Well what a week-end it was!! Whilst the journey to North Wales was long (especially avoiding the V festival in Weston Park) the scenery, diving, company and weather certainly made up for it. So much so that everyone on the trip is keen for a re-visit which is certainly in plan for next year.

The majority of us stayed at the Anglesey Arms hotel in Menai Bridge. It had just been re-opened after a refurb. We were the first ones to use the newly redecorated rooms, so very nice and clean. Indeed the hotel was extremely helpful throughout the week-end despite the fact they were dealing with a wedding and finishing off the refurbed bar. They were also kind enough to move Morag and Charley into the old honeymoon suite, which was appropriate since the week-end was effectively their honeymoon.

With the bar closed in the Arms, we retired to The Bridge Inn 50 yards away to gather all bodies together as they drifted in over the evening. Plans were set for an 8am start on the boat.

The boat, Voyager, is very similar to Swanage Diver which the club knows well. It is run by Scott Waterman of Quest Diving Charters. The boat has room for 10 twinsets, so there was plenty of room. It is also the first dive boat I’ve been on that has a fully automatic flushing heads! Another novelty is that Scott provides everyone with their own individual mugs which he marks on it whose mug it is and what they drink. You get to keep the mug at the end of the week-end. Parking on the pier is also included in the boat price. All in, an excellent deal. Fills are provided out of Scott’s garage!

Day 1 – by Roger Selwyn

Since the wind was blowing from the south west, we headed east out of the Straits. The advantage with Anglesey is that there is always diving available because you can always get in the lee of the island. Since there was a reasonable amount of wind, we didn’t go offshore too far, deciding to dive on the Kincorth. This is a wreck that is broken into parts. We were dropped on the mid-section and did a lovely dive amongst plenty of wreckage covered in anemones and dead men's fingers, also with many pouting about. Very pretty! The wreck is at 30m, so after about 20 minutes on that section we head south to try and find the stern. Unfortunately the tide was running a bit by then so we got blown off course, and only saw a couple of dog fish and Jane looking for the same thing. Nora and Morag were the only ones to find the stern. Never mind, but an enjoyable dive to get the week-end started.

We then headed for shelter at Puffin Island where after a suitable surface interval we jumped in with the seals. We all pretty much swam into a little pool amongst the rocks were the seals came in to take a look before dashing off again. Nora captured this rather nice shot of one as it stopped by. The seals didn’t really hang around long though, preferring to go off and capture their lunch. So having ‘lost’ Clare to kelp sickness, I headed off down into the crevices around the island. I’ve never seen so much soft coral in my life, and my pictures certainly don’t do it justice! I could have wandered for a long time amongst valleys of corals, but in the end headed for the surface and a return to Menai Bridge.

We ate at the Four Crosses on the Saturday nigh, which is just a 5 minute drive through Menai Bridge. An excellent meal was had, and we presented Jane with her trophy for winning the Sea Life section of the annual photo competition.

Day 2 – by Clare Selwyn

Sadly “the Honeymooner” duo decided against diving due to health aches and went touring the island exploring, they came back full of Welsh names like Llanfair PG, but in full!! Everyone else was on board, having collected cylinders from the garage and ready for the off. Seas were calmer so we ventured a bit further and found the Cartagena. With the help of two local phd students taking the empty spaces, one being able to skipper, Scott was able to take a quick dive and secure the shot line. Once kitted we drop down, 20m Rog stops, oh… ear pointing starts, up a bit.. bit…bit and he tells me to go down and he goes up. I carried on slowly checking frequently but see no sign of him descending. Once on the wreck at below 30m I decide he isn’t going to make it and have a bimble around a fantastic wreck before my time runs out. She was everything we were briefed and read about. Quite intact and covered in sea growth (the currents up and down the Straits have a lot to answer for!!). Having not really met up with the others I decide to push no limits and start my ascent just deco ticked on, so my trip up was nothing too long. I tried my best not to be too enthusiastic when back on the boat so as not to make Rog feel worse, but failed. Good point however, need to go back so he can see too!!

We head back into the Straits and the 2nd dive is a sand dredger called the Hoveringham. The students dived first as one was on first dive post nasty bend. They had a short 20 min and came up all smiles. Then our turn. Being a virtually upturned hull one side, the west is less dived. It has more current that plant life struggles with let alone the like of us! East was sheltered. My log says funny site as a good two meters was above water when we got in the water and it was totally under water when we got out. Yet doing as guided and staying close to the wreck we felt no current. Sea life again was in its masses, can there be so many crabs in one place?!! We did try to spot the resident seal but Rog and I looked in the wrong holes. I think some found her living in the air pockets within the hull. A shallow dive at 7m there about, Roger came in but it was to be his last dive for the weekend. Will he gate crash the honeymooners or deck hand tomorrow…?

We ate in The Bridge Inn across from the Arms. Again a great meal. Tim was a bit stunned when having asked for mussels as a main, they brought at a second bowl saying that the first large bowl was just the starter portion. He did seem to be eating mussels all evening. We again presented Jane her Sea Life award, since she had left in behind the the Four Crosses the previous night, and we didn’t think she should get away with that!.

Day 3 – by Jason Matthews

Ropes off at 0845 to hit a slack tide dive of 1045ish.  Leaving St Georges Pier on the Protector during a warm summers day, the heat of the sun was partially deflected by low, sporadic cloud which had crashed in to the hillside of Snowdonia.  The wind held back, the water was calm – this was backdrop to a good days diving!

First up was the SS Delfina nestled in about 40 metres of Anglesey’s finest – Tim & Nigel did a great job to secure the shot to a section of the Delfina that provided a stunning vantage point of the upright wreck whilst descending.  Finning against a current of possibly 1 knot and taking in the view of maybe 15 metres vis, it became very apparent that much of the 300’ wreck was still intact – rudder, prop, shaft – and then back around to the bridge.  Resting in the cargo compartments like inhabitants of terraced houses were conger eel, lobster, common crab and wrasse overseen by Lions Mane Jellyfish.  Mental note to oneself - Must go back and experience the rest of the wreck and with a twinset!  All aboard after many minutes of deco and beaming with smiles (and that wasn’t just the nitrox) we then set off to return to Menai Bridge.

Through the striking view of the Menai Bridge and along the Menai Straits we reach The Swellies.  Fast flowing, caution, speed boats, head North West, no cameras, blobs at 20 minutes – were some of the words in Skippers briefing.  A couple of very experienced twinset divers (names removed to save them the embarrassment!) found themselves swirling like a pair of old socks in a washing machine and failed to navigate themselves through the much more pleasurable, fast flowing Straits - Should’ve listened to Skipper!  Those who did,  found themselves brushing past remnants of Penmon limestone, secrets of the great British sea and scuttling along the Straits like submerged white water rafters.  Shimmering in the sunkissed waters as if it was last touched by the hand of Thomas Telford, was a steel thingy draped in strips of 2 inch brass.  One mile later, all aboard, Jane appeared on the lift with crabs (and no, not the STD variety) but then who knows what goes on in the intimacy of an experienced solo diver in the clutches of the Menai Straits.

Most definitely worth a day off work – Iechyd da!

And Finally

As I said at the start, it was an excellent week-end. Everyone had a great time! Thanks to Nora Holford, Jane Wilkinson, Clare Selwyn, Morag and Charley Farley, Tim Burge, Jason Matthews, Nigel Stephenson and Antony Rodden for providing good company, and to Scott Waterman for providing great diving.

To finish off, here is a video put together by Nigel showing some of the highlights of the week-end.

Roger Selwyn