Divers: John Fletcher, Bob Kempton, Dave Jamieson, Mary & Henry Huntley, Herve Deschamps ( drove from France to join us for the weekend) , Mick Kimbell (Northampton BSAC)

Non-divers: Pete Simblett

Camp Followers: Jane Kempton, Josie Fletcher, Charly Skates, Cora, Liam, Eadan, William, Sean Huntley.

Last Easter I got myself on a trip organised by Fran Duinker (DO Northampton and know to some of us for her help in Instructor Training) to Estartit in Spain, just over the French border on the Costa Brava. I was impressed. Having tried 3 years running to dive over Easter in the UK and always being thwarted by VIZ, I found the diving in the Marine nature reserve, a few minutes hard boat trip from the port, excellent. I was also impressed by the cost, no more really than one would expect to pay for a weeks UK diving. I decided to have a go at organising my own trip this year.

The organisation could read like a chapter from the manual of trip leading. Because the distance to the dive sites is so short and we return to port between dives for 4 hours or so, the holiday is very family friendly. Divers can spend plenty of time with their long suffering loved ones, particularly if they only do one dive a day. It's also great for kids. However for an organiser it's all a bit daunting. I could not have done this without the help of Pete and Jacqueline at Calypso divers in Estartit who not only took us on our dives but also organised self-catering accommodation and a coach to and from the airport as well as providing invaluable advise. Heart felt thanks to both of them.

We flew Easy Jet from Luton to Barcelona (and Luton is so much easier than Gatwick). This was another shot in the dark for most of us, but the budget airline proved to be excellent in every respect. For those of us used to the sardine tin Monarch airlines call a plane, that flies us to Egypt, the room and service on board really was a revelation.

And now to the diving. Well the Viz varied between about 6 metres on some poor dives to probably 10 or 12 metres on the others. There was lots and lots of life. Big Groupers, Scorpion fish and Octopus, plenty of smaller shoals of fish and colourful soft coral. We were also able to do a little bit of "safe" cave diving as well. These islands are riddled with big hole to safely go into. Because of a storm in the middle of the week we only managed 7 out of the 10 possible dives but I don't think anyone was disappointed. In any event food and booze were cheap. Pete Simblett who knocked it on the head after the first dive when his dry suit leaked again (for the 3rd trip running) was able to drown his sorrows (ha!!) in litres of whisky costing £4.00 each. Rumour has it that he is currently looking to buy a small property next to the supermarket for his retirement.

Will I do it again? Yes absolutely, but probably later in the year. Because it is so family friendly I will want to do it during school holidays, and I'm probably looking towards the summer half term in 2003. So all you divers with families that complain about your diving, and teachers who claim we never organise trips for your holidays. Watch this space!!!. I have made a video of the holiday (which has been received with some critical acclaim. Thank you fans) so if anyone is thinking of going next year and would like a copy just ask.

Fletch

Click here for some photos from the trip

Divers: John Fletcher, Matt Dodsley, Ian Milner, Andy Bullard, Pete Simblett, Dave Jamieson, Mary & Henry Huntley, James Hosegood, Louisa Bowen, Ryan Healey

The first RIB trip of the year and the she behaved impeccably. Those members who cannot remember the pull start two strokes, will have no idea of the please found in launching the RIB for the first dive of the season, pressing a starter button and having the engine break into life instantly. All the investment was definitely worth it.

The real aim of the trip was to get the newer members their sea and boat dive to go towards their Club Diver qualification. I'm please to say in this respect the trip was a success. Faced with a North Westerly force 5/6 the only diving available was outside the harbour wall but close in. The Saturday morning dive in Balaclava Bay was the best. We had a good 5 metres of Viz and everyone got a reasonable to dive in. However by the afternoon the wind had strengthened and the dive on the outside of the harbour wall was harder work for some.

By the Sunday even the professional skippers had knocked it on the head with the strengthening wind. However the newer members were determined to dive. A shore dive in the Harbour was proposed. It is about 4 meters of muddy silt but when you are starting out all dives count. There was a rush of more experienced divers to be dive marshal, but I selflessly took on the task myself. Seriously though it was very good experience for the club divers and Mary and Henry just newly qualified were able to do a dive together without a leader.

I am all in favour of these weekend for bringing on new divers. Portland is what you make it, but has the advantage of allowing some sort of Diving in almost any conditions. Just as important however is the "bonding" in the pub at the end of the day. This is when I think new members really begin to feel they are truly part of the diving fraternity at last.

Fletch

Bob Kempton reports...

We all arrived at the Breakwater Hotel on Friday afternoon/evening after the trials and tribulations of the UK road system and settled in for a relaxing pint or two and a dose of the usual banter. Matt sat down and wrote out Plan A and after a couple more pints we retired to our respective hotels ready for a 7.30 am start the following morning.

