Trip Report Archive 2005-2008

SQSAC Farne Islands July 2005

DIVE MARSHALL Captain Warren Izzett
BOAT MARSHALL First Officer Neil Young

CREW First Mate Joe Carson,
Second MateTom Van Agtmael,
Third Mate Christine Bruce,
Cabin Boy Stevie Adams.

LAUNCH SITE Seahouses Harbour ? Good Clean Wide Slip, accessible all states of tide
Cost for RHIB and 6 Divers £20, Car Parking £3.

DIVE SITE Pinnacles/SS St Andre, Staple Island, Outer Farnes.

Warren and Stevie collected the Club Boat from Broxburn and set off at 08:15, we had planned to set off at 8am to give us an easy run down for 10am, already we had lost 15mins. We had a good run down, but got stuck behind trucks doing 50mph, so lost more time.
Warren decided that he would rather take the scenic route via Morpeth, (Ok we missed 2 openings!) we reached Seahouses Harbour 40mins late.

Weather was beautiful, Sun was splitting the pavement and the sea was flat calm, while I prepared the Boat (more on this later) and the others got suited up Warren registered at the Harbour Master?s Office, so registration board tied on we launched.

Not a bad effort for SQSAC, with a large audience gathering there was an expectant hush as Warren began to reverse the trailer down the slip. Without any of our usual drama the Boat was safely launched, the disappointed crowd dispersed, denied their expected 20 minutes of swearing and excitement.

Warren went off to park his Car while we humped his Kit onto the Boat eventually he strolled down to the slip and stepped onboard with a quick salute from the Crew. With the Captain on board we could go after consulting his chart and doing some research Warren had identified a couple of sites at Staple Island in the Outer Farnes, he was the only one who had been to the Farnes before and that was 7 years ago, so we set off for Staple Island which was about 3 miles away, it was a bit bumpy going across the channel, but once on site it was very calm in the lee of the Island, very impressive cliffs about 20m high with 3 columns at a right angle. Depths were 25 ? 18m at the base of the cliffs.

We were happy to see 3 other Dive Boats in the area so we guessed that we had got slack water ok,
After a quick dive plan Neil, Christine, Joe and Tom kitted up and dropped in at the wall.
We had agreed a 45 min Dive Time so hoped they could head South (wall on the right) and waited to pick them up, as we hadn?t dived this site we had no idea of currents, or what was underwater so hoped for the best.

With three other boat loads of divers in this area popping up on delayed's, and Tourist Boats very close to us it was difficult to identify who was who, finally picked up Christine and Neil in a tricky spot
And after following bubbles and a delayed realised it wasn?t Joe or Tom, they were a good distance around the corner so managed to pick them up easily.

Warren and I were next up, so kitted up and decided to drop down a line which had been conveniently left at this site, turns out it was a lobster pot marker but put us at the deepest part of the site, when I hit the bottom I checked my computer and was amazed to see a depth of 21m, it was really light and felt like 10m, we set off South but couldn?t make ground against the tide, launched my DSMB and drifted back, lots of life, shoals of fish and a large piece of wreckage, finally ascended and found ourselves back where we had started, picked up by our boat and we headed back to Seahouses for Lunch.

After a quick Lunch and cylinder change we headed back out, planning to try the SS St Andre, a broken up wreck 100m from the first site after a cruise around the island we noticed strong currents between the Islands and no other Boats, they were all across at Crumstone and Fang, about a mile away. We could see that we were drifting in a circle, so decided to switch off engine while Joe, Tom and Neil and Christine kitted up?. then disaster we couldn?t start the engine.. the battery was flat and we were drifting onto the rocks wit a large Tourist Boat coming in fast, while Warren got ready with the paddle to repel boarders and fend us off we tried to get the Pony Motor started after much pulling and swearing I realised I hadn?t turned the fuel on?.with one pull Neil got it started and First Mate Joe steered us out of danger, we set off back to Seahouses, Flat out and making 1 knot we wondered if we would get back, thoughts turned to being Shipwrecked on a Desert Island and we decided who would get eaten first?Sorry Christine..

