Stoney Cove Diving Trip 2005

As I write this I think I have just about warmed up following our post-Christmas dives at Stony Cove in Leicestershire. This trip, which took place for a couple of days between Christmas and New Year has become a annual event in the club’s diving calendar – this years trip will be on the 27^th and 28^th December 2006!

So, why do we put up with diving in near freezing water in a quarry? In winter, diving from the clubs RIB’s (rigid hulled inflatable boats) becomes problematic as the days are short, the weather is poor and there is also lack of enthusiasm. Do I stay in my cosy warm bed or do I get up early to spend my day in a boat with no protection from the elements – a difficult decision!

Given this, a trip to an inland dive site is a great opportunity to refresh your diving skills and try out any new kit that Santa had delivered in preparation for the start of next years diving season. More importantly, once you get out of the water at an inland site, you are never more than a few paces away from a hot cup of tea!

Seven members of the club dived on Wednesday 28^th; and six stayed on for a curry & beer that evening followed by some more diving on Thursday 29^th. In total the club did 26 dives over the two days, the maximum depth of some of the dives was 36 metres, but most were to the depth of 21 metres. For the newer members of the club, these were deep, challenging dives, carried out in very harsh conditions (the water was 6^oc, and the air temperature was even colder).

In the water, due to the low temperature, the visibility was good at over 10m, so navigation between the submerged structures was relatively easy compared to what we are use to experiencing in the sea. I caused much excitement when I discovered a newly submerged aeroplane. After much discussion about the characteristics of this plane and the possible location of it, the following dive revealed it to be the helicopter that had been there for years. Maybe the presence of so many divers in the water had reduced the visibility, causing my mistake! During the final dive, I then explored this helicopter in more detail, managing to get stuck in it. I have made a mental note to be more cautious when using a torch on a lanyard – it was just asking to get caught on something! It is experiences such as this that makes refreshing your diving skills in the winter so valuable.

Eastleigh BSAC's divers prepare to enter the water.

James emerges from the "deep hydrobox" at around 34m.