Good Friday…
) Wey Chieftain and the ever cheerful Graham Knot.
A very civilised ropes off at 9:30 am meant that we were able to get to Weymouth in good time…ruining Fraser’s reputation of being last to get to every dive this year. We were joining a club of BSAC divers from Teddington - who were very friendly and we would dive either the Sky or the St Dunstan - dependant on sea state. Both are 30 metre wrecks, and Fraser and I have dived them both before so didn’t really mind which but both of us have fond memories of a St Dunstan dive last year so it would be good to go back.
Graham announces that it will be the Sky - and Fraser’s bottom lip trembles… so Graham takes pity and heads west to the St Dunstan 
Yay!!
It is a rough trip out and several divers start feeding the fish on route. Never been there myself - how could I be sick when there is chocolate to eat? Luckily for me, Fraser joins those who are feeling queasy so I get to eat his chocolate too 
We get to the site eventually and Fraesr most sensibly feels that the water would be the best place to be.
St Dunstan
Photo from Divernet
The ‘Dunstan’ was almost certainly built by Lobnitz and Co, Renfrew at around the turn of the century, only to be sunk by a mine on 23rd Sep 1917 with the loss of two lives. This vessel was originally built as a dockyard bucket dredger but was operating as a minesweeper when she went down.
The wreck lies in 30m of water, with a very heavy list to port. The stern and midships section of this vessel has collapsed onto the port rail, leaving a tangle of dredging buckets, gulleys, lifting equipment and tunnels. The bow section of the vessel is intact but upside-down, allowing easy access to the twin engines and boilers which are situated immediately behind the chain locker.
An unusual feature of this vessel is that the boilers and engines are in the bow, leading many to believe that this is only half of a ship - the bow ‘half’ being located elsewhere. This machinery layout allowed the bucket assembly to be lowered through the middle of the hull and a hopper to be included amidships.
I led most of the dive… and to Fraser’s astonishment managed to find the boilers, the anchor, the winch buckets and gear, the prop and a few swim throughs too - he says I’ve improved whilst he has been away…. He spotted the conger though The life on this wreck is astonishing - although no lobsters today…
It is only a small wreck and so even though we were diving bottom stages (to save back gas for dive 2) we saw round it twice before it was time to ascend and even then it was the cold which made us think it was time. We had given a maximum dive duration to Graham of 65 minutes so took a nice steady ascent hitting the surface bang on one hour - to fnd that they had had a little fun on the boat in our absence. Never mind - all was well enough.
We got ready to set off for another site - only to find that the shot line was wrapped round the prop. Guess who still had their suit on….
So I kitted up and jumped back in to see if I could free it. Needless to say the rope was completely twisted tightly round the prop and I surfaced and asked for a large knife to try to cut it off - an operation which would clearly not be that quick either given the thickness of the rope.
Hmm… call me a slow learner but when I’m hit on the head by a boat once… I think it hurts. A second time, I know it hurts. A third and I’m begining to think who cares about a rope round the prop. The fourth time it hits me (the swell was rather nasty) I start to see stars and think that there must be something to be said for wearing helmets in the water after all … I give up and surface.
Graham is worried as I am not taking the opportunity to take the p1ss out of him - although this improves when I start to see in single images again He cuts the buoy off at the surface and takes the boat to a place with slighter better conditions to have another go. I sit this one out - but am clearly recovering when I call Graham “The skipper who can shot anything - especially his own boat!”
Fraser decides that he still feels rough and sits out on Dive two. I was going to sit out with him but decide to go scalloping (as I never have before). I jump in to shallow water with the DO of the club and we fill a bag with scallops which I then send up on my DSMB. Fun - I almost feel like a proper diver
Back to the harbour for fills (twinsets and stomachs - the Old Harbour Dive Centre did us proud and gave me free ice cream!!!
Good Friday? - indeed it was
So come on - what about you….