With the Sun Beating Down and Tom hallucinating about Ice Cream we were in a bad way?'water water everywhere and not a drop to drink.?after 1/3 distance the fuel ran out?I then remembered that the Main Engine can be Pull started in case of emergency?well this was it1.
Neil found the Starter Rope and I had a go, first pull was a disaster, next pull it started and with a big cheer we were off, singing Sea Shanties all the way back to Harbour.
Near the slip Captain Izzett decided to switch the key off, why we don?t know, he didn?t know either, after being verbally abused he saluted the Crew and stepped ashore to collect the trailer. After recovering the Boat and packing Kit I removed the Drain Plug to clear a drop of water out. After 20 minutes the water was still coming out, some idiot (me) had left the Inner Drain Plug out and filled the hull with water, DOH, no wonder the Pony Motor struggled 6 divers + kit + Motor Dragging + 1000 gallons of seawater in the Hull! Anyway after an Ice Cream we set off home.

A good Trip, well planned and the ?Dive? was good, I think everyone decided we should go back again
as soon as possible.

A couple of things that we learnt: -
We need to find a way to identify SQSAC DSMB?s so we can tell which are our Divers,
We need to ensure that flags or some kind of Signalling Device is carried by each pair as Currents are very strong and can carry you miles away.

Until we are sure that the Charging fault has been cleared we need to carry a spare charged Battery
And get our Hand Held VHF working again, also change our Flares which are out of date.
(Although I heard flares were back in fashion again).

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SQSAC The Cyclops September 2006

MV North Star: - Skipper Ian Easingwood
SQSAC Divers: - Warren Izzett, Ronnie Mackenzie, Ally Macgregor, Stevie Adams

The 'Cyclops' is the wreck of a Dredger lying about 3 miles North of Dunbar and
2.8 miles East of the Bass Rock, in position 56 03 28.1N, 002 32 04.2W.

She sank while under tow from Queensferry to Sunderland to be scrapped on 27-02-1924.
Reported as lying upside down 3 metres clear of the muddy/sandy seabed at 38 metres, with a length of 45 metres and a breadth of 10 metres, lying in a north to south orientation.

Iain Easingwood had brought his boat up from Eyemouth to dive the U74, Royal Fusilier, and the Cyclops over the weekend, so four of us decided to book up and dive the Cyclops on the Saturday afternoon.

We arrived at 1pm to depart at 1:30pm, and once onboard Warren discovered he had forgotten his Drysuit hose, DOH ! So we would have to dive in two ?waves? so he could use my hose.

It was a lovely day as we left Dunbar Harbour, blue skies and calm seas, and with only seven of us on the boat there was plenty of room to scatter our kit about.
Once onsite the sounder showed 36 metres to the top of the wreck and 38 metres to the seabed.
I dived with Ally and we dropped onto the hull at a depth of 36 metres, visibility was about 6 metres but very dark, as the shot was off the wreck we clipped a distance line on and reeled off, lots of fish (bib) and large crabs and lobsters. A very confusing wreck with large cogs and girders everywhere, and the remains of the buckets still under the wreck, after 20 minutes we returned to the shotline and ascended, after completing our Deco stops we surfaced and were picked up by the boat.
I swapped Drysuit hoses and briefed Warren and Ronnie about conditions and location of the shot, they dropped in while we ate Homemade Shortbread and drank Coffee in the sun. After a lengthy dive they returned to the Boat, nobody wanted a second dive as time was now getting on, we arrived back at Dunbar unloaded, paid the Skipper (ouch!) and headed home at 5:30 pm.

A good dive lots to see, (but not as good as the U-Boat which is very close by, at 42m it?s a bit deeper but small enough to see everything in one dive).
The Cyclops is covered in soft corals and sponges, but is silty and stirs up easily, at 45 metres long too big to really see all in one dive, with lots of girders, large flywheels and buckets lying about, a very confusing wreck to make sense of.
She appears to be lying over on her side, and has sunk into the mud rather than being fully upside down.

I think it was an even more confusing Dive for Ally with his small torch and with our maximum depth being 39 metres, narcosis must have had an effect...although not for me diving 10/50 Trimix in my Rebreather gives you a lovely clear head so I could deal with all my problems: - flooded suit (neck seal went), too heavy, reel tangled up... (Don?t think Ally noticed!) Everyone enjoyed the Day and their Dive, except for the price £35 for one dive, OUCH!. I think we will use the Club RIB the next time.

