Report by Andrew Bradford – Diving with Channel Diver out of Brighton
City Of Waterford
Diving: Andrew Bradford, Milton Molina (had to cancel)
Weather: Cloudless sky, warm. Negligible southerly breeze. Sea state was mirror-like.
Sea temp: 13degrees
Dive 1 – City of Waterford
Ropes off at 08.30 from Brighton Marina. I buddied up with a pair of twins (Mick Johns who I used to dive with @ Manta Divers) Shot was dropped onto the stern and we made our way forward. Stern remains upright and intact. Cargo hold has disintegrated but the bow remains in good condition with guard rails still in place. Huge and rather angry lobster nearly responsible for loss of digits – only cat-like reflexes saved the day. Very significant shoals of Wrass everywhere. Visibility approx. 6-7m. max depth was 33.5m with a dive time of 49mins on a 27% mix including 8mins of stops. A really enjoyable dive with much to see. Despite no end of nooks and holes not a single Conga was spotted however more jelly fish evidence, some particularly large.
Surface time: 1:40
Dive 2 – Ledges (Drift)
Much improved viz from the previous week and plenty of flora and fauna in evidence. Very large crab everywhere. There was a lot of litter around so an impromptu FOD PLOD was commenced and much fishing line, fishing weights and plastic was gathered up for disposal. Max depth 14.9m on 21% dive time 45mins.
A fantastic morning in Brighton which I plan to repeat as soon as can be arranged.
