Tooting Bec Lido centenary art installation

Local artist Steve Carey planned to mark the centenary of Tooting Bec Lido with a unique art installation. The plan is for a 160 feet continuous lane of mirrored acrylic sheets laid on the bottom of the pool along the longitudinal centre line. This has never been tried before and some concept tests were needed. WBSAC are always ready for a challenge and offered to install the sheets for the first test.

Here we see Martin, John and Paul handling the acrylic sheets with suction cups.

Dorset Wreck Weekend 13/14th August 2005

A weekend trip I have being meaning to organise for ages and at last got round to it for the middle of August. The plan was to do the Kyarra on Saturday from Swanage and the Aeolian Skye on the Sunday from Kimmeridge. Both wrecks are huge and with a maximum depth of 30m. I won't go into more detail. Do a Google search on the names and see what comes up.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and then true to form turned to rain. What else do you expect in August? Hooked up the RIB in Littlehampton and dragged it down to Swanage via Bournemouth so as to locate our accommodation which Maureen had so efficiently found for us. Just as well I looked for it first since it was an absolute bugger to find coming from Swanage and also that it did not have enough parking for the boat.

All met up at Swanage boat park in increasingly bad weather. Got the boat launched and myself, Steve, John and Simon set sail after eventually finding somewhere to park the cars.

I was definitely in 2 minds about whether we should go out at all especially as the forecasted force 5 gusting 6 was turning into a definite force 6. It was raining and the seas were definitely on the large size. The 1.5 mile run to the Kyarra took about 20 minutes when it should have taken 5 and we all got soaked before we even got to the site. GPS marks as usual proved to be wrong but in an attempt not to miss slack, I had got us there an hour early. Which in nice weather would have been quite pleasant, that day it was just miserable.

Then we get to the old Wandsworth BSAC wreck finding process. Luckily curtailed by the appearance of the permanent shot marker on the Kyarra as slack appeared. Got everyone in before all the other dive boats appeared only to get told off by Swanage Diver for not putting a big marker buoy on the shot to stop it being dragged under. 45 minutes of getting even wetter with huge seas practically breaking over the RIB and back they came, rhapsodising about the wreck. Only 4 dive boats on the wreck that day.

The run back was brilliant with the sea behind us and a 2-3m swell. The RIB makes a really good surfboard.

Because of the parking problems at the Travelodge in Bournemouth, I had decided to leave the RIB at the Swanage boat park overnight and we eventually decided to do the Kyarra again the next day. It would have been a long run out to the Aeolian Skye, the weather was better but the seas were still big and I couldn't guarantee finding it easily. As it was, I had misread the dive guide on low water slack and we only got there in time because we saw the other boats going out.

Another great dive, joined this time by Malcolm and Rory. 7 dive boats this time.

For the afternoon, chucked everyone in off Durlston Head in 12m for a drift. Reported to be short on life but a brilliant drift.

Learned a lot over the weekend. I know where I went wrong with the low water slack. The instructions in the dive guide are a little ambiguous. Learned about correct etiquette on the marker buoy, found a good drift and realised that the Kyarra can be dived in some bloody awful conditions.

We'll do it again but probably not till next year unless someone really wants to take a chance with the weather. We will definitely do the Aeolian Skye in the future and maybe look at doing a longer weekend. By next year, I will be diving again properly so someone else can do a bit of coxing.

Eire 18/19th June 2005

Full report on the Magazine page

June 11th 2005

In accordance with good diving practice, we made a shakedown dive on one of our favourite training sites, in preparation for the Dingle jaunt. The club RIB was launched by steam tractor from Littlehampton Marina after those present had enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the Marina cafe. "Bacon sarnies and tea wait for no tide".
Present were Paul (at the helm), Martin, Jane, Eric and Neil. Skilled use of the RIB's sonar and GPS systems quickly brought us to a large orange buoy with the inscription "Far Mulberry". We entered the limpid 15 degree waters and observed conger eels, crabs, wrasse and smaller members of the cod family. Visibility was very good. Afterwards we retired to a well earned pub lunch for a post expedition debrief.