Time and tide wait for no person , and that includes Yo-Han Cha , who explains the significance of the titular term
YO-HANCHA
Ropes-off !
Time and tide wait for no person , and that includes Yo-Han Cha , who explains the significance of the titular term
“ Ropes-off is at 8.30am .”
When someone starts to go diving , there ’ s all sorts of new terminology and jargon to learn . It ’ s probably very nerdy to have a favourite one , but I do love the phrase ‘ ropes-off ’. It ’ s probably because it ’ s such a literal expression . Hardboats and RIBs are moored by someone tying them , with rope , onto a jetty or pier . So , to depart , the ropes are untied and my very nerdy brain , for some reason , really enjoys that .
It ’ s one of the most important pieces of information about that day ’ s diving , as that ’ s when you need to be on the boat . As I ’ ve explained to new divers , it ’ s not when you arrive or start to get ready , it ’ s when we leave . If some of the group are less experienced , then I ’ ll usually provide a rough time of when to arrive as well as the ropes-off time , but for an experienced group , just the ropes-off time is usually enough . “ Ropes-off is at 8.30am ” is all we need to be told and most divers are usually there around an hour before , which
provides ample time to load our kit onto the boat and to get into drysuits .
It ’ s important to be ready to set off on time ; believe me , skippers and trip organisers haven ’ t picked a time at random ! They ’ ll have worked out the best times for the available dive sites with the day ’ s tides , factored in the journey and maybe just a bit of wiggle room for faffing if you ’ re lucky .
Unfortunately , my life doesn ’ t always go to plan , particularly when it involves an early start . The closest I ’ ve ever cut it was on an Anglesey trip when , after 30 minutes of driving down the M56 , I realised that my drysuit wasn ’ t in my car . I knew exactly where it was , in my living room ! There was a lot of colourful language as I berated myself for being such an idiot ( I had no-one else to blame but myself ) as I then had to drive the 30 minutes back to my house to pick up the drysuit before having to repeat the first 30 minutes of the journey . I arrived at Trearddur Bay in Anglesey with 15 minutes to spare . I then did my most efficient kit setup , loading and change into my drysuit that I ’ ve ever done in my life and I was somehow on the boat in time .
‘ Ropes-off at 8.30am ’ also means that the boat ’ s leaving at that appointed time . Not before . I certainly don ’ t expect the boat to leave before the agreed time when not all of the divers aren ’ t on board . And if the skipper asks if everyone ’ s on board and someone isn ’ t , it would be nice if his friends ( one of them being my fellow columnist Kirsty Andrews ) would notice !
One fine Saturday morning in Plymouth , after loading all my kit onto the boat , with plenty of time before ropes-off , I went to park the car and get changed into my drysuit . I was back on the jetty by 8.20am , when much to my surprise , there was an empty space where the boat was not ten minutes ago . Fortunately , I had the skipper ’ s number and he turned back around to pick me up . When I finally jumped onto the boat while my ‘ friends ’ cheered and it set off for a second time , I ’ d like to state for the record , the time was exactly 8.30am ! �
Yo-Han , and fellow divers at Eddystone . Above , waiting by the dock of a bay
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