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SQSAC Scapa Flow Trip Report 24-27 November 2006

Warren Izzett, Stevie Adams, Dave Brunton, Joe Carson, Gavin Wilkie, Ally MacGregor

From the original Thirteen names who were down to go on this trip it came down to just six of us who were willing to brave the elements , the rest had all wimped out with various outlandish excuses.
Anyway we decided to travel up in a car and a van and a plane (Warren decided to fly up to Kirkwall as he was returning from a business trip that morning, well that was his story).
Davie and Joe had decided to travel up in Joes Van which 2 days before we were to leave promptly broke down!. As Davies van had already broke down on this trip last year they were travelling up in a hire van, and I was taking Gavin and Ally ' our Scapa Virgins ' up to Scrabster in my Land Rover.
We set off at about 11:30 am on Friday morning, and after stop at Golspie we arrived at Scrabster at about 5pm. Joe and Davie had already sorted the Trolley out
(You load your Dive Kit into a Box Trailer which is put on the boat for the journey over) we then loaded our kit and parked up the car.
Once on the Ferry we sat down and had a meal then Davie went off for a sleep while we all talked nonsense about Diving, and didnt even go to the Bar, which was a first for me!.

We arrived early at Stromness and met Warren who took great delight in telling us that after taking off from Edinburgh he had barely time to drink his Gin and Tonic before he was landing at Kirkwall. First hiccup was that we had to unload our Dive Kit at the Terminal and carry it all to the boat, as some 'jobsworth' from North Link Ferries wouldn?t let us move the trolley, then it was low tide so it was all lowered by rope to the deck. We then headed to the Ferry Inn where Warren and Joe had already got the best rooms on the Top Floor, leaving the noisy ones for Gavin and Ally and me.
We then adjourned for a few beers, but already they were all yawning and making excuses to disappear to bed , I dont know what this Club is coming to, we do have a reputation to keep up in Orkney ! at least I stayed up late to try and live up to this!.

The Forecast wasnt good but we got up to a calm dry day, after Breakfast we met on the boat at 9.30am to meet the Skipper, first Dive was to be the Brummer .As we set off down the Flow, we all checked our kit, Warren discovered his weight harness had snapped so repairs were effected, then I found I had left some O-rings out of my rebreather , a potentially fatal mistake that I only discovered by accident , after replacing them we all suited up, when getting Ally to zip me up it jammed then tore off, so with no spare suit apart from the Skippers, who is twice my size, my Diving was finished for the day. They all had a good Dive on the Brummer but more problems when Allys computer locked him out for missing a stop.

The other Divers had found some nice German 'Cod' Bottles inside the wreck (Old glass bottles with marbles for stoppers) and told me where to find them, (and Im not telling you until I get some next trip!).
After having Lunch in the Sun we woke Davie up and headed off to dive the Karlsruhe, They all came back having had really good dives, and after a cup of tea we headed back to Stromness to see if I could get my zip changed at Scapa Scuba overnight.
More bad news Ben couldnt repair my zip, so I had to hire a suit at £15 a day, which wasnt bad, but it was a neoprene suit with a cuff dump, not what I am used to, but at least I could get some dives in.

Back to the Ferry Inn, a few beers, washed changed and back to the bar to decide where to eat. There isn?t a lot of choice in Stromness . either the Royal Hotel, Stromness Hotel, Ferry Inn or Julias Bistro - where Warren likes to eat, -he was outvoted and we were off to the Royal, after a so-so meal it was back to the Bar only to be met by white boiler suited blackfaced men everywhere , it was a 21st Birthday party who had travelled from Shetland to Orkney for a day/night out, they had painted their faces black and were all wearing white paper overalls, very bizarre, after starting drinking at two in the afternoon they were all the worse for wear, we tried to go to another pub to avoid them , no luck they all arrived in there with the Spice Girls in tow, (all the Shetland girls were dressed as up as Spice Girls) after an hour of mayhem they all thankfully disappeared. Back in the Ferry Inn it was jumping, a local band was playing, which immediately sent half our party off to bed, they were quite good but very loud eventually only Joe and I were left, and when he headed off to bed I figured no point in going up to my room which was right above the Bar, so I stayed and had another couple until they had finished.

