A September 2021 Weekend In Eyemouth, What Could Go Wrong?
Author: Sheffield Scuba
Date: 16th Oct 2021
Well actually not a lot!
Apart from Eddie doing a striptease on the quayside, ( yes his trousers fell down), Pete walking with a peg leg and a petrol shortage. Other than that, oh and the last day being lost due to bad weather it was a great weekend.
So 8 of us from the club,( Tessa, Eddie, John, Susan, Alan, Ash ,Catherine and myself) were supposed to be diving for four days, Friday to Monday in late September. But as always with dive trips the weather is the deciding factor and whilst the forecast was for high winds initially, fortunately the wind eased and diving was possible.
Catherine , who was making her first sea dives after qualifying as an ocean diver missed the first day as her hired dry suit was suddenly unavailable. Pete, (with his busted knee decided to miss the first day in order to help recover).
We were staying at the Home Arms hotel which was run and owned by the captain of what is possibly the best day boat I’ve dived from, wave-dancer, a large twin hulled boat with plenty of room for all the divers as well as a double lift for assisting you out of the water.
With visibility around 10 metres and a mild 14 degree sea temperature conditions on the surface seemed ideal. Of course once under the waves things can and do get interesting.
Swells in anemone alley, a current on the wreck of the Glanmire and a plethora of marine life meant that whilst not difficult, diving was always a challenge and exciting.
It was my first time diving out of Eyemouth, having previously dived from its near neighbour, St Abbs. Eyemouth is more of a “town” with plenty of pubs and food outlets to please everyone, providing you like curry, pizza and chips. But seriously it’s a great place to dive from and thoroughly recommended.
Home Arms and Wavedancer are second to none in UK diving venues and hopefully we will be back there in the future?
The Monday diving was “blown out “ due to wind and sea swells so it was an early return home for us all.
Club diving away at sea is a great way to get to know your colleagues and certainly helps develop your skills and confidence.
Special mention must be made to Catherine for her first four dives in the sea in challenging conditions. Not the placid calm of an inland quarry, but the real unpredictability of the ocean. Even the skipper of Wavedancer commended her on her performance over the weekend…Well done!