I descended on to a massive school of bass, watched them for about 20 minutes, and then enjoyed the rest of the colourful reef in clear water. Such great dives feel even better when you weren’ t expecting to be able to get out there. Dive two was not quite so much of a thrill but I was still buzzing from the morning and our surface interval when we watched gannets, common dolphins and bluefin tuna tucking into a couple of baitballs- incredible scenes!
So, day one was tough to beat for me, but overnight the wind turned and strengthened, and a strong southwesterly with a building swell limited our options significantly. In the end we opted for the shelter of Cawsands Bay, which is not one of my top five local sites but was the best of what was available. In any case, I wasn’ t complaining as I’ ve had my share of memorable dives out of Cawsands. It’ s been particularly good recently for cuttlefish – last time I was there a dozen of them surrounded me, trying to sneak up on small fish. This dive sadly wasn’ t quite as good; I saw many cuttles but they were more twitchy than usual and didn’ t settle, usually seeing me before I saw them and moving off. Oh well, I thought, not every dive can be as brilliant as yesterday.
“ It was that kind of dive that made you remember why you loved UK diving”
On surfacing, it seemed I was in the minority. The rest of the boat were absolutely raving about what special interactions they’ d had, what a wonderful dive: cuttlefish galore. I heard someone say that it was that kind of dive that made you remember why you loved UK diving. I’ ll admit to a touch of envy but I’ ve had more than my fair share of such times so was happy to feel good for others this time!
By popular request, we stayed where we were for the second dive. Again, for me it wasn’ t totally sparkling. But then I remembered that Cawsands is not just a favoured dive for cephalopod-botherers- it’ s also one for the archeologists. It’ s been an anchorage for centuries, and divers and maritime and military historians often unearth treasures there. So I kept my eyes peeled, and could feel my interest hitting up again, as I spied a few bits of broken pottery, and even a really nice intact pot.
Kirsty’ s keepsakes: a good day’ s wombling
This wasn’ t all: I really seemed to get my eye in for bits and bobs, and by the time I surfaced I had collected an intact urchin test and fragile sea potato test *, both pretty bathroom adornments for those inclined. There was also an unidentified stinky bone( a gannet skull or something’ s pelvis were suggested, so it’ s fair to say we hadn’ t a clue …) and my pot. The sea potato test fell immediate victim to a gust of wind and I put the rest of it back, but my pot is now in pride of place at home. [* A‘ sea potato’ is an urchin with a thin, heart shaped‘ test’ or skeleton ].
One man’ s trash is another man’ s treasure, as someone once said. I shall leave it up to you as to whether you agree with me about my treasures, but they certainly enlivened a gusty diving afternoon. �
Duly received: All relevant items raised by Kirsty have been reported to the Receiver of Wreck, as required by law. If in doubt, report your finds at gov. uk / report-wreck-material /
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Perhaps a big school of bass is the real treasure