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April 2010
Club Dive Chesil
Cove
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On
Sunday the 18th of April 2010, the club began its UK diving
season with a trip to Chesil Cove in Portland. It was an excellent
day for the weather, with bright blue skies, warm temperatures
and no wind on the beach. This gave superb flat sea conditions,
assisting shore entries. We agreed to meet up about 08:30am.
The main driver for this was to obtain a parking space as near
to the promenade as possible, as Chesil cove can be dived at
any state of tide.
We
only just managed to snap up the last parking spots, with some
parking in the small square by the main road. From here it
was a short trolley drag up the road to the promenade, and
along to the beach ramp. High water was at 09:52 so we did
not have far to trudge across the sinking pebble banks to find
a close spot above the water.
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Left:-
Chesil Cove and the wide expanse of pebble banks leading to the
shore, with Portland and Tar Rocks in the distance.
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Above:-
Two and a half minute video of entry and a shore dive around
the marine habitat of Chesil Cove, All mannar of ancient wreckage
is found. Filmed on a HERO GO-PRO HD camera mounted on my torch
handle.
Below:-
Clive puzzles over the site description. "It doesn't say anything
abou quicksand pebble banks in 'ere".
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There
was already another dive group here who had snatched pole position
at the promenade entry ramp. After a site brief, we broke into
dive pairs and began a leisurely kitting up. There was much discussion
on how far along the Cove could be trudged before entering the
water, but this was soon abondoned as impractical once fully kitted.
Altogether we had 7 divers, and we manged this in two waves, allowing
the second group to laugh heartily at the first groups ungainly attempt
to struggle into the water through the shifting pebbles with any
degree of dignity. Once in the water, we were greeted with a cool
8-9 degrees C, and underwater visibility of 3-4 metres. Currents
generally run parallel to the beach further |
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down
Chesil, but in the Cove, currents are negligible.
Our dive plan took us into the corner of the Cove, where we were
able to sneak between large bolders and clumps of kelp and sea
grasses, looking for marine inhabitants. These appeared to be
distinctly lacking, maybe still sheltering from the cold. All
I managed to
spot was a single cuckoo wrasse, looking fairly dormant amongst
the kelp. We got to a depth of 10 metres not too far from the
shore, and started to feel the cold after
about 30
minutes into the dive. |
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Divers
discover a giant rubber duck, and await pensively for the giant
owner who might be taking a bath nearby.
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Diver
to surface
Martin
brought along an excellent communication device, composing a full
face mask with built in regulator and radio system. This
was partnered onshore with a set of headphones and microphone, and
trailing transmit/receive wire and device, which once immersed
into the sea could send and receive messages to and from the diver.
This was used with limited effect, to monitor progress of wave
2, with some lessons learnt that could improve some of the 'through
tunnel' moments. A hardy 3 divers managed a 3rd wave, alledgedly
reporting warmer underwater temperatures. |
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Who
says diving is not about relaxing? Yes, the beach does offer
a diver re--charge facility.
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Conclusions
The
club managed a total of 10 dives over the course of the day, and was
done and dusted and away by 4:00pm. The great weather made it a pleasant
start to the season, with plenty of time to sort out kit, buoyancy
problems and rusty techniques in a safe accesible site. Local amenities
were excellent, with free parking, cafe and toilets on the promenade,
and even a great nearby pub for those with the more discerning
pallet! The pebbles were a different matter, and should be classed
as part of the pre-season warm-up training. |
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