Capernwray – The Ted Tandy
Sadly the training dive for the weekend had to be cancelled but we decided to head up and check of a couple of dives on the Fifty@50 list and also to look over the new attraction, the Ted Tandy, a former barrow pilot boat, named after the hundreds of hours of prep work by Ted Tandy (Scuba Diver mag article Capernwray gains new dive attraction | Scuba Diver Mag)
The day started out brightly but by the time I arrived at Capernwray the rain had started, fortunately it stopped just before the first dive and held off until the journey home. It made for an overcast day which didn’t bode well for the visibility.
Chatting to Chris Collingwood about the boat he gave us a run down of the ‘free to a good home’ donated boat and the trials and tribulations they had in getting it positioned. This new ‘free’ feature has actually cost a great deal in money and time, a few thousand has been spent on transport, getting it ready for sinking, getting it into position and then the six days it took to sink properly. As Chris said it was designed to float and proved it could!
The question is was the investment worth it? We decided to find out on our first dive.
After kitting up we entered via the usual route and descended down to the Hawker Siddeley and across to the Podsnap via the container with the ‘oil rig’ on top. A familiar route and, even with it being overcast above water, there was excellent visibility, the ‘oil rig’ container could easily be seen from the Hawker Siddeley. Normally from the Podsnap it is a turn up the slope or over to the Murphy via the Answer to investigate other closer attractions or a long swim over an open expanse of weed to the cliff and the Gnome Garden. This time we headed over the weed and turned towards the Ted Tandy, located in the middle of the open area.
The first point to make is it fills in a large gap that was previously unused and has added a new navigation point to this area.
The boat itself is a really good addition. Standing on the lake bed, on its purpose built stand, it sits upright and is ready to explore. Its stern points towards the cliff so we went up and looked around. The interior has been cleverly cleared out so that access for divers is ‘easy’ and comfortable, but still tests good diving. Swimming through we exited by the bows hold hatch, where the door has been removed from the deck. We then headed over to the bow and swam off to the Murphy and finished at the reef exit.
After a catch up with Sandy, brew and a sausage and egg butty we headed off for our second dive, this time choosing a similar route but turning up to the diving bell and round via the ‘secret’ path to the Apeks van and home.
A couple of good dives and thanks to Mark for the good company.
Is the The Ted Tandy worth the effort for the Capernwray team? I would say yes. It has added to their attractions in a space that was lacking any point of navigable interest. It will open that area up to some of the divers who were reluctant to go all the way out. The boat itself is a good addition, it looks good and the swim through is a new challenge and a place where good buoyancy and diving technique can be practiced.
In addition I completed the first two of my dives towards the Fifty@50 challenge.
