Plymouth Weekend 18th & 19th April ~ Pics

Plymouth Weekend 18th & 19th April

Well what a great weekend diving and great company too. On Saturday the sun stayed in but the diving made up for it. The first dive was on the James Egan Lane what a great wreck a bit like the Carnatic in Egypt. It's 23m to seabed vis was 5-7 m. Lots of fish life and loads of anenomes. Then after hot pasties for lunch on the top boat MV Explorer of to do the Scylla. It's 28m to seabed what a nice big ship lots of plumnose anenomes and dead mens fingers vis 5-8m but for me it just had no feeling to it but still a nice dive.

Well Sunday the sun came out to play we made are way out to do the Persier what a nice wreck 10-15m vis loads to see could had stayed down all day but air going fast had to come up that has to be one of my top U.K. dives! More hot pasties hard work this diving! Then on to the Glen Strathallen 17m to seabed what a great bimble to end on 10-15m vis. The B&B we stayed at was the best iIhave been to and Steve and Sue know how to look after you and the pub over the road sell great beer and good food (£6-7) . Can I just say thanks to Matt for all his hard work and all that for£135. Well anyone on this trip in June is in for a great weekend of diving. Oh and thanks to all for your great company. Hope to have some pics soon

Plymouth Trip ~ 5th-7th June 2009

The trip is the same one I sorted this year for the absurd deal of £135 for the whole deal with Steve. Details here:-

http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/DIVE-CHARTER-PLYMOUTH-MOUNTBATTEN

This trip is open to all now for the remaining spaces, when trip is full Iwill ask for the full amount of trip £135 per diver (Simon will find out about non divers) :-
1.Matt
2. Sean
3. Tracy
4. Anna
5. Steve
6. George
7. Caroline
8. Tad (to confirm)
9. Trez
10. Simon + Linda
11.
12.

So how was your diving this year?

Despite the weather I have managed 48 dives this year. Had my last one on Thursday and will start up again next year now, as December is sooo busy. It would be nice to see what all you MDers and OVers have achieved. This is what I did:
1 dive in Belgium, Nemo 33
25 dives in UK sea
2 dives in The Med, Corfu
5 dives in The Red Sea, Taba
9 dives in Wraysbury
2 dives in NDAC, Chepstow
2 dives in Vobster
2 dives in Stoney.
Many thanks to all my buddies and fellow divers, my best dive year by far!!!

Linda managed 1 dive in The Med and 2 in The Red Sea
Matthew, son, managed 5 dives in The Red Sea
Megan, daughter, managed 1 dive in Thailand and 2 dives in The Red Sea

And you??

Plymouth trip ~ 5-7th June 09

just a quick one here first to gauge who wants in on this trip.
The trip is the same one i sorted this year for the absurd deal of £135 for the whole deal with Steve details here http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/DIVE-CHARTER-PLYMOUTH-MOUNTBATTEN
12 divers in total but as promised the divers that were with me in October have first refusal so can i have those names first then i throw it open to all
1.Matt
2. Sean
3. Tracy
4. Anna
5. Steve
6. George
7. Caroline
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Rockin and Rollin in Plymouth with Ocean View & Meridian Divers

First off a big thanks and well done to Matt for putting the trip together we all know what a nightmare it is to co-ordinate something like this and it all went swimmingly well apart from the the weather yet again.

With an uneventful trip down to Plymouth I was the last to arrive having been caught up in the usual traffic hot spots heading towards the west country. On arriving at Mountbatten Guest House my boot refused to lock and alarm refused to switch off thanks to Steve L for given me a hand strip down the door and sorting out the issue I know you missed some drinking time thanks mate.

Once booked into the guest house which I must say is most luxurious B&B I have ever stayed in and a real credit to the owners Steve and Sue who also own and run the hard boat we were going to use MV Endeavour.


After meeting up at the pub around the corner we invaded the local Indian takeaway/restaurant which was interesting to say the least. A sign said it had been refurbished but I assume that this refurbishment was carried out in the 1960's. Also it had reserved signs on some of the tables but I assume that was for some of our 4 or eight legged friends. The food was ok though and no one seemed to have any nasty after effects.

The following day loomed dull and gloomy but there was a chance that we may get out so with the 2 minute drive to the boat mooring we loaded the kit onto the boat and as per the boat name endeavoured to see if we could get out to the wreck sites but it soon became apparent that it wasnt going to be so we made do with a dive on the Breakwater fort a marine Martello tower like structure. The dive itself was a pleasant bimble at around 12m deep loads of life and loads of wreckage including a cannon and a small wreck of some sort of tender. We also spotted a John Dory which after many years of diving ahs always alluded me. 59 minutes later saw as surfacing and hoisted back onto the boat by the diver lift.

Lunch on board was a choice of bread and soup or pot noodles plus teas and coffees. After a tour around Plymouth Harbour the wind still hadn't abated so the next dive saw us diving a 40m drop of known as the Barn Bowl although the vis wasn't as good as the previous dive it was still a pleasant enough bimble.

