9th October: “It’s like diving with a set of Mechano”.

**Freef** · 11th October 2007, 21:56

“What’s wrong with your leg?”

“It was run over by a motorbike”.

“Why was that?”

“I was sitting on a racing circuit”

“Why were you doing that?”

“I’d just fallen off the motorbike I was riding”

“You’re silly”.

Thus went the conversation with my friend’s seven year old daughter, and the reason why my Dartmouth trip was off for the weekend. However, I was still up for what was to be a kit washing dive, and head up to Stoney with Malc for a boy’s day out as Lesley was revising for her OU exam. I was on the Dolphin for the first time in a while, again on Spherasorb and with 42% O2 in the tank and a flow rate of 5.8L/min. Malc was on his twin 12’s and a stage with 34% in it that he wanted to use up for a different fill. After a problem at the gate as my card is still showing as expired I was allowed in to dive.

Santa had pushed the other gnome off the cliff.

Malc was also hoping to get his drysuit back from being repaired by the highly efficient staff at Stoney, and that they would meet the promised delivery date…of a few days before. He wasn’t too happy about not having the suit back, and would be getting a hire one if his wasn’t ready. And it wasn’t so he did. Unfortaunately the suit is bright orange and makies him look like he should be litter picking at the side of the motorway.

The dive plan was discussed with the usual detailed planning. I don’t think that the GUE/DIR crowd would be too pleased with a plan of ‘jump in, get wet, swim around a bit, get out’. With a lot of duration available we plan a trip to the pit, the gnomes and a bit of a wander. I’m also trying out a new toy-a second hand Sea Arm 5 which will save me from continually detaching my Sea Arm 4 to hold the strobe out at arms length.

Once the Dolphin has passed it’s loop direction, pos and neg checks have been satisfactorily completed I drop the 7L stage and camera off at the bus stop and then follow Malc to the waters edge. Malc has his video camera along for the ride and jumps in at the quayside and we meet up for an OK and down.

All the gnomes watched the skies as Malc pretended to be a UFO.

At 6m I pause to have a check of the Dolphin, and all being OK we head to the drop to the 20m ledge, then a short swim sees us dropping into the pit. Bouncing off 34m we make our way over to the gnome garden, which has expanded into a model village as well. One of the Santa gnomes has made it’s way over to the cliff and has pushed an unsuspecting victim off to a ledge below. We manage to capture proof of the crime on film and video so be can do a bit of CSI stuff later.

CSI in this case being Crap Scuba Individuals.

Now we have a dilemma of what to do next. As we are over on the 22m level the coach will make a good navigation point. From there it’s a short hop to the Stanegarth, where we have a bit of a swim around the familiar wreck and then I suggest heading South.

Having seen a lot of horror films I didn’t go into the cellar.

South of the Stanegarth there is a Mini to have a look at on the way into the underwater plains where there isn’t a lot in the way of stuff to see. I broke up the monotony of the swim by using my compass to make sure that we went due South rather than a gentle circular swim back to the sunken tug.

The Stanegarth is located about half way across the 22m level on the East side of Stoney, so there is quite a swim to the far side. On the way, looking to the right a Mini appears from the gloomy water, and we went over to have a look.

Perch take up residence under or in all the objects in Stoney apart from the Stanegarth. So it was no surprise to find the Mini was inhabited. There were also a number of free-swimming perch in the water, which was a bit unusual. The diversion to the Mini allowed a photo to be taken, and then we set off South again.

The silt started to be broken up by rocks as we approached the far wall, and we began a slow ascent to the 6m ledge, to the West of the only thing worth looking at on that side, the wooden wreck.

We caught these perch joyriding in one of the Mini’s

The wreck is designed to allow nautical archeologists to cut their surveying teeth in a benign environment. It’s not often visited, but someone has been there since I last made the swim and removed a lot of the plastic animals. One frog survived and was released into it’s natural habitat.

Stonicova Polythenus, the very rare poison snorkel frog, caught in its natural environment.

The long swim back was then undertaken, and at 6m we would have a huge safety margin in the offgassing. We hadn’t entered deco during the dive, so our nitrogen levels would be on the right side of compulsory deco anyway.

