Numbers are rising. There were two teams of 3 available to play octopush. The opinion was that it was an excellent game. Pity about the score. Hugh, Robin and Mick (HRM) took on Neil, Irfon and Wyn (NIW). I would like to say that it was an evenly balanced game. Initially HRM got the first two goals but then the tide turned or maybe even the worm and the NIW team streaked ahead with several lucky goals. The HRM team got a couple more goals but not enough. Good game, good game.
Results of the first game of Octopush (Underwater hockey) in the pool for this season.
Robin & Mick v Wyn & Hugh: 5-3
This was a game of two halves; in neither was there a referee. This omission did affect the tactics of both teams. The first goal was scored by Robin after steaming across the pool with minimal opposition. The next goal was scored by Wyn who met no opposition; this could have been because he didn’t tell the Robin & Mick nor his partner that play had restarted- good move; sound strategy! Play was then fairly balanced for a time until the odd neck lock or mask removal enabled Robin & Mick to unfairly creep ahead.
A slight deviance from the national game was having Andrew swimming through the field of play. This had the effect of giving , at regular intervals, team members a much needed break, although none of them would admit it. I think we will find that this will become a feature of the Lleyn Sub-Aqua Club Octopush game.
David learnt today that he has passed the BSAC Open Water Instructors qualification (OWI). Many congratulations to him. The Club needs more instructors to spread the training load and reduce its dependence on the few. Being an instructor is rewarding, makes one a safer diver and you get a lovely certificate!
Malcolm & Hugh attended Bert’s funeral at the Landican Crematorium & Cemetery. It was a celebration of Bert’s life with hymns, readings, prayers and memories of Bert’s life. Having listened to those memories it is certain that what we got from Bert was was everyone got! Mike Duke on behalf of the Club arranged for flowers too be sent with a message of sympathy.
“After a very windy week the sea on both coasts was really stirred up, but as Saturday was a bit quieter and the Sunday forecast was just about OK, and it was neaps, it was decided to wait and see, especially as Irfon was prepared to get up early to look out of a window to check the sea state. We were rewarded with a fine, relatively calm morning, so 4 of the Jones boys ( the old guys were mostly away) met at Malcolm’s at 9.30 and would have created a record by launching just after 10 had not Irfon kindly arranged to test a friends jump leads!!!
Nevertheless, just after 11 we were heading out to the Porth Ysgadarn reefs in a bit of a swell. Dewi & David did a nice gentle drift over a low reef in about 2m viz., with Dewi again missing the octopus and the bullhuss, while Irfon & Robin landed on a very good bigger reef which enabled them to stay put. Lunch was a relaxed affair on Towyn beach, followed by slack water dives on Porth Colmon reef. The size of the sea in the ever freshening breeze put paid to Plan A, which was for the Melt. Dewi got to see his first full size un battered plaice, and between the 4 of us we managed to recover a nice little anchor and chain, which Dewi found, which will do as a spare for the rib.
So although the sea wasn’t exactly calm and the viz. was as poor as expected, we had 2 good dives and it proved the maxim of holding the final decision until Sunday morning on neap weekends. It was also good experience for Irfon & Dewi to experience the darkness of such conditions.”
Conditions were just right for a night dive and barbeque; except that Cathy was still in training so it was felt that we would avoid darkness and start earlier. However time was taken up by mask clearing and Cathy’s dive became a night dive. It was as was everyone else’s’ dive a poor visibility one. Viz was terrible. All this seemed no problem to Cathy who asked Hugh why after a 40 minutes dive, in darkness, poor viz, and dwindling air reserves they had turned back. Although poor visibility all: Dewi, Irfon, Peter, Wyn, David, Gwyn, Carol, Malcolm. enjoyed their dive and it was then barbeque time.
The Club armada of three vessels set off from Pwllheli harbour at about 10am. There were 13 divers down for the afternoon dive. In the Club RIB was Arwyn & Hugh, Robin & Kate, Malcolm & Wyn; in Paul’s RIB Paul & Chris, David & Carol and in Mike Duke’s RIB Mike and Irfon. Peter came along for the afternoon dive.
The morning dive was on a rock with a hole in it off the Eastern side of Hells Mouth, caught to which was a train of lobster pots. 200 m to the South of the rock was a reef. The pots were released and all had a good dive except for Arwyn who became sea sick and had to abort the dive after only 3 minutes. He was taken back to Abersoch when we picked up Peter.
The afternoon dive was off St Tuwals. There was quite a wind on one side to make diving difficult. The plan was for the Club to search for the lost gold Rolex watch. Mike Duke laid down a search line with a couple of buoys. Mike dived in and Chris and Paul dived in and within a few minutes Paul had found the watch. The remaining divers were put in on the South East corner of the eastern island. There was a tremendous amount of life with Tompot Blennies everywhere. A giant spider crab was seen. One pair drifted quite a distance in a SW direction others stayed fairly close to the position they went in.
A lot of wind but from the SE which meant if we dived on the north coast and stayed close to shore we should be OK; we were.
It was still a bit bumpy as we made our way down to Carreg Allan to try for a better shot at the pinnacle. Neil and Irfon went in first but where soon caught out by a lobster pot line and the dive was aborted. Hugh & Wyn had a long, terrific and exhilarating drift but necessarily did not come across much marine life. David and Carol chose a site out of the main current. Initially spitting sand and damning the crew that put them in, David and Carol had a fantastic dive and no tide.
The weather deteriorating we headed for home. We passed Micky Duke and John Wright on their second dive (see photo), missed the Porth Colmon submerged rock and finished a successful day.