I woke to a headache and another nice calm day, so after a hearty breakfast we were on the Boat at 9am and off to Dive the Kronprinz , after jumping in I found I couldnt get down, too light, so pulled myself down the shot and hoped I could get back to the shot for the ascent, normally the shot is on the hull at 12m (all the battleships are upside down) or tied off on a gun at 20m, this shot was on the seabed off the wreck at 36m, after gathering Ally up (he was a bit narced) we set off along the wreck then ascended and worked our way up to the stern then back along the Hull to about 15m, we passed a few guns and lots of large holes with interesting bits and bobs, we could see Davies new light shining 15m below us illuminating the wreck, after about 40mins we launched delayed SMBs and ascended, I handed the reel to Ally at about 9m and tried to hold a safety stop, after 1min I lost buoyancy and surfaced Ally completed another minute and ascended then back on the Boat to a mug of really spicy soup and to discuss the dive.
Joe and Davie completed a 60min dive, after 20mins of deco they came back onto the Boat looking very cold, perhaps 20mins deco is a bit long at this time of the year.

In the afternoon we went to dive a wreck site, this was the site of the Prince Leopold a battleship which was salvaged in the 1920?s this site is at a depth of 28m we dropped in on a large mast complete with spotting top, searchlights with lots of boxes and large pieces of wreckage, you could see the large hollow in the seabed at 31m where the ship had been, we didnt have time to explore more but lots of brass lying about, looks like more goodies to find yet, we launched Delayed SMB?s and after a safety stop we surfaced under control this time. Once on the boat we were back in harbour before 3pm so after a wander about Stromness we headed back to get washed and decide where to eat out, Warren wanted to eat at the Julias again, so we ate at the Stromness Hotel and very nice it was too. After a few beers in there we headed back to the Ferry Inn for the Irish Quiz - dont ask its because its an Irishman who runs it ! again they all disappeared to bed except Gavin, Warren and Me. Gavin was immediately co-opted on to the *Johns Chickadees* Quiz team as he obviously looks more intelligent than us, he fitted in well and was 'bonding' with his team mates when I went to bed. My lips are sealed, Im sure she is a lovely girl Gav.

Anyway we got up to a wet and very windy day, after Breakfast we headed to the boat.
Joe had a sore arm and decided to get a medical opinion in case it was DCI, he was assessed and taken to the Decompression Chamber and put into the pot for a precautionary recompression. After seeing the sea state in the harbour, and getting a bad forecast we kicked about Stromness and waited to see if we could get a dive in the afternoon. At 12 o?clock we met back on the boat to get the latest weather forecast it was worse so all Diving was cancelled, we packed all our kit and lifted it off the boat.

Davie organised to take Joes kit to Scrabster and booked a room at the Ferry Inn in case he missed the Ferry. After a lunch at the Julias Bar to keep Warren happy, we all split up to kill a couple of hours and try and stay out of the Pub. At 3pm we met up and collected our Trolley, packed it and then pushed it back to the terminal.
We got on the Boat and Joe suddenly appeared, his recompression hadn?t cleared the injury so he was diagnosed as 'not being bent', and was given a lift to catch the ferry by the Doctor at the chamber.
A big relief all round that he didnt have a bend, especially for Joe and Warren who would have had to fill in the report to BSAC.
After a meal on the Ferry we arrived back in Scrabster at 6.15pm, then another long wait before our Trolley arrived, we packed the cars and headed off at 6.45pm, I wanted a steady run down the road, but Davie and Joe wanted to break 4 hours and shot off down the road. We were home at about 11:30pm, Davie 'Schumacher' was back 45mins before us, -and he did break 4 hours just ! -.

Note Davie claims he did it in 3hrs 58mins, but this is unsubstantiated as Joe was asleep....he insits he did...so the gauntlet is down to see who can beat this time next year.....ill take my time and have a relaxed journey.

So a good trip, although for me a long way to go for just two dives, I think everyone enjoyed their Diving, its just a pity the weather let us down on the last day.

Thanks to Warren for organising it again, things to note lets try the B&B at the back of the Ferry Inn so its a bit quieter, and time to complain about the ridiculous way we have to push Trolleys loaded with Dive kit back and forward along the road to the harbour. Divers bring a lot of money into the Orkney economy and time they started putting pressure on the Ferry Company and the Boat Operators to sort this out.
Looking forward to my next trip already?

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