Torquay Octoberr 2007 Dive Trip Report

OUUEG Torquay Trip

October 19th – 21st

Summary

We went, we dived, we were great, all bar a weight belt came back and some even returned with scallops.

Friday

There were 6 of us at the Club Hut, but not one of us had a key. It was cold and it was dark. Thankfully London traffic eventually let Paul escape and he had a key. A few minutes later we were all warm and on our way to Torquay complete with full cars full of divers and dive gear. We left within minutes of one another Huw, James and I in one car, Paul picking Eddie up en route and Fran and Alice, as we were to find out later, much later, without a route. Huw, James and I arrived first to the Butlins Half Term Get -Away Resort. Upon Eddie and Paul’s arrival we braved the bar only to find what we pray was a joke at our expense. The entertainment involved tight clothing, school disco music and possibly the male members of Steps, we didn’t dare approach the floor to confirm in case we were dragged, kicking and screaming onto the dance floor. It was like The Office, painful, funny, and yet we couldn’t look away. Fran and Alice called to say they had gotten lost but were finally on their way so we waited by the cars. An hour later in the warmth of the caravan they finally arrived. It was decided after several drinks there was to be no breakfast due to lack of breakfast and that some ungodly hour would be wake up time.

Saturday

The ungodly hour came and we set out. We found a slipway, assembled our kit, then disassembled our kit before moving to the correct slipway. Eddie meanwhile discovered the Subway, whose profits we quadrupled in the coming 48 hours. The boat launched in the most orderly condition it would be in all week. Eddie demonstrated a method to keep mask, fins and hood in one location, a sound method which we all abandoned 5 minutes out of the harbour, for no reason other than logic was not the basis of our diving. Closely after Eddie’s efforts we saw a huge pod of dolphins (during a briefing to which I should have been paying attention, not staring off into the horizon where they appeared, then neglecting to mention it for 5 minutes while I watched them). First dive was arguably performed by Huw who got into to swim with them while we watched from the warmth of the boat. The real first dive went well depending on who you spoke to. Paul’s old drysuit was definitely not dry and James had a short, wet, cold first dive as a result. Luckily he borrowed some warm socks and working drysuit and got to enjoy the rest of the weekend. Huw and I failed to work out the logistics of retrieving the crab we found, so he escaped the pot. Fran gave a yelp as she hit the water, we assumed it was the joy of diving, not the wetsuit.

A trip to shore saw the arrival of Jo and Brian, a Subway lunch and we set out again, in possibly the most disorganised boat ever to survive British waters, the fin, mask, hood thing was still unpopular. A round of successful dives later, excluding sea sickness and definitely including Alice and Fran’s safety stop charades, we returned with a further disorganised boat, fins though a pair, apparently need not be stored as such. Steve attempted to get the boat onto the trailer, and road worthy - with our help - unfortunately we were as effective as microwaved sausages (more on that later), we got the job done and the result was fine, but getting there was some what unusual.

Steve finally getting the boat secured, we set off, a convoy of four cars and no real idea where we were going. A few minutes later and slightly lost, the convoy did a U-turn and found a familiar road eventually leading to the caravan. While the others sampled the delights of the caravan park entertainment, Huw, James and I shopped for dinner, it wasn’t like they had a choice about the entertainment as I had the keys to the caravan. England lost to South Africa, but that was the least of our worries as we had few plates and fewer drinks, there was only one thing to do. We braved the entertainment again, we were actually asked to prove we were at the site; apparently their entertainment was the place to be on a Saturday. A few hours later and slightly merrier, but still not on the dance floor and no sign of Rickey Gervais, we went to bed, content in the knowledge that tomorrow things would be different, for tomorrow we had a fried breakfast to look forward to.

Sunday

The plate problem arose again, but that wasn’t important. What was though, was how long the sausages were taking, thankfully modern technology provided microwaves and breakfast continued, with cups of tea all round. Setting out knowing where the slipway was this time, we successfully made it to water. I spent the greater part of the morning talking to locals while the others dived, it wasn’t my choice to talk to the locals but a man standing at the edge of the beach in a spaceman suit does attract some attention. Fran and Alice had enjoyed their new found safety stop activity, disco dancing, so much so that Alice passed her weight belt to no one in particular, and watched it sink down to the depths. Paul and Brian stumbled across a scallop bed, stealing to the point where they were comparing size to makes sure they got the bigger of the two. I eventually got my dive. It was awesome, so much so that it was to be everyone else’s next dive. Though no one did find out what was in the “cave of mystery”.

Alice and Fran escaped with some scallops and headed back to Oxford early as we dived the cove I had dived earlier. Eddie and Paul ninja-ing the remaining scallops that night. We returned the boat to Steve where Brian The Mighty winched it up in the time it took the rest of us to go “Would you look at the speed of it”. The boat sorted - we were far more useful this time - the rest of us set off home, happy, smiley and content particularly with Paul somehow having reached into his pocket to buy a round at one point in the weekend, while conveniently never having money where beer wasn’t involved, curious.

Thanks

Thanks to Steve and family for bringing the boat and launching and retrieving. Thanks to Paul for organising the trip. Also thanks to the other Paul from Torquay BSAC for tank refills at ridiculous hours. Thanks to those who came: Brian, Jo, Huw, James, Eddie, Fran, Alice and Paul, for making my first OUUEG trip an enjoyable and memorable experience.

Cheers again

Martin