Stoney Cove
| With: | Aiden and Pip from the Argonauts Dive Club, Victoria, London |
|---|---|
| Accommodation: | Was it Willomead B&B in Sapcote? |
| Dates: | 24th November 2007 - 25th November 2007 |
This was my first ever outdoor dive. Pip and I had completed our pool training with Aiden and were venturing out into the big wide world.
I drove up from Bedford in the Peugeot 206 and Aiden picked up Pip in South London. We needed some photos for the Stoney Cove membership so I stopped at a service station in Leicester to get some passport photos done (I had long greasy hair so they didn't turn out well!). I got a call from Pip before I left the service station to say that they were just leaving London so I got there far earlier than the others and had a bit of time to wander around Stoney Cove.
We did 5 dives over the 2 days but Pip had a terrible problem with the wetsuit she hired from the shop there; it was just far too small and she got blisters from trying to get it on. In the end it took both me and Aiden to get the zip done up and Pip couldn't stop laughing! She could hardly move in it once it was on! Didn't bode well for the mask clearing later because Pip couldn't actually get her hand behind her head.
Dive 1
| Dive Date: | 2007-11-24 |
|---|---|
| Dive Number: | 1 |
| Place: | Stoney Cove |
| Buddy: | Pip Palframan |
| Instructor: | Aiden |
| Time Down: | 12:58 |
| Time Up: | 13:13 |
| Total Time: | 15 |
| Max Depth: | 6.0m |
| Visibility: | 10-15m |
| Entry Details: | Quarry, Shore |
| Water Speed: | 0 |
| Weather Conditions: | Bloody cold! Water 10°C, very light rain |
| Equipment Details: | Everything hired from the dive shop. Air, 1 12L steel cylinder, 10Kg |
| Verified By: | Pip |
| Air In: | 200 |
| Air Out: | 150 |
| Weight: | 10Kg |
Roach, Aeroplane cockpit, Hovering, Regulator in and out, Partial mask clearing
We stayed on the 6m ledge. I remember getting in and feeling all the freezing cold water run into the slightly baggy wetsuit bt seeing a load of fish immediately underneath me and was delighted to see that they didn't instantly all swim off. Fish seem much less frightened than animals on land.
Dive 2
| Dive Date: | 2007-11-24 |
|---|---|
| Dive Number: | 2 |
| Place: | Stoney Cove |
| Buddy: | Pip Palframan |
| Instructor: | Aiden |
| Time Down: | 14:09 |
| Time Up: | 14:40 |
| Total Time: | 31min |
| Max Depth: | 10m |
| Visibility: | 5m |
| Entry Details: | Quarry |
| Water Speed: | 0 |
| Weather Conditions: | Cold |
| Equipment Details: | Everything hired from the dive shop. Air, 1 12L steel cylinder, 10Kg |
| Verified By: | Pip |
| Air In: | 150 |
| Air Out: | 60 |
| Weight: | 10Kg |
Submarine (nautilis), mask clearing and removal, alternative air source, regulator loss and retrieval, stride entry, out by steps this time. Also did a bit of hovering.
Because of the slightly late start we couldn't change the air and still have time for another dive so we called it a day there.
Had dinner in the Indian Restaurant attached to the pub and then went back to the B&B.
Dive 3
Got an earlier start. Pip was given an empty tank so I got it re-filled for her.Also she had wetsuit problems so changed into a Man's Medium. Plastic bag tip!
| Dive Date: | 2007-11-25 |
|---|---|
| Dive Number: | 3 |
| Place: | Stoney Cove |
| Buddy: | Pip Palframan |
| Instructor: | Aiden |
| Time Down: | 10:40 |
| Time Up: | 11:14 |
| Total Time: | 34min |
| Start Code: | A |
| Max Depth: | 15.5m |
| Visibility: | 5-7m |
| Entry Details: | Quarry |
| Water Speed: | 0 |
| Weather Conditions: | 9°C water temp |
| Equipment Details: | Everything hired from the dive shop. Air, 1 12L steel cylinder, 8Kg weight this time. Wetsuit (5mm, two piece, hood and gloves) |
| Verified By: | Pip |
| Air In: | 238 |
| Air Out: | 90 |
| Weight: | 8Kg |
Stride entry, mask clearance -> partial, full, remove and relace. Alternative air source (Aiden demoed). Dropped down the wall (15.5m, not to the bottom) then came back up and saw the plane cockpit. Practiced controlling boyancy with air a bit. Got out by ladder. Refilled tank afterwards.
You have to pay a few pounds to get tanks refilled but they only accept cash so you drop the tank off, wait about 30 minutes and then come back with cash when you pick it up.
In-between dives I put my Gore-Tex jacket over the top of the wet wetsuit to try to keep warm but I still got cold rather quicky. We also had bacon butties and Aiden bought some brownies as snacks.
On the shore Aiden had a large yellow/brown box which he kept kit in to keep organised. Seemed to work quite well.
Dive 4
| Dive Date: | 2007-11-25 |
|---|---|
| Dive Number: | 3 |
| Place: | Stoney Cove |
| Buddy: | Pip Palframan |
| Instructor: | Aiden |
| Time Down: | 12:43 |
| Time Up: | 13:21 |
| Total Time: | 38min |
| Max Depth: | 19.5m |
| Visibility: | 5m |
| Entry Details: | Quarry |
| Water Speed: | 0 |
| Weather Conditions: | Warmer than yesterday! |
| Equipment Details: | Everything hired from the dive shop. Air, 1 12L steel cylinder, 8Kg weight this time. Wetsuit (5mm, two piece, hood and gloves) |
| Verified By: | Pip |
| Air In: | 230 |
| Air Out: | 50 |
Stride entry, saw a pike on entry, swam past nautilis, practiced mini controlled boyant lifts x4 (where we just lifted of the floor, not to the top) then did 4 full controlled boyant lifts. Practiced towing via the pillar valve to the block house. Dropped to the platform then went off the edge and down the Wessex Helicopter (20m) notcibly colder down there and very little light. Returned via the sub and through the block house under the restaurant (this was where Becks, the Sister of James' girlfriend lost her mask and nearly came a cropper because the ceiling is under water so you can't just swim to the surface by going up). Before we got out we did a weight check and practiced removing the other person's weight belt. Exited by the ramp.
Dive 5
| Dive Date: | 2007-11-25 |
|---|---|
| Dive Number: | 3 |
| Place: | Stoney Cove |
| Buddy: | Pip Palframan |
| Instructor: | Aiden |
| Time Down: | 14:44 |
| Time Up: | 14:59 |
| Total Time: | 15min |
| Max Depth: | 8.2m |
| Visibility: | 5m |
| Entry Details: | Quarry |
| Water Speed: | 0 |
| Weather Conditions: | Light rain. |
| Verified By: | Pip |
| Air In: | 235 |
| Air Out: | 150 |
- Went in via ram avoiding ducks and gulls
- Pip lead us round the naultilis - we saw some other divers and had to squeeze past
- I had the watch
- Aiden said it was my time to take over as leader
- I led along the wall to the areoplane cockpit - I went in followed by Aiden. Pip went round (very wierd swimming inside a cockpit. I saw two perch in the plane
- Then we returned to the steps
- Tried removing weight belts ourselves
- Aiden helped remove fins