The early May bank holiday saw 11 intrepid HWSAC divers and the Club Social Secretary visit Plymouth. The early season water was a respectable 10 - 12 degrees and despite the slightly choppy sea conditions - sea sickness was kept to a minimum. The 10 metre Rhib with it's 400 horsepower engines cut-ting through the waves getting us out to the dive site and back - quickly!

On day one we dived the James Egan Layne in the morning, This is one of the UK 'must do' dives. Sunk some 60 years ago in 21 metres of water, it is the UK's answer to coral reefs - almost completely covered with life. Despite having been on the sea bed that long, the structure of the ship is still evident and it is possible to safely swim through the structure as almost all of the decking has gone. The plankton bloom didn't help visibility, being a some-what eerie effect - crystal clear water clouded by the dense plankton, but still plenty to see. Definitely one of my favourite dives!

In the afternoon we dived the Glen Strathallen (16 Metres) - although now broken up, still a good second dive and it has certainly helped Jane Mowatt in identification of ships boilers!

On day two HMS Scylla was our first dive. The former Royal Navy Frigate has now been an artificial reef for almost 5 years. Sitting in 25 meters of water, life is beginning to become firmly established on the wreck, and an abun-dance of anemones, starfish and dead mans fingers is evident. In the words of Simon Fennell, our diving officer, there are also stripy fish and non-stripy fish (Marine Identification course recommended!). I guess that in time the Scylla will start to look as the James Egan Layne, it's near neighbour, and eventually become as popular for UK divers. It will become a 'must do' dive and is truly an adventure playground for divers. The wreck can be pene-trated, but being 'purpose built' holes have been cut in the bulkheads and decking so that there is always a clear, accessible exit route. For the slightly less adventurous, swimming along the gangways and decking doesn't detract from the experience. If you have not dived the Scylla yet, your missing something special - So look out for the next club trip.

In the afternoon the weather started to close in a little, so a 10 -15 metre dive in Broady Bay provided the second dive - in a sheltered location.

Unfor-tunately, the weather won on Monday, the white horses in the harbour sug-gesting that venturing outside of the breakwater was out of the question

- Ah the joys of UK diving and the weather!

On the social side, we have identified a number of Chinese, Thai and trendy wine bars for future club visits. Overall, a great trip and one to be repeated next year?