The main objective was a club dive for training. It was going to be Vobster but a last minute switch to Plymouth and the chance to get down there instead of Babbacome - nice as it is - was jumped on. We got away from the boat shed at 08:35 and trundled down to Plymouth. It was very pleasant. Nice and sunny with bit of a NW breeze. Anne and Clint (who had towed the boat too) boat handled. Soon we were on our way out to a reefy spot between Rame Head and Penlee Point.
There was minimal current and I could see a good way down the shot line; a free descent would have been easy. The vis was about 8 metres, with a snotty layer at 3-6 metres depth. We got away from the shot and after a quick look round settled to put the blob up. It all went a bit crap here: the blob got all twisted, tangled with the winder handle (this tangle happens far too easily), and partly inflated. I managed to deflate it and we started again, and eventually it was up. Clint says it was 8 minutes before the blob appeared. Incidentally my buddies lately have noticed I'm finding it hard to reel in; and they're right,.. and I don't like the very thin line,.. and the handle and latch is slightly too small for my gloved hand - so time to change. Anyway, I was down there and annoyed with myself and the blob, and was starting to get a headache! It wasn't a good start but the rest of the dive was fine; and I pottered -carefully- about the low reefs going very slow and taking pictures (which was most relaxing) and enjoying the excellent vis.
A quick look saw the turfy, red-weeded rocks were scattered with sea urchins, spiny starfish, and purple starfish. I found various crabs: shore, velvet fiddler, spider, and long legged spider. There were boring sponges, sea cucumbers, baked bean and light-bulb ascidians, dahlia anemones, Devon-cup coral (anemone) pictured and neopentadactyla mixta a plant-like echinoderm (also pictured). They're uncommon but I've seen them before at Burgh Island. But I saw very few fish, and remember seeing only a goldsinny wrasse, a two spot goby, and a dogfish.
Back at Mount Batten the trainees were almost ready to go out, and the first wave had bit of a rest and sorted kit out. They returned very happy, and a third wave was on (Chris and Debbie taking over the boathandling). Once again I was buddied with Brian. I'd had taken my pony in the morning for full kit practise. But decided not to in the afternoon... we'd be on another shallow dive.
Out we went to Tinker Shoal. Almost kitted up - the wind seemed fresh and sea choppier here - and Chris wisely took us to the south side of the breakwater. Fully kitted up already and buddy check done, Brian and I dropped down to 12m. Vis was 10-12 m and could see the top of the kelp from just below the surface, I landed at a level nice sandy clearing (marvelling at the vis and the many fish- thinking how wonderful all this was) and started to set up the blob. [Between dives we'd sorted out Brian's reel - that had turned out to be jammed (!), so we now had a back up at least]. Anyway, what happened next was somewhat un-nice.
I was unfurling and orientating the blob when Brian took my octopus and started to fill the blob. However the air unfortunately was pissing up the side of the bag and not into it. I tried to get the bag over the DV and the next thing I remember was Brian dropping my octopus, an explosion of bubbles, and not being able to see very much. Of course my octopus was free-flowing. I tried twice to stop the free flow by switching to the octopus to breath from it, but to no avail. I knew that in less than a minute I would have no air left (and I didn't have my pony bottle) and I was thinking 'shit - I don't want this to be happening'. The idea that it might come to an air share was utterly depressing as I thought back to the buddy check - Brian's hose was short and octopus black. I decided to use what air I had for a self rescue and go for my buddy's air as the 'very' last resort.
On the last look at the bottom I had 100 bar (going down fast), and I signalled 'up' (I may have tried the DV for the second time at this point) then left for the surface as swiftly as I dared. At about 6 metres I had 50 bar left and hoped I'd have enough air to inflate jacket [I hope I would have remembered to ditch weight]. I felt fine on the surface, so just stuck my arm up. Chris helped me back on the boat remarked cheerfully "that's a lot of bubbles" or something like that! And I was back in the land of the living. I was down to 20 bar! So many lessons and reminders from so short a dive: like don't let buddy inflate a blob with my octopus, and use the pony, (good re the buddy check - to know what I was up against - and keeping 'fairly' calm and thinking and acting when it was all going a bit wrong. A self inflating blob would be a very good idea.
Back on the boat, all well, and sorted myself out while Brian, Grace and Jake dived a three.
