Our annual trip to Dorset this year was beset by change and challenge, but as always, we rose to the occasion and had a wonderful weekend away.
This was the first year we would be without our beloved Lulworth YHA hostel, which we had used as a club for over 40 years. Sadly, the YHA decided not to renew its lease with the Lulworth Estates and so we were forced to change our venue to the Swanage YHA Hostel. A much larger site with better facilities, in the centre of Swanage, but lacking the cosiness of our former home from home.
Luckily however, Jason, the former Manager of Lulworth and a great supporter of the club, had moved over to Manage Swanage YHA, so we were greeted with a welcoming face, by someone with a great understanding of our needs.
As you will know, the preceding weeks leading up to the weekend had been flooded with a major heatwave and bright sunshine, so in true club fashion, by the time our weekend commenced we were beset with wind and rain. Isnt that always the way!? As a result, we decided to do things in reverse, and chose to dive at Swanage Pier for the first day’s diving.
What a fantastic choice that turned out to be. In all our history, none of the staff can remember a time when the pier was so full of underwater life! Massive shoals of fish, from Sand Smelt to Ballan Wrase. We even saw several brightly coloured yellow and purple “Black Faced Blennies”!
We were all making great use of the new equipment we had purchased using the grant from Surrey Community Fund. So, everyone was kitted out with new O’Neil Wetsuits, Baltic Lifejackets, and some of us were lucky enough to test out the new sea scooters called Subnados. The latter of which were fantastic for those of us who have mobility issues, enabling us to support disabled divers in our activities! Everything worked perfectly, and we explored all there was to see under the pier.
We were even lucky enough to find a common jelly fish floating around, something not often seen at the pier. So everyone got a truly amazing experience. Many students were seen stirring up the algae on the pier legs which encouraged large groups of fish to rush in and feed on the nutrients released. Leading to an amazing symbiotic encounter between human and fish helping each other out, one for food, the other for observation.
The club boat was in support of the dive around the pier, fending off other boat traffic, and helping divers traverse between the old and new piers. Ably coxed by instructor Will’s Dad, Stuart, an experienced Master Mariner and Safety Power Boat Instructor. Once students had completed their dives, they then got to take a ride out on the boat to open sea, to have a play with the controls and experience the joys of speeding a small boat across the water under expert tutoring.
After the dive was completed and we were all packed up, we went to the hostel to wash up and have dinner. Burger and chips all round, with doughnuts and ice-cream for pudding. This was then followed by a walk, led by Instructors Will and Karen up the Durlston Way to the castle at Durlston Head, then back down to Swanage town, where the kids were taken to the arcades for some fun along the beachfront.
By 11pm, everyone was back at the hostel and tucked up ready for the next day’s adventures.
Day two began with a massive breakfast, then came the traditional club cleanup. Where we ensure all the students learn how to leave a place better than when they found it. It’s surprising how many students have never made a bed, used a mop, or wiped down a table… All valuable life skills, happily included in the price of the weekend away, and duly enforced by our taskmaster and training officer Will. The benefit here, is the kids learn vital skills, and the hostel staff think we are amazing as it makes their work so much easier after we are gone… Apparently its scary the state some groups leave the hostel in, which we think isn’t right. They look after us, so we look after them.
Day two’s dive was at Kimmeridge Bay in Wareham. We had hoped that the forecasted weather would produce wind from the NW, protecting the bay from the worst of it, but sadly it swung round to the south, making the bay choppy and stirred up. Despite this however, all students rose to the challenge and went out in search of the famous snorkel trail on site in an effort to find some life. Unfortunately, they didn’t find much…
We were however, impressed by everyone as the weather and water were not fantastic, but despite this people got stuck in and made the most of it. Whilst it may not win awards for scenery, it was a challenging dive that will stand everyone in good stead for resilience and experience in the future.
Again, people got to play with the boat which enjoyed bumping over waves and we finally after 5 years ownership got some great footage of it being used to put into our new promo video being developed.
After the dive, we had a slight blip, when one of the instructors lost their footing on the slip way getting out, resulting in them falling over and breaking their wrist. This unfortunately necessitated the calling of the coastguard and ambulance, and the removal by cutting of one of our lovely new wetsuits. However, better that than anything worse. Once this minor incident was resolved, and the patient sent to hospital in one of the other instructor’s cars. The students were taken to the Kimmeridge Bay Wildlife Centre for a look around and further education in the abundant coastal and sea life in the area (which had been sadly absent in the dive). This proved to be quite popular (especially as there was a small gift shop) with an indoor water feature containing a live crab which apparently danced for its audience… then after the show, everyone headed back to the vans for lunch.
With everyone fed, tired and dived out, we wended our way home after an amazing and busy weekend. Our new equipment had proven its worth many times over, our first aid and emergency procedures had been tested and found to be excellent, and the boat had kept everyone safe. So, baring a few blips, a really good weekend all round.
