We
started on a cold cloudy Saturday morning when most smart people would
be in their nice cosy beds. We arrived at the café just out side the
Littlehampton Marina first Andrew then me and my dad (Alan Kennedy) and
finally Bryan and Tracy. All of us would have rather have been at home
but instead we had chosen to come out and to do our first dive of the
year.
We
started the day with a nice breakfast. Andrew had a large full British
breakfast, I had a bacon butty, my dad had a round of
toast & marmalade (his new anti sea sickness plan!) and Bryan
had a British fry up not as large as Andrews and Tracy had a bacon and
egg butty. After filling our fuel tanks we prepared to set off on our
voyage to the Mulberries.
After
checking our kit we set off. The sea was calm with a slight breeze. As a
result it took us only 30 minutes to get there. On our way the sky
started to clear and by the time we got there the sky was almost fully
clear. As we arrived another group of divers where just leaving the dive
site. So we hooked up to the shot line, suited up and
went down. I was with Andrew and my dad was with
Bryan
. As soon as I went under the water I felt like my first dive in
Wraysbury. It was ice cold and my forehead froze. As the dive went on my
hands and finally my body went cold.
Even the fish life seemed to stay at home in their nice warm
hiding places, as there was little to see. I did however spot a few
fish, a couple of crabs and one eel
At
the end of the dive and having done our safety stop, we
went up to the surface feeling like we had dived in a freezer. We
had coffee and food to warm us up as well as some warm air in our
drysuits.
Bryan
also had the misfortune of having a leaky dry suit. Even so, he still
stayed with my dad for over half an hour in really cold water.
Definitely above and beyond the call of duty!
After
we finished we set off back to the
Marina
. Little did we suspect however that we where about to get trapped in a
rocky reef. We were trying to avoid some nets when Tracy
said ‘what’s that?’ we looked over to see a rock sticking out of
the water. We then noticed that we could see the sea bottom with the
sonar showing that the seafloor was only 1-2 metres under us. After a
series of complex professional boat handling manoeuvres involving Bryan
hanging off the rib to check for hidden rocks we managed to make it out
of the reef alive with the boat in one piece!.
We
got back to the Marina
and moored up the boat next to the fish & chip shop. Bryan and I
then went to fetch some hearty grub for us to share. Having refuelled
both ourselves and the boat we
took the kit off the boat and washed it down. All this time Jenny was
watching us toil away while she relaxed. She did offer lots of advice
though hmmmmm!
We
then put all the kit away after which
Bryan
and
Tracy
left leaving me, my dad and Andrew to enjoy a nice relaxing debrief in
the sun outside the new café. About 10 minutes later the boat was
recovered, we washed it down and said our goodbyes and set of home.
Banstead
extreme weather divers strike again! At least we didn’t have to dive
in snow this time it felt positively tropical!
The
end
By
Alex Kennedy
14
years
Trainee
Sports Diver