After we passed the winch block the weeds hid a large number of fish, and a pleasantly large pike which hung around for a bit of film stardom before making itself scarce. Shortly afterwards Malc’s fish sensing organ got another tingle and he found a jack pike, which was more camera shy.

Malc and the first pike he found in the weeds.

Passing the pub and Nautilus we emerged into the continuing rain at the step for a breather and some food now that the food hatch had finally opened for business.

During the surface interval we alternately bothered the shop staff and hit under the pub awning to get out of the rain. I was asked for my membership number so the computer whiz could find out why I was repeatedly told I had expired. As I have never crossed Magaret, I couldn’t possibly be expired. Further proof is that I am still in possession of both testicles.

Post scoff we decide that the APC should feature on the itinerary for dive two. The bus stop was used for the entry once again. At the first stop [hitting 6m and a pause to check the kit] a sign warned of dire consequences of swimming at Stoney. Despite global warming I doubt that things have got that bad yet.

Crocodiles? Crock of something else more like.

As we had enough gas for another long swim the APC was to feature at the end of the dive. First off we were off to 22m and the oil field equipment on the edge of the pit. We had a quick circumnavigate and then followed the cliff bottom to the East over various debris fields to the wreck of the Landrover, and the sorry sight of the Wessex.

The once nearly intact helicopter has been destroyed over the 10 years I have been diving. Once the fuselage was intact and the engine covers were in place. It’s been over five years since I last saw the covers, and now the bodywork is being gradually ripped apart by the idiot end of the diving community.

As the skin is aluminium I would imagine that diving pikeys are stripping the metal for scrap. The Cessna-that-isn’t-really-a-Cessna is being smashed up, and even the anchor chain to the Stanegarth has been cut.

Someone has left a steering wheel on the helicopter leading to a chance for some comedy shots of Malc and I driving the Wessex. After a quick video tour of the damage with my digital camera in film mode we head further on to the white van. From there it’s due South to the APC.

Top view of the APC

The APC sits on it’s own a way from anything, so you need to have a good navigation head on to find it. It is usually fairly clear here, so Malc was taking pictures.

Malc hovers over the APC

Once we had a swim round the armour we [meaning me] navigated to the Stanegarth for our second visit to the tug today.

Malc over the rear of the Stanegarth

Then, with deco time closing in, we head North to the 6m ledge to off gas. There appears to have been a bit of a “dive by” shooting, judging by the number of Winchester cartridges scattered around.

Stoney Stanton and Sapcote behave like wild west towns at war.

After a swim around the 6m ledge for a but, allowing all that nasty nitrogen to get out we headed up into the sunlight, which had finally broken through the clouds.

Dive data:

Dive 1

34.1m
1h 16 min
vO2 0.89

SI: 1h 42m

Dive 2

21.9m
1h 13 min
vO2 1.02

**Freef** · 11th October 2007, 22:02

The damage done to the Wessex.

Swimming over the APC front to back

Perch at 6m

Cockpit

Perch in cockpit

**Dsix36** · 11th October 2007, 23:24

Very nice post. I enjoyed the pics as well as the description of the dive. Other than the fact that the site is being destroyed by idiots divers, it sounds like you have a great dive. Thanks for posting for the rest of us to see.

**Freef** · 12th October 2007, 06:38

Don't get me started on the snorkelling snorkels who removed a brass 'In Memorium' plaque from the 'box at 36m.

There are Workelers and then there are Corkelers.

[the word snorkel replaces my ususal swearing on this subject, but I'm sure you'll get the drift of the second paragraph].

Ta for the green.

SBOD · 12th October 2007, 08:17

thanks for sharing your dive.
seems that you both had fun!

John Langley · 12th October 2007, 08:20

Well done report.
You actually made stoney sound interesting.

J.L.

