PLYMOUTH WEEKEND

My favorite dive site on the James Egan Layne gets dived once a year on my annual Plymouth pilgrimage. 5/6 dives over the first bank holiday in May.

The itinerary/routine is easy:

Friday          Travel down (the joys of the M5), book into the Devonshire Guest House (http://www.devonshiregh.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk) and then meet everyone in the Forteque pub for a few beers.

Saturday      Two dives on the Ceeking (http://www.divingplymouth.com) followed by Cheesy chips and a pint at Queen Anne's Battery. Off for a Chinese meal in the evening. Possibly finishing off with a trip to the James Street Vaults.

Sunday        Two dives on the Ceeking followed by Cheesy chips and a pint at Queen Annes Battery. Off for a curry.

Monday       One or two dives and back up the M5 to home.

It is truly a great diving weekend made more memorable and enjoyable because of the people who are in the group. We seem to be a group who are there to enjoy ourselves and not push the boundaries.

Heading out for a dive on the Ceeking

The diving is very much organised around the tides, weather and visibility so it was decided to make the most of the fair weather by travelling out to the furthest dive site Hand Deeps and then return via my favorite, the James Egan Layne.

Hand Deeps is a stunning dive, a pinnacle of rock rising up from about 70 meters to just 9 meters below the surface. It's a couple of hours out of Plymouth but worth the effort. A shot line to the kelp covered summit then off the edge to look at the nudibranch and jewel anemones covering the walls. Plenty of crabs and shoals of fish everywhere made for a good dive.

Edge of the drop of at Hand Deeps

We followed this up by a trip round the James Egan Layne. A wreck that is showing its age but never fails to deliver. This year the bow had given way and a large section had fallen to the sea bed, but this had been rapidly colonised and had a large Conger Eel living in side with large shoals milling round.

Remains of the cargo on the James Egan Layne

Cheesy chips, a pint and a Chinese banquet for the evening and then on to the next days diving. This time A trip to the Scylla followed by the beautiful reef of Hillsea Point. It is good to see the Scylla starting to look like the reef it was intended to be, plenty of marine life growing on it and fish starting to use it as home. 

Conger Eel in the Glen Strathallen

The final day we decided to complete just one dive on the Glen Strathallen. Not a deep dive and generally an easy option to finish. At about 18 meters in depth it consists of a large boiler with scattered plates around a low rocky reef. Inside the boiler a couple of Congers were glaring out at the intruders. We skirted around the site and by delving under the plates we found a great deal of marine life. a great end to a good weekends diving. 

Plate remains of the Glen Strathallen

The skipper of our boat needs a mention. Richard King of the Ceeking (http://www.divingplymouth.com). He is an expert on the Plymouth dive sites and puts the boat and shot line exactly in place, this makes for an excellent dive. It is important to get a skipper who can do this as time is not wasted and dives become easy as there is no doubt as to where the dive site will be - on the end of the shot line!