The Scilly Isles
by Dave Beadley and Andreas Wilk

The trip was organised by Giselle, who I discovered about a week before we were due to leave had decided to drop out of her own trip and go to the Medas Islands instead. Was I missing something, did Giselle know something I didn't?!?!?!
I drove up to Kingston to meet up with Andreas for the drive down to Penzance. Setting off at 3.15 we were inevitably going to hit traffic at some point but the fact that somebody had managed to put their car on its roof in the outside lane of the M4 didn't help! We arrived at 8.30, checked into the B&B then headed off to the pub to meet the others and have a meal.
By morning despite some sunshine a fair breeze had picked up and it didn't bawd well for the ferry crossing. The Scillonian III is not very big and several of our group headed straight for the lower saloon and the beds provided. Cannot really blame Mr Inniss, John and Steve who had all travelled down over night - leaving home at 2am! (There were two Ian's amongst the twelve of us so to avoid confusion I'll refer to them as Mr Inniss and Mr Emery) Vomit comet might be a little over exaggerated but as the ferry rolled and pitched quite a lot and there were a lot of ill looking people on board ship, including one or two of our party.

The Quayside at St Mary's can best be described as chaos but less organised! We waited for our container to be off loaded and the smaller ferry which runs to St Martins to make its first run over to the island and return for us.

St Martins is a small island, 92 people (excluding tourists), one road which is concrete and single lane and only one pub, so a strange but pleasant change from London. Luckily the pub serves good food with the added bonus (for the chaps at least - Trish being the only girlie won't have appreciated this) that female bar staff and waitresses were rather good looking. The first night Mr Inniss and I ordered bangers and mash. We had to wait a fair while for it to arrive and all the others had eaten by the time it did but it was fantastic. Several people decided that we had made a great choice and they would follow our lead the next evening.
The view from the pub made the climb up the hill worthwhile - no that's a lie - the beer and food made the climb worthwhile, the view was a bonus!

Sunday, day one as far as diving was concerned. It was now that I began to suspect why Giselle had gone to Spain. Blowing a force 5-6 from the south, overcast with showers expected!!! The weather was to be....well pants all week, although the wind did drop off a bit....on occasions. Our choices of dive sites limited by the weather we dived at Trinity Rocks for the first one. The site provided some nice gullies so it was possible to pick your depth and there is lots of life. It was good to get a gentle 30ish metre dive in to start the week.

Dive 2 was the Aksai, a Russian coal ship which sank in 15-20 metres. She's buried in kelp but if you follow the prop-shaft down then go over the stern and turn around you can (allegedly) see the propeller and there are a couple of resident congers too. I say allegedly because I though Andreas had seen the prop-shaft and was following it as per Tim's (the skipper) instructions. Unfortunately that wasn't the case so we managed to miss it. Nice kelp though!!!!

Monday, a slight break in the weather but not much. Dive one was the stern section of the Cita. A recent wreck this one having sunk in the 1980's so much of her is still intact. That said the accommodation block has toppled off the stern section as it gradually tips onto its port side and now lies upside down on the bottom. Once we had looked around this we made our way up to the hull and went exploring one of the holds. From there we went around to the keel, along to rudder and then along the deck. Although she sank on an even keel the deck is now about 10 degrees off the vertical. Dive 2 after finding a sheltered spot for lunch was by the island of Metawethan. The plan was a ledge and a 20-25 metre drop off but as Tim pulled into a sheltered cove for us to kit up he noticed a number of seals around and told us they looked like they were in a playful mood. A quick change of plan and we went to sit in 9m in the hope of seeing the seals close up. Initially a single large female turned up and took a look at us. Then she returned with a couple of others following. They are curious and investigate divers, a plus for us. They seem particularly fascinated with anything yellow. Tanks, fins, masks, anything as long as its yellow. Andreas was also especially popular with the seals as his Inspiration makes no bubbles as well as being yellow. They are not only curious but also cunning! They approached us from behind and pawed at cylinders. The first you knew about it was your set suddenly got heavier. The seal just stays behind you as you try and turn around to dislodge them. When you finally do get them off the play bite you. In my case the pale green on my mask and the yellow string on my computer guard were prime targets. In Mark's it was his fins and the reflective strips on his hood and arm. I have to say that Mark didn't look too impressed when one of the seals decided to try biting the sleeve of his suit!!!! We played with the seals for about half an hour before bumbling off and surfacing.

The tide times, and early starts meant that we got back to the flat by 1 or 2 o'clock most days. There is a fair selection of videos in the flat so a film went on when we got back. Armageddon was chosen and most of us watched it.

Tuesday, the wind had dropped and the sea looked calm - hurrah! Would it last though? Another horrendously early start - we are on holiday what's going on? The original plan was scrapped in favour of going to the 18th century wreck of the Hollandia. A Dutch East Indiaman, she sank in 1742 with the loss of 256 people. One of our group, who shall remain nameless but was diving with me all week, was so keen to get in he decided that he didn't need fins! Well not until he realised and had to climb back on board and try again. As with most wooden wrecks the timbers have long gone, the canon and anchors are all that remain. Numerous coins have also been found and can still be amongst the sand. Its not an impressive wreck in many respects except when you think how long ago she sank, what you are looking at has been there 260 years and you can still tell what it is. It was a pleasant dive although with only twenty something minutes on the bottom we only covered a small part of the 600 metre site.
For the second dive we went to Trenamene, in the south-west corner of the islands, to do a wall dive. The bottom is about 50m and if you go beyond the wall itself it drops away to 70m or so. This means that you can pick your depth and work your way up to eliminate, or at least minimise deco. As we had done about 30m on the Hollandia I stayed about this depth this time around too. The wall itself is covered with jewel anemones and is very pretty. Once you get back above 16-17m you are back in the kelp.

