Thistlegorm

On the 22nd of February 2007 we dived on the Thistlegorm, a British supply ship which was bombed by the Germans in World War II during its maiden voyage. Six crew members died.

The ship had been carrying a cargo of trucks (Bedford, Morris and Ford), BSA motorbikes, tanks, a locomotive,wellie boots and various munitions. The Thistlegorm lies in 30 metres of water with the bow 15 metres below the surface. It seems to be standard practice to dive on the wreck twice if you are visiting for the day, any more than this and you would possibly need to be on a liveaboard for night dives etc.

Our day started at 3.50am. We were picked up outside our hotel at 4.20am and transported to our boat "Diavola". Our human SMB had to stay behind for this one, so he had a lie-in.

The boat had places to sleep inside so we all got as comfy as possible. The sun came up about 6.00 and for those who had remained awake it meant that it was about to warm up. We had a hearty breakfast cooked by the crew - fantastic - and we arrived at the dive site about nine.

The sea was a little choppy and the visibility down to between 5 and 10 metres at the surface. This did nothing for those of us in the party who were more than a little nervous! Anyway, by 9.20 we were in - decending on the line down to the bow of the ship. During this first dive we did the tour of the outside of the ship and the Captain's cabin, where we were pleased to have our torches. You get an overwhelming sense of being very priviledged to be in a place, steeped in history, that so few people can visit. This really is a fantasic dive site and, although it was reasonably busy,we did't bump into too many other divers.

At the end of the dive we did our safety stop hanging on to the line

June 2010

The recent weather has been good for diving, light winds and/or northerlys which means that the vis has improved. The plankton bloom is going fast and the water is getting warmer.

After a couple of years of failed attempts (weather!), we finally managed to dive the Mixon Hole this weekend, not once but twice and it was fantastic, we had no idea that there was such diverse topography just off our shores.

We were dropped in on the northern ledge which we touched at about 5m. The vis was 10-15m and the colours were breathtaking. Outbreaks of kelp and other species, all manner of greens and browns against a backdrop of vivid green water being illuminated by the sun and a clear blue sky. Then we looked behind us and only a few metres away from us was the edge. We descended over the edge and followed a wall down to about 10m. The wall was made up of soft mud/clay and was home to lots of edible crab. Then a sloping bank continued downward. Even at 20m we could easily tell when clouds passed overhead. On the second dive we encounted a Gurnard and lobster as well as many more breathtaking views of the wall and ridge above us. At one point there is an overhang which is spectacular.

We are looking forward to getting back there with the cameras as soon as we can.

Thank you to Mulberry Divers for the most excellent diving.