.jpg)
by Sarah Douglas:
My first time to dive from the club rib at Portland was both exciting and a little terrifying. Myself and Mariette set off early Saturday morning for a sunny drive. Meeting Reg, Fari, Adriana & Will at the car park, we got the kit sorted and our first dive was the Countess. After a little research, with the Countess being my first wreck dive, I found out it was built in my hometown of Dublin which felt quite humbling to dive it. Reg calmed my nerves on my first backward roll!
Second dive was the Dredger which was teaming with sea life and lots of cute Blennies. Unlike Wraysbury I could actually see something other than silt! Glad I bought a torch. I was overweighted on this dive which was frustrating but I made sure I resolved it for the dive the next day. Poor Mariette had a funny O ring drama but was soon resolved with the skills from everyone (except me I watched and learned!).
On Sunday, Fari took myself and Reg out to the Black Hawk Bow, Fari tackled some fairly large waves. In myself and Reg go, swam to the buoy which we managed on 1st attempt. This was my favourite dive, it was amazing, crabs so large and lots of shoals of fish. Visibility I found was really good.
Last dive was the Spaniard which was equally enjoyable, we came across other divers so was a little silty at times. Massive crabs everywhere. HUGE thank you to Reg for being so patient! I learned so much and had so much fun. And Fari navigating the sites for us all. Lovely to meet other divers from the club too :-).
Any of the other new divers not sure about Portland I couldn’t recommend it enough, such a fun weekend with everyone look forward to going back in August.
And by William Wright:
The tides were forgiving in Portland, allowing us a relaxed late-morning start in the harbour, where Adriana and I met up with Reg, Fari, Mariette and Sarah, ready for a weekend of diving. Weather was fair after the scorching heatwave, so those of us who opted for dry suits weren’t damned to auto-sous-vide, and those in wetsuits got to enjoy some of the milder waters of the UK dive season.
We kitted up and set off to the Countess of Erne, marking Sarah’s first ocean dive, so we made sure to rigorously observe buddy checks and make sure everything was prim and proper before rolling into the sheltered waters of Portland Harbour, and descending onto the Countess.
As wrecks go, the Countess seems to be a bit of a diver’s favorite, and it became clear why as Adriana and I cruised around her perimeter for the first time, with Mariette as our third. Standing upright in about 15m of water, just shy of the breakwater, it doesn’t take much imagination to picture her in her heyday. I enjoyed searching for smaller critters and peering through the rusty apertures of her hull, and it wasn’t long before we came across our first little nudibranch of the day. Visibility was fair, dipping a bit as we hit the less sheltered side of the wreck, but there was still plenty to explore, including the impressive transom, which cast a fierce shadow that gave the impression you’re swimming into a vast cavern as you pass underneath. There was a huge cluster of anemones here that we stopped to admire.
After an ad hoc drift dive during our safety stop, Fari kindly swung the rib around and whisked us out of the water, and we returned to harbour for fills and a spot of lunch.
Our relaxed pace meant we missed slack tide and scuppered plans to hit up the British Inventor in the afternoon, so we opted for a relaxing bimble down the breakwater in Balaclava Bay, around the scattered remains of the Dredger. This was novel to three of us five divers, and it made for a relaxing dive peeking into the breakwater hideaways, finding a variety of blennies, wrasse, and a few little nudibranchs. A swim down the length of the breakwater and back marked time to surface up the shot line and get everybody back to harbour just in time for fills for their planned Sunday dives. It was only once the dive logs were written up did Mariette realise this was her 100th dive — making it a day of firsts for Sarah and hundredths for Mariette!
Adriana and I set off back to London with Mariette, leaving Reg, Sarah and Fari to enjoy the coasts of Dorset on Sunday — with a very enjoyable day of club diving behind us.