11th October 2007, 21:56	#1 (permalink)
Freef Custom Title Disallowed! Current Rebreather/s: Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Land of the Freef, UK. Posts: 1,353	9th October: “It’s like diving with a set of Mechano”. “What’s wrong with your leg?” “It was run over by a motorbike”. “Why was that?” “I was sitting on a racing circuit” “Why were you doing that?” “I’d just fallen off the motorbike I was riding” “You’re silly”. Thus went the conversation with my friend’s seven year old daughter, and the reason why my Dartmouth trip was off for the weekend. However, I was still up for what was to be a kit washing dive, and head up to Stoney with Malc for a boy’s day out as Lesley was revising for her OU exam. I was on the Dolphin for the first time in a while, again on Spherasorb and with 42% O2 in the tank and a flow rate of 5.8L/min. Malc was on his twin 12’s and a stage with 34% in it that he wanted to use up for a different fill. After a problem at the gate as my card is still showing as expired I was allowed in to dive. Santa had pushed the other gnome off the cliff. Malc was also hoping to get his drysuit back from being repaired by the highly efficient staff at Stoney, and that they would meet the promised delivery date…of a few days before. He wasn’t too happy about not having the suit back, and would be getting a hire one if his wasn’t ready. And it wasn’t so he did. Unfortaunately the suit is bright orange and makies him look like he should be litter picking at the side of the motorway. The dive plan was discussed with the usual detailed planning. I don’t think that the GUE/DIR crowd would be too pleased with a plan of ‘jump in, get wet, swim around a bit, get out’. With a lot of duration available we plan a trip to the pit, the gnomes and a bit of a wander. I’m also trying out a new toy-a second hand Sea Arm 5 which will save me from continually detaching my Sea Arm 4 to hold the strobe out at arms length. Once the Dolphin has passed it’s loop direction, pos and neg checks have been satisfactorily completed I drop the 7L stage and camera off at the bus stop and then follow Malc to the waters edge. Malc has his video camera along for the ride and jumps in at the quayside and we meet up for an OK and down. All the gnomes watched the skies as Malc pretended to be a UFO. At 6m I pause to have a check of the Dolphin, and all being OK we head to the drop to the 20m ledge, then a short swim sees us dropping into the pit. Bouncing off 34m we make our way over to the gnome garden, which has expanded into a model village as well. One of the Santa gnomes has made it’s way over to the cliff and has pushed an unsuspecting victim off to a ledge below. We manage to capture proof of the crime on film and video so be can do a bit of CSI stuff later. CSI in this case being Crap Scuba Individuals. Now we have a dilemma of what to do next. As we are over on the 22m level the coach will make a good navigation point. From there it’s a short hop to the Stanegarth, where we have a bit of a swim around the familiar wreck and then I suggest heading South. Having seen a lot of horror films I didn’t go into the cellar. South of the Stanegarth there is a Mini to have a look at on the way into the underwater plains where there isn’t a lot in the way of stuff to see. I broke up the monotony of the swim by using my compass to make sure that we went due South rather than a gentle circular swim back to the sunken tug. The Stanegarth is located about half way across the 22m level on the East side of Stoney, so there is quite a swim to the far side. On the way, looking to the right a Mini appears from the gloomy water, and we went over to have a look. Perch take up residence under or in all the objects in Stoney apart from the Stanegarth. So it was no surprise to find the Mini was inhabited. There were also a number of free-swimming perch in the water, which was a bit unusual. The diversion to the Mini allowed a photo to be taken, and then we set off South again. The silt started to be broken up by rocks as we approached the far wall, and we began a slow ascent to the 6m ledge, to the West of the only thing worth looking at on that side, the wooden wreck. We caught these perch joyriding in one of the Mini’s The wreck is designed to allow nautical archeologists to cut their surveying teeth in a benign environment. It’s not often visited, but someone has been there since I last made the swim and removed a lot of the plastic animals. One frog survived and was released into it’s natural habitat. Stonicova Polythenus, the very rare poison snorkel frog, caught in its natural environment. The long swim back was then undertaken, and at 6m we would have a huge safety margin in the offgassing. We hadn’t entered deco during the dive, so our nitrogen levels would be on the right side of compulsory deco anyway. After we passed the winch block the weeds hid a large number of fish, and a pleasantly large pike which hung around for a bit of film stardom before making itself scarce. Shortly afterwards Malc’s fish sensing organ got another tingle and he found a jack pike, which was more camera shy. Malc and the first pike he found in the weeds. Passing the pub and Nautilus we emerged into the continuing rain at the step for a breather and some food now that the food hatch had finally opened for business. During the surface interval we