Halton Ocean

Waited a while….

…..but no one came….

’nuff said.

Glen Isla am.

Troops raving (ie chuffed, not mad)

Dived the Jane pm.

Scallops for tea too. Lish.

Well it was meant to be day 1 but is actually day 2 so things were going well till lunch.

Troops dived the Gwladmena first and then we had to bin the next dive on the Lunohods as the fog came in.

Went for a sail on the Swan instead…

….and did the Lunohods in the evening.

The troops were wanting a gentle start so off to the Pionersk then the Giant’s Legs. Vis good and they seemed to come up enthusiatic so good start.

Woke to a text from the departing troops to say the ferry couldn’t get into Aberdeen cos of the fog but it was a lovely day here: sun and clear skys.

New group arrived in dribs and drabs obviously split between those up at dawn and raring to go and those wanting a lie in/breakfast on the ferry. Anyway we set off at 12 with a light SE and snuck a couple of dives in.

Bunny boating so single handed.

We were due to end the week on the Glen Isla but thick fog put paid to that. We were lucky just to miss just one out of the twleve dives with the fog this week: any other weather conditions and you can usualy get in somewhere.

Still the troops seem happy enough and have heade off for a wee tour before catching the ferry tonight.

With the inertial dampers failing and vomit dribbling down Traceys chin, we came to the furthest regions of the British Isles, OutStack.
It had been said that no man had been this far out but the illuminated MacDonalds logo on top of the stack claimed something different.
Captain Jack said keep your eyes open for Davey Jones he’s around here some where. We later found him in his green grocers shop on Muckle Flugger.
We dived in two waves, as soon as the first lot hit the water the second group rifeled thru all of their kit for scraps of food and anything of value to

appease captain Jack who was sat on top of the MacDonalds logo ringing birds. Later that day a blonde and brunnet turned up for a party, the blonde Twice

Knightley was bloody good with a tatey knife, the brunnette said she could only stay for four days as she had no change of underwear.
Later that day we dived the wreck of E49 mined in the 1st W.W. This was an excellent dive with 20mtrs lateral visability it was good to see that the Ensign

was in excellent condition.
We then moored at Baltasound for the night, the boat drawing a crowd of spectators yet again, how strange. The comments from amongst the crowd which could

could be heard where mainly how short captain Jack was with his boyish good looks parrot and hook. We all turned in after an exhausting three dive day, the

boat heaved a sigh of relief as burps farts and snores echoed around our mooring for the night. Good night Out stack,goodnight Muckle Flugger Goodnight E49,

Goodnight.

Troops dived the Jane then the Giants Legs.

Then the fog set in again.

Was a bit close for comfort really.

First dive in severe thunder storm, lightning and heavy rain.

Second in thick fog.

Great.

The troops dived the E49 in the morning, then fog saw us back in Balta Sound for lunch.

We dived the Vere and the Tonis Chandris pm

Angus bagged it for Orkney..

Less noble, I just did it “cos it was there”.

….a boat load of women comes along wanting an extra body to help pull.

The ginger bearded lady charmer stepped up to the ockey.

He is now just off (28th July 06) to the doctor for drugs to set things right again.

Well it was rude not to.

And I couldn’t help myself. Being a numbers spod, I nipped an extra bit north.

The troops dived the east then west side as the tide swung. The latter was probrably the more impressive being a deep (30m) gully lined on either side with soft colourfull fauna.

We then headed back round the point and I put a shot on the E49 in readiness for the morning.

Change of plan: due to a scenic coup the wreck plan for the day was subverted and we headed to Out Stack for a couple of drops.

Managed a drop on the west side myself. Deep gully with sheer sided walls down to 30ish m. Kelp thinned at 20m leaving the walls free for pretty, soft, encrusting animals. Beautiful. The vis was good but lessened by the fish feeding as there was a lot of organic matter floating around.

Dived the E49 on the way back to Balta Sound. Vis superb.

Happy days.

…now off to search for the elastic band lake.

We picked up a late starter and away to repeat the Gwladmena that she had missed on the first day.

The weather was fantastic, Shetlands Finest.

Compare and contrast Sunday with Monday…

We seized the moment and steamed north to Balta Sound.

I dived the Jane enroute to tie a shot to the wreck. She lies in around 20 m of water on her port side and shows her age: there is no metal left, just solid brittle rust as though she had been constructed from the iron ore itself. Delicate in this state, the only reason she retains her structure and integrity is due to the infrequancy of divers visiting and the tiny resulting impact.

Our missing team member arrived on the ferry bringing the sunshine with her so we set off back to the GWLADMENA. Managed to have a swimthrough on the bows this time,chain and cable piled around lighted by gaps in hull. Then up through deckhatch.

Diving another klondiker factory ship, the PIONERSK. On the swim for the shot my mask fell apart, start again. Down onto a kelpy platform. Saw an inviting split leading into an engine room. Turned around to check my buddy but he was gone. Backed out to find him and a fin fell off, reached to put it on and the other fell off too! After the bubbles had gone and silt settled and my fins restored I still couldn’t see my buddy. Started ascending and met him coming down, he’d had a regulator problem and surfaced to sort it. I’m glad all this happened in relatively shallow water and early in the dive. Wreckage scattered over a wide area, noticable were the gold coloured lids for tinned fish.

Simon MON 23/7/06

Knew as soon as the shot dropped that it was a good un.. spot on the wreck and in a decent place. This is one I have missed before, largely through having used a flat plate as a weight which dropped like a leaf, fluttering down and missing the wreck. Twice. With two groups. But that is how reputations are made.

Good freinds out today. There is nothing better than returning a favour to people held in affection.

Not all the troops photos came out…..

…for a number of reasons.

The fog came down in the afternoon and diving was curtailled. It was to set a theme for the week.

Troops repeated the Gwladmena then dropped on the Pionersk, another Klondyker. Vis remains good, though slightly less on second dive due to the fish.

Headed north and anchored in Balta Sound in evening.

I dived the Jane on the way north.