Plan A was RIB launched and ready to leave the harbour at 9.00 am with Mark at the helm and six keen divers heading off for Ballaclava Bay. Everything went like clockwork and away the RIB went leaving the rest us to take a civilised breakfast. The sun was shining and we were still on Plan A!

The second wave of divers was scheduled to leave harbour at 11.00 am after a quick changeover. All was going smoothly until Julie's newly acquired Drysuit split a wrist seal as she put it on - calamity! Could this mean Plan B? To the rescue came Vicky and offered her drysuit as a stand in. We were back on course.

A quick changeover of kit and divers and we were off on time again out to Ballaclava Bar. Reports from the earlier divers suggested the viz wasn't brilliant but not too bad and sea conditions were good. We dropped into the middle of the bay and landed on sandy bottom 8 metres down, close to a lobster pot. Followed what was almost a small reef of rocks and weeds in the general direction of the harbour wall, coming across 2 more lobster pots on the way, one with a spider crab in - obviously hadn't read the script! There were not many fish about, just a few small hermit crabs and some nice anemones. All divers recovered we set back off for the harbour and lunch. RIB diving as well as diving in the sea was a brand new experience for some this weekend and was a bit of a shock to the system in some cases. However nobody was undeterred by their experiences and all were ready for the second dives in the afternoon.

Second dive for the first wave was on the Hood and for the second wave the Landing Craft inside the harbour as the Hood was still crowded with boats. The viz on the landing craft was good for the first pair down but after that - zero! All diving completed successfully we recovered the RIB with some difficulty as the tide was out and we didn't have the luxury of 4-wheel drive. But with lots of rope, pushing and shoving and smoking clutches we recovered it quite easily.

Showered and changed we retired to the Breakwater for our evening meal and were all in bed by 10.30pm. No staying power these days, what's aprés-diving coming to?

Sunday morning and we had the RIB launched and ready to go at 7.15am. When Matt came down to find an empty trailer he was quite surprised. We despatched the first wave for an early dive on the Hood whilst the rest of us had a leisurely breakfast again. The second wave went out equally quickly with 4 of us diving on the Hood at the end of slack water and 2 in Ballaclava Bay. Poor old Mark had a devil of a job keeping an eye on us all. The Hood was quite nice but when Vicky and I went up on top you could feel the current starting to run. The kelp was horizontal. We dropped down the side a little way and decided to knock it on the head at that stage. The delayed SMB went off at 45 degrees and we went surfing after it. The Sea State in the harbour entrance was fairly bumpy by this stage and recovery was rough and quick with everybody helping each other.

All divers recovered we returned to harbour and decided to curtail the diving there as the viz wasn't improving, the wind was getting stronger and we were waning. Recovered the RIB while there was still water in the harbour, cleaned it down, had some lunch and headed for home.

Portland Trip Report no.3 from Fletch (we do go diving elsewhere - really!)

Divers: Dave & Sarah Judd, John Fletcher, Michael May, Matt Dodsley, Vicky (guest Diver and woman of mystery)

This trip was an ad hoc trip organised at short notice to take the overflow from Ian Milner's trip of the previous week, which was oversubscribed. DJ was kind enough to tow the RIB round to Portland at the end of Ian's weekend and park it up for the week, allowing Dave, Sarah and Michael wanted to get a sea dive in before the season really got under way.

After a week of perfect diving weather the wind rose on Friday and the cloud appeared. However by Saturday morning the conditions allowed for a reasonable dive on the landing craft in Portland Harbour. Sarah had never seen a landing craft before, and the Viz was not brilliant so she is still not sure if she has actually seen one now, but at least she felt its rivets.

As second dive was attempted on the Hood. The tides were really springy springs. Sarah, Dave Matt and Vicky made it, and had a good dive. However by the time John and Michael had gone in on the second wave, what slack there had been, was gone. The rope from permanent buoy to the wreck had broken, so they could not get on to the Hood against the current with nothing to pull themselves along. In an exciting current John deployed a delayed blob and they knock it on the head. Michael was impressed as he said he had never seen a blob deployed "in anger" before. John however was less impressed as the SMB cord wrapped round his pillar valve. The result was the current pulling the SMB with his fist attached into his face. The divers in the rib were treated to the sight of their DO apparently beating himself up constantly pulling his fist away from his face only to have it smash back into his chin.

The forecast for Sunday was not good, so after the second dive it was decided that since all objectives had been achieved they would not try for a dive on Sunday but travel home Saturday evening. However there are strong suspicions that the live showing of the Leicester, Llanelli semi final on telly the next day might have affected the motivation of some of the team members.