alternately bothered the shop staff and hit under the pub awning to get out of the rain. I was asked for my membership number so the computer whiz could find out why I was repeatedly told I had expired. As I have never crossed Magaret, I couldn’t possibly be expired. Further proof is that I am still in possession of both testicles. Post scoff we decide that the APC should feature on the itinerary for dive two. The bus stop was used for the entry once again. At the first stop [hitting 6m and a pause to check the kit] a sign warned of dire consequences of swimming at Stoney. Despite global warming I doubt that things have got that bad yet. Crocodiles? Crock of something else more like. As we had enough gas for another long swim the APC was to feature at the end of the dive. First off we were off to 22m and the oil field equipment on the edge of the pit. We had a quick circumnavigate and then followed the cliff bottom to the East over various debris fields to the wreck of the Landrover, and the sorry sight of the Wessex. The once nearly intact helicopter has been destroyed over the 10 years I have been diving. Once the fuselage was intact and the engine covers were in place. It’s been over five years since I last saw the covers, and now the bodywork is being gradually ripped apart by the idiot end of the diving community. As the skin is aluminium I would imagine that diving pikeys are stripping the metal for scrap. The Cessna-that-isn’t-really-a-Cessna is being smashed up, and even the anchor chain to the Stanegarth has been cut. Someone has left a steering wheel on the helicopter leading to a chance for some comedy shots of Malc and I driving the Wessex. After a quick video tour of the damage with my digital camera in film mode we head further on to the white van. From there it’s due South to the APC. Top view of the APC The APC sits on it’s own a way from anything, so you need to have a good navigation head on to find it. It is usually fairly clear here, so Malc was taking pictures. Malc hovers over the APC Once we had a swim round the armour we [meaning me] navigated to the Stanegarth for our second visit to the tug today. Malc over the rear of the Stanegarth Then, with deco time closing in, we head North to the 6m ledge to off gas. There appears to have been a bit of a “dive by” shooting, judging by the number of Winchester cartridges scattered around. Stoney Stanton and Sapcote behave like wild west towns at war. After a swim around the 6m ledge for a but, allowing all that nasty nitrogen to get out we headed up into the sunlight, which had finally broken through the clouds. Dive data: Dive 1 34.1m 1h 16 min vO2 0.89 SI: 1h 42m Dive 2 21.9m 1h 13 min vO2 1.02 __________________ David. Currently owner of two differently sized ankles. Last edited by Freef : 13th October 2007 at 07:38.
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11th October 2007, 22:02	#2 (permalink)
Freef Custom Title Disallowed! Current Rebreather/s: Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Land of the Freef, UK. Posts: 1,353	Video clips of Stoney. The damage done to the Wessex. Swimming over the APC front to back Perch at 6m Cockpit Perch in cockpit __________________ David. Currently owner of two differently sized ankles.
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11th October 2007, 23:24	#3 (permalink)
Dsix36 Going Down? Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Deerfield Beach, Florida Posts: 1,062	Re: 9th October: “It’s like diving with a set of Mechano”. Very nice post. I enjoyed the pics as well as the description of the dive. Other than the fact that the site is being destroyed by idiots divers, it sounds like you have a great dive. Thanks for posting for the rest of us to see. __________________ THE MORE THAT I LEARN, THE MORE THAT I STILL NEED TO LEARN!!!!!!
(Online)

12th October 2007, 06:38	#4 (permalink)
Freef Custom Title Disallowed! Current Rebreather/s: Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Land of the Freef, UK. Posts: 1,353	Re: 9th October: “It’s like diving with a set of Mechano”. Don't get me started on the snorkelling snorkels who removed a brass 'In Memorium' plaque from the 'box at 36m. There are Workelers and then there are Corkelers. [the word snorkel replaces my ususal swearing on this subject, but I'm sure you'll get the drift of the second paragraph]. Ta for the green. __________________ David. Currently owner of two differently sized ankles.
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12th October 2007, 08:17	#5 (permalink)
SBOD New Member Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Other CCR Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: uk Posts: 12	Re: 9th October: “It’s like diving with a set of Mechano”. thanks for sharing your dive. seems that you both had fun!
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12th October 2007, 08:20	#6 (permalink)
John Langley New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Classic Kiss Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: in an appartment on the 99th floor of my block Posts: 103	Re: 9th October: “It’s like diving with a set of Mechano”. Well done report. You actually made stoney sound interesting. J.L. __________________ BSAC 1620 www.aqualanddivers.co.uk www.oceandiving.co.uk Thank your mother for the dripping.
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