Charnwood Saltz BSAC 934

pedro writes "Arriving at Bovisands in the dark and driving rain it seemed the diving season had begun were it had left off last year but what a difference a few hours of moonlight can make, early Saturday morning we arose to a glorious almost summers day and we were to be blessed by the weather for the remainder of the weeekend.

With a heavy swell, head into the wind and the sun on our back we beat our way out to the HMS Scylla for our fist sea dive of the season. Four divers decended onto the wreck, greeted by some 10 meters of visibilty they finned off in their buddy pairs to enjoy a fantastic 50 minutes on what is now fast becoming a wreck that belongs to the sea. With Dead Mans Fingers and Plumose Anemomes carpeting her sides and Pollock patroling her decks, the cheecky Wrasse flitting about the Scylla seems to be gaining some sort of character that is a must for any wreck to enable her to live on whilst on the sea bed.

The afternoon was spent paying a visit to our old favourite the James Egan Layne. This wreck never fails to please any diver who visits her and fins along the almost jurasic shell that she has become. With the cargo fully exposed and an abundance of marine life at a nice shallow depth there wasn't a dull moment within the hour submerged along side the wreck.

Sunday saw flat calm seas with no wind and excellent vis and with a seasoned skipper coming along as a 'guest' with a wealth of knowledge on our destination what could go wrong......... maybe someone moved the Persia the day we arrived but it certainly didn't lie Westward of our entry point. Never mind after 5mins of looking the three divers in the water gave up hope directed some unseen before diving signals at the surface cover and happly finned around for a lovely scenic dive. Cuckoo Wrasse, Squat lobsters, Velvet and Edible Crabs, Soft Corals and Anemones amongst others all adorned the sea bed to make missing the wreck bareable not that we let in known as we surfaced.

Our first weekend at the coast this year passed in a flash, with a belly full of the finest quisine and the company we hooked up the rib and headed the bonnet north for the long journey home, or was it west! Lets hope the weather continues and last season can be put to rights with more trips like this one. "