Lamorna Cove, The Bucks

Leaping out of bed at 4am to get down the A38 Friday morning and avoid all the other grockles penetrating darkest Cornwall, we soon arrived at Lamorna Cove. Yasmin's navigation was tip-top round the fiddly stuff - she's very good, getting us to Vobster Quay, as well as operating the iPod, feeding me, watching out for speed cameras, ferreting out sunglasses, and various other tasks that if I attempted myself would almost certainly end in disaster.

We stumped up for parking and had a quick look about, most importantly to see what the water looked like. The visibility was great. I could see submerged divers, and I too was ready for some kind of underwater swimming fix. There was plenty of time before the others arrived for a sneaky snorkel. I put on a few skimpy wetsuits over a thermal rash vest, added plenty of weight, and all the other bits and pieces that would allow me brief glimpses of the underwater scene and its peculiar inhabitants.

Wading into very clear cold water I stuck on my flippers and did a quick weight check, before floating myself off for a swim. Lamorna Cove is a sheltered piece of coast south west of Penzance and Newlyn, with a sandy bottom, rocky and weedy edges, and attractive surroundings. There’s a slipway and according to my dive book on South Cornwall is one of the best sites in the county for diving groups, with amenities to hand. Finning out past the breakwater I took a picture looking back to shore, before turning my attention to the sea bed.

Amongst the thick kelp I saw a few wrasse, a bass and found a spider crab, several spiny starfish, and a large sea urchin; beyond the kelp, clean bright sand stretched into the distance. After about an hour I started to get cold and tired, and my poor ankles had started to ache – I suppose all to be expected this early in the season.

Back on shore, just as I reached the top of the slipway Clint and Anne arrived towing Mir, the club’s RIB.

Over a cup of tea at the café we enjoyed the scenery and the fine weather with the prospect of good diving conditions – especially as several recent club trips had been either aborted completely or disrupted by bad weather. Walking up and around the craggy rocks above the top car park the views got better and better and the clear blue green water was exotic and inviting.

Very soon I was on my first boat dive, we (the buddy pairs: Clint and Anne, Debbie and me, with Chris boat handler) were on our way to The Bucks, a rugged rock pinnacle to the south west. It didn’t take long to get to and it was easily found, the summit exposed by the ebbing tide. Clint and Anne went in first clearing the boat for Debbie and me to kit up. Adjusting straps, connecting hoses, attaching gear I was very glad for the calm sea. After a recap of the plan and the buddy check, and at the very instant Chris ordered us ‘go’ we flopped backward over the tubes. We collected ourselves on the surface and began our descent beside the rock. At about 8 metres we saw Clint and Anne looking very happy; we did some waving and grinning and carried on down. The giant boulders and rugged slopes were heavily encrusted, and teeming with all kinds of weird animal. Everywhere there were colourful sea urchins, and starfish with five arms, with seven arms, from the cute and cushiony to the macho and spiny.

Nearly everything I saw was new to me; black sock-like sea-cucumbers, and on the vertical walls delicate flower-like anemones, and what was this yellow stuff? Debbie mimed something to me; what was she doing? She couldn’t be narked? Later she told me she was washing – and it was a sponge. It was super, its warty lizard-skin texture and rows of holes gave it the look of a miniature yellow dragon. Debbie guided us around the rocks and as we went I tried to absorb everything, taking mental pictures of this wonderful place. Here and there we were finning against current and soon enough I was signaling to Debbie that I had 100 bar, and pretty soon after that 80 bar; so she took us to a flattish area to deploy the DSMB. Slightly inverted and finning against a current again I found myself struggling a little, but sorted out my position with a roll. With the blob up we were ready to go; the ascent was nice and steady and I held the stop easily. The boat was there for us and after de-kitting the heavy stuff and put into practice the good how-to-get-in-the-boat advice, getting up onto the loops and over the tubes, then slithering into the boat like a big black fish. My first boat dive over, Debbie pronounced “There, told you I wouldn’t get you dead!”

In the evening we all [Andrew, Anne and Clint, Brian and Hilary, Chris and Debbie with Alyssa and Ali, Nik and Chris, and Peter] met up at the Bluff Inn for our tea, bit of a drink, and to plan.