The evening saw the OV MD group meet a a local restaurant based within a MOD Garrison 10 minutes walk from the B&B with the evening entertainment being supplied by Anna & Imogen it was a lively and very funny end to a good day. The food was pretty good too apart from Matt asking the waitress what the pork was like and being told she wouldn't eat it herself mmmm great sales technique lady.

Sunday dawned and the wind had increased and the rain was still pouring and rightly so Steve the skipper canned the Dive. So plan B was put into motion we were to approach the National Aquarium by water, storm the entrance on masse, confuse the ticket staff and get in for the Kiddies price we were then going to Hi jack the ROV exhibition Steve and Sean were to take on the local 10 year old wizz kid and beat her at the ROV Assault course the plan worked the 10 year old was beaten by our 2 heroes although chivalrous to the end Steve gave up his prize of an ROV Pilot Badge to the distraught youngster. We planned to dress George up as a mermaid and get him to do 50 lengths of the main exhibition tanks whilst dodging the man eating gobies . We were then going to pretend we were all Stevie Wonder impersonators by wearing dark glasses and invading the inhouse 4D cinema. The plan worked but a mermaid suit couldn't be found that would fit George so we skipped that bit.

With the successful invasion of Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium over we retired to a nearby Sports bar for some grub and probably the worst cheese burger I have ever eaten and then wasted.

Although the weather once again got the better of us the weekend was a great laugh with some great people. Once again thanks Matt for the organising and thanks to everyone for an enjoyable if noisy and at time raucous weekend. Role on the next one.

For great value and quality I would definitely recommend the Mountbatten Guest House and /their Charter Boat service.Thanks to Steve and Sue Woodman http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/

The Rock and Rollers were

Caroline
Anna
Imogen
Tracey
George
Matt
Steve
Sean
Tad

Plymouth trip with Steve & Sue Woodman

This trip started out on Friday in what could be said a bit of a rush after myself,Anna & Sean were still training in B`ton marina at 11.30am and we had arranged to meet at Ocean view at @12-12.30 to leave for Plymouth,but with a bit of help from everyone and a really understanding boss(cheers Graeme!!)we were on the road.
We arrived at the Mountbatten guest house at @18.00pm and were greeted by Steve,Sue and Eric(there Shitzu dog) our host`s for the weekend and were shown to our rooms to sort ourselves out,well to say we were gobsmacked would be an understatement i haven`t been in show homes that well tastefully decorated or kept let alone a low priced package deal for divers accommodation,most of you would expect a bunk house for the price,Tad had stayed in hotels all week and this place kicked all of them into touch.Once we were all settled in,rooms sorted out,wet drysuits(1 inside and out!)hung up we crossed the road to become acquainted with the Royal Oak pub for a swift half then onto Lackey`s curry house for dinner all of which was very entertaining and a great way for some people to get to know everyone who were new to Meridian divers/Ocean view partnership.
Saturday morning started after a very comfortable nights sleep then down to breakfast for 08.00am now for those who know me this may be a surprise but the full English Steve & Sue served i struggled with and to be honest was one of the best i`ve had and i`m a truck driver whose had a few!that said if you didn`t want a fry up there was cereals,toast etc on offer.
We made our way down to the boat m.v Explorer which was fully kitted out with lift,toilets,lots of space and deck shelter ,which was just round the corner alongside the Mountbatten centre pontoon and loaded the dive kit and we also saw were Indeep dive centre is situated right next to the pontoon,result!
Steve informed us that the weather was a bit on and off at the moment so we would have a look to see if we could out to the Syclla which is why we came but if not had some guaranteed harbour diving if need be down to 30-40m,don`t forget this is a big harbour with some cracking dives in it,unfortunately the weather was to big to make it round the headland so we dived the Breakwater Fort ,i really enjoyed this dive it was @ 12m a good rumage plenty of life and a wreck and cannon thrown in with good vis 5-7m and no current,back onboard we had a bit of lunch and a tour of the harbour while waiting for the weather to calm down but to no avail so we dived Barn pool a drift dive spitting distance from a beach which went down to 30m+.
We got back to the pontoon and walked our cylinders to Indeep diving centre for filling for Sunday morning fingers crossed that we could dive the Scylla & J.E.Layne at this point i have to take my hat off to Indeep and especially Matt who worked there one of our divers Anna her neckseal had got a hole and he offered to put a seal on overnight for a very good price and dry off all the wet suits and cossies with no drama`s,now thats service.
The night out saw us booked into a local pub the Clevaly by Steve only 5 mins walk alongside the river(take a camera) and in the garrison,a really well priced meal with really good portions even if the waitress didn`t really like anything on the menu herself,try the pork belly really filled a hole,then back to the Royal Oak for a night cap before crashing out.
Sunday`s breakfast was every bit as good as before but we took our time because the weather had taken a turn for the worse overnight and was blowing a force 9 so with the diving canned for the day we decided to go to the National Marine Aquarium which was a short ferry ride away and have a look around before setting off for the drive back to Sussex and it was well worth it the large tanks are stunning, R.O.V racing was good fun and the 4d cinema was worth the £2 entry fee, we got a group discount when we said we were divers from £11 to £7.50 and the Scylla project was worth looking at,all in all it was a great weekend and i can thoroughly recommend Steve and Sue at the Mountbatten dive charter/guest house it was worth every penny we booked again for next year already!
Thanks to everyone who made the trip i really enjoyed the weekend and the company shame about the weather so fingers crossed for better weather in June `09.
http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/
http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/