The early start meant that we were back by 15.30 so while people were showering and sorting themselves out The Rock went on the video. Another "Good Job" by the Americans, although the star of the show is obviously Sean Connery!

Wednesday morning and I woke up to the sound of the wind howling outside, not a good sign! It had picked up overnight (as Tim had expected) and with plenty of cloud it looked like being a rather naf day. The good thing about the Scillies is that shelter can be found somewhere no matter where the wind is coming from. For the first dive we went to the King Cadwallon. Its only 10 minutes from the quay. The wreck lies between 20 - 45m. The boilers are at 25m and that's where the shot was. From there we went down to about 40 metres and along part of the hull. We rounded what's left of the stern and made our way back up to 25m where we found the engine. We left the wreck and headed up onto the reef above. More kelpy scenery in which to do our (sorry) my deco stops.
Lunch was taken in a sheltered little cove on the back of St Martin's. We were joined by Tim's daughter Jo and her divers as they tied up alongside us. The usual diving chat ensued with the notable comment from their Dive Marshall who said that she wanted to come and join us as our boat was tidier than theirs!!! For the second dive we ended up on the Embiricos. Tim had told us that she had hit Brewer Rock then broken in half. The stern sank in 22m but the bow had drifted about had a mile into 80m before sinking. The shot was right next to the rudder, which was a bit of luck as it lies flat across some rock and Tim had said he'd be within 10-15m of it! Unfortunately nobody went the right way to find the remainder of the stern and we all had a kelpy, gully dive.

Thursday and an 8.30 start in more less than wonderful weather. Overcast and still a bit windy. The plan for the first dive was the Italia. Shotted at the engine which lies in 25m the wreck extends down to 40 plus and ends up in the shallows. Everybody followed Tim's directions from the engine over the boilers and down to the bows. The anchors are at about 42m but most of the bows are broken up. Masts and various deck winches are still visible though. We made our way back up to the boilers and engine. Several people went looking for the swim-throughs under the hull. I gathered later that they found them too. We followed the prop-shaft up into the shallower part of the wreck. The spare propeller can be seen alongside the prop-shaft itself, but the actual propeller is smashed. We again moved up into the reef above the wreck to do deco stops.
Ten-thirty and time then for brunch. Most people had ordered rolls from the bakery and these were now dished out. We moored to a line from the bow of the Cita which would be our second dive. Lying in 30m the front part of the bows is intact and it is possible to go inside and through various hatchways. There are also some which you cannot get out of, at least not with a twin-set on! This wreck makes an ideal playground with lots of swim throughs and holes to go exploring. You can also take a walk across the forward deck to the tip of the bow. Walking back up is a bit difficult though due to the angle she lies at.

Another horrendously early start - on the boat for 8.00. The wind had been howling all night and it had tipped it down too. An inch and a half of rain had fallen overnight apparently. The wind meant that there was quite a swell running, again limiting our choices. Tim said that the Gilmore was our best bet for the first dive. She was a barque and sank in 1866. Most of the timbers have gone but enough still remain, together with the copper fixing pins and her ballast of flint to know where she lies. We went down to 47m. At this point it got a little confusing (and not because I was narked) but because the King Cadwallon is very close by and coal from her cargo has mixed the two sites together. We turned and headed back up the way we had come down. It was a slow ascent as we had covered a fair distance during the dive. Going up past where we had initially dropped in we found an anchor (just as Tim had described it) and proceeded into an area of kelp. According to Tim there are lead sounding weights and other artefacts in this area although finding them seems rather like the proverbial needle in a haystack.

We motored back into the quay for tea and a spot of food. It was only 10.30 but this didn't stop people digging into rolls and biscuits like they hadn't eaten for a week! For dive two we went to the Lady Charlotte. She sank on the same day as the Italia, 13 May 1917, and fairly close by. She is in a sheltered bay but there was a significant current down at the stern at 25m (So much so that two of the chaps on board ended up doing an 800m drift off the wreck). She is fairly broken but the boilers, prop shaft, spare propeller and the broken remains of her main propeller can all be found easily. The site is also littered with the hatch covers of the Cita which drifted here before sinking themselves. This makes for a slightly odd dive as there is modern and old wreckage together on the same site. A pleasant dive to end the trip with.

Our final evening on St Martin's gave us a chance to witness a Gig race. A very serious competition on the islands which resulted in numerous boats heading out to a meeting point in the centre of the islands before racing back into St Mary's. Even the St Mary's Lifeboat is pressed into service as a spectator boat. The Gigs themselves range in age from 1879 to 2003 and all have six rowers and a Cox. The photos do not convey just how difficult this is as the technique for rowing them is not like normal rowing and involves some very painful looking twisting. The race itself was handicapped by the crews swapping boats; making it a little difficult to know who we were supposed to be supporting! Tim was rowing as part of St Martin's veteran crew and had earlier in the day that he would be happy to finish anywhere other than last - second last was therefore a creditable performance and meant a happy skipper in the pub a little later.
Kingston & Elmbridge Branch


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