A lost weekend, recovered! by Neil Smitham
All week Colm had been looking at the weather reports for Oban for the weekend. This was his first organised live aboard, well, second strictly speaking, the first had been organised back in December – same weekend as our Christmas Dinner Dance. (He kindly cancelled it !).
By Club night the preceeding Wednesday we were convinced it was going to be called off. “No”, said Colm, “Bob says its going to be OK”. So anyway, on the Friday morning as many of us were packing to set off to Oban we get the phone call from Colm to say its off. Bad weather. Well we sort of knew it was going to happen even if it was a little late to decide.
A short time later and a few phone calls later eight of the twelve that were going to go to Oban had decided to try a weekend at Stoney Cove. Our club hasn’t been there for quite some time and so thought it would be nice to give it a go again. One problem, no accomodation. A few more phone calls later and Colm had got us booked in at “The Dive Inn” B&B in Stoney Stanton. The name worried him and the fact that they could accomodate eight of us so quickly led us to believe we might be staying in abit of a hovel.
We set off after meeting up at the club, eight of us in three cars made slow progress to the B&B through rush hour traffic and motorway. Reaching the B&B Colm (and the rest of us) realised how nice and friendly it was, 2 mins from the Cove and its on Hinckley Road in Stoney Stanton. Even better, only 5 mins walk from the pub where we were soon inside after a quick look round for Rachael’s glove that was lost. “Oh I remember seeing a glove back at the Club” said Jeff………..
Saturday morning, Jeff had wanted to be up at 05:30 to get places on the bottom car park. Talked out of it we said we would be there at 08:30 and there would be loads of places left. So we arrived at 08:30 and the bottom car park was full. Some things never change. Sorry Jeff!!
The pub at Stoney Cove, the snow was horizontal!
Parking in one of the upper car parks it began to snow !! Then it rained, then the sun shone, then it snowed and then it sleeted. The sun shone briefly as we began to kit up, cold already and it must have taken 2 hours to kit up and get to the waters edge.
Diving with Rachael we were trying to think of reasons not to dive, none the less, in we went and over past the cockpit, down the slope, round to the helicoptor and back past the submarine to entry point. Lots of Perch, Roach and Pike and very cold hands.
Jeff eventaully returns from a bottle fill
Some of the others faired no better, Anthony “Stan” Smith and Jeff missed their navigation to The Sterngarth, apparantly the other side of the quarry is quite nice. Colm and Ged ended up under the pub, well, where there’s beer theres Colm, and Dave and Rob had a good look round.
Out of the eight of us, at lunchtime, there must have only been two going back in. But after a few coffees and something to eat in the pub, six of us were going back in. Rob and I surface swam to The Sterngarth shot line and went down to have a look round, surefire way not to miss it before navigating our way back to entry point over the sandy dull bottom. Jeff and Anthony tried again to navigate to the wreck, but missed it again and Colm and Ged went for a dive. Well Ged went head first for a dive with no DV in when getting in, tripped his fin over a cobble three feet from the edge and had to launch himself in much to the merryment of those around. Pity Dave wasn’t there ten seconds earlier with the camera.
Colm and Ged getting ready for the second dive
10 seconds after the above photo, Ged had fallen in minus fins
Packing up and heading back a few of our number decided to stay over to do a dive there on the Sunday. Which Sunday that is we will have to wait and see as they didn’t quite make it to the Cove that Sunday morning due to large amounts of beer and curry the night before.
All in all a good way to recover a lost weekend in Oban. We hadn’t been to Stoney Cove for a few years as a Club and so it was worth it. In our opinions the fee to get in is a little excessive, the bottle filling times slow and for the size of the quarry, it really could do with a few more things of interest in it. Oh, and if the pub could serve lunch a little earlier in the day that would help !! Thanks for organising it Colm, and the pictures Dave.
Neil Smitham