We're Off to Plymouth

Right oh, just spoke to Steve and his take on the weekend is this we will dive both days but sunday looks better than saturday so we will dive the Scylla & J.E.Layne on Sunday and Saturday we will see what the weather is like but there are a number of inshore marks to dive if ofshore proves difficult,with a discount in price.

At the mo it`s supposed to be force 7-8 but when i spoke to Steve he was at the harbour looking at a flat calm sea . So on the info I`ve been given were off any prob`s call me

Plymouth 2 days to go!

Here we go with only a couple of day`s to go the weather turns pants after the first couple of weeks of settled weather for ages.
At the mo all is good with reports of great vis last weekend,IF the trip is called it will be thursday night but Steve said he has only had to call 2 trips this year,lets hope we won`t be the third.
The plan is to leave friday lunchtime arrive friday dinnertime get settled then out for dinner,any probs please contact me asap i will call all to sort out travel but i think most will be a Ocean view wed`s night so will speak then
this should wet your appetite`s
http://www.divers-tv.co.uk/southwest/HMS%20Scylla%20-%20Plymouth.htm

Plymouth trip~4-5th October~Nearly here

Hi all,
with just over 2 weeks to go before we set off for our weekend trip with Steve & Sue aboard EXPLORER in Plymouth for some top quality wreck diving(weather god`s PLEASE have a weekend off!!!)i would just like to go over some bit`s and pieces before we set off.
Please don`t forget you need 2 tank`s onboard as we won`t be returning to get a fill,there is a centre 'indeep dive centre' to get fills or if you need anything(wing,twinset etc etc)5 mins from guesthouse details below
http://www.indeep.co.uk/Facilities.html
Don`t forget cert`s
Kit can be left onboard overnight
If we can car sharing would be easier for all on cost,i`ll call everyone soon about travel,i`m looking to leave @12.00 on friday if poss
At the mo Steve has booked us into a local pub for meals on fri/sat
Don`t forget balance need`s paying when we turn up
Only death cert`s will be accepted if backing out of this trip now
Anything i`ve forgotten?
divers below;
Matt
Sean
Steve
George
Tad
Caroline
Anna
Imogen
Trez
Tracy
have a look on the site below as it`s been updated
http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/

Plymouth Trip ~ 4th & 5th October

There are 3 space`s on the forthcoming Plymouth trip booked for the above dates anyone intrested please leave a post cost is £130 for 4 dives (SCYLLA,J.E.L etc)+ 2 nights b/b if the spaces aren`t filled i`ll try a advertise them on YD forum

http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/

Here We Go ~ Plymouth 4th & 5th October

Hi all,
I have spoke to Steve at Mountbatten Diving today and booked 10 divers and 2 non-divers for the weekend of the 4 & 5th of October which I hope will be a safer bet weather wise than the last weekend of the month!

The trip is now full but I will take on reserves just in case, and please could you read the t+c`s below along with the full list of divers and non divers:-

http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS

Divers and Non-Divers:-
1). Matt D/PAID
2). Sean D/PAID
3). George D/PAID
4). Steve
5). Tad + Nikki
6). Tony(sinkone4seaford)
7). Tracy D/PAID
8 ). Tracy2 D/PAID
9). Anna D/PAID
10).Trez D/PAID
Reserve 1).
Reserve 2).

Plymouth, anyone? ~ October 2008

Hi all,
I`ve found this dive centre in Plymouth and I would like to book a weekend with them, I have spoken to Steve the owner this morning and they have dates for the last weekend in September and the first 2 weekends in October [he`s calling me later to confirm] , the deposit is £20 per diver there will be 7 spaces [3 already taken] the full trip price is £130pp which includes 4 dives and 2 nights b+b in there own guest houses which look really nice .

The dives will be SCYLLA, J.E.LAYNE on Saturday, then 2 more on Sunday. Steve promises to make it a cracking weekend, have a look at their site and if you have an interest let me know.

[Update 17.20pm] Steve has just called to confirm dates and they are as follows 4th/5th October or 25th/26th October (Only) and for Tad non-divers are £25 per night BUT with a max of 6.

http://scyllareefdivecharter.co.uk/

Interested divers:-
1). Matt d/paid
2). Sean d/paid
3). George d/paid
4). Steve
5). Tad
6). Chris
7).Tracy1
8). Tracy2
9). Anna d/paid
10).Trez
RESERVE1).
RESERVE2).

THIS TRIP IS NOW FULL