Wow, what a weekend. Great weather, great vis, great wrecks, great company.
The weekend started with a leisurely drive down to Poole for an 11.30am ropes off. Loading our boat for the weekend, “Bite” I quickly realised I should have put 10 maximum, not 12 on the boat as she was not as large as some we have used in the past.
She wasn’t small, but when most have a twinset and one or two 7 litre stage cylinders, that eats up the space! As it was we had 11 divers on board in the end, plus the skipper. Some sensible kit management and tidiness by all really helped, and we were on our way.
Eight of 1620’s finest were joined by Phil, Elliot and Ollie, their mate Ron bailed out at the last minute unfortunately. The way they blended in with the team you’d have thought they were club members.
The trip out to the “Aparima”, our first dive of the weekend was nice and calm. We had picked the hottest weekend of the year so far (I do my best!), the water was awash with all sorts of craft, and the beaches were awash with beauties people.
Diving the Aparima had become a bit of an odyssey for me. She is a wreck I have been trying to dive for about four years. I had been thwarted several times in the past by weather, lack of available boat, and illness, so to finally dive her was fantastic.
A cargo liner, she was torpedoed in the first world war, and the story of her sinking, as told by her captain is interesting to read. I do not have space to retell it here.
We dropped in and down the line to be greeted by 8-10 metres vis, and the wreck laid out before us. I came off the line at about 25 metres and stopped to take in the view. We landed just behind the boilers, and worked our way to the bow which was the most intact part of the wreck. Rounding the bow we found the anchor still attached and then drifted with the current gently to the stern, stopping at leisure. Max depth 42 metres, bottom time 40 minutes, run time 76 mins.
Only one dive Saturday because of the late start and the need for the team to get gas for Sunday. We spent the evening at the Foundry Arms, which also happened to be where half the team were staying. After a late night stroll to take in the varied views on Poole Quay, we hit the sack.
Sunday dawned even brighter, warmer, and flatter than Saturday, though it was an early one. Moving through Poole harbour we tucked into a croissant and orange juice breakfast before we arrived at our second site of the weekend, the steamer Avanti.
The visibility was as good as the Saturday. The wreck was a little more broken, though the boilers were easily recognisable. We swam to the stern, drifted to the bow, and as the current changed went back to the stern! It took me a while to work out the bow, which somehow has been twisted 90 degrees to starboard and now sits flush with the wreck, strange!
At the end of the dive near the stern I bagged a large crab for tea. After I got him in the bag he grabbed on to John Langley’s fin. I released John rather than bagging him as well (he wouldn’t fit in our pot at home) and we commenced our ascent after another 42 metre, 40 minute bottom time.
Lunch at sea, and then a scenic drift near St. Alban’s head in the afternoon rounded off a lovely weekend, but with the compulsory weekend cruiser captain steaming over where we were diving at speed. All enjoyed the trip, and we are looking to repeat later in the year. I can wholly recommend Richard Styles of “Bite”, soon to be “Sha-King” (new boat), as a skipper. If there are criticisms they are that the benches are way too low for kitting up (to be fixed with Sha-King), and that it has a ladder rather than a lift (to be fitted over the winter!). Apart from that she is fast, clean and fairly cheap compared to some these days.
This article first appeared in the September 2005 edition of Billericay Diver
