PODLA REPORT

Plymouth Weekend – August Bank Holiday 2005

It was a nervous thought that entered my head when I woke up Friday morning, my first diving weekend away without my PODLA partner Karen, how was I going to fill the time, what would I do, who would I share my afternoon nap with??   But I needn’t have worried, the weather was beautiful (actually got a suntan), everyone was very friendly and it turned into a very relaxing weekend.

Andy and I left home at 11 am on Friday morning, we weren’t really sure what the traffic would be like, but it was fairly free flowing.  With the use of Janet (our friendly Sat Nav) we arrived at our B&B in about 2 ½ hours. 

Our B&B was located about 5 mins drive from the Mountbatten Centre.  Gordon and Shirley our hosts could not have been more friendly and helpful.  Gordon used to work on the Scylla so was really interested in Andy’s diving adventures.

Once we had unpacked, we drove down to the Mountbatten Centre so Andy could take his cylinders to the Deep Blue Diving Centre to be filled.  I then suggested a visit to the National Marine Aquarium (http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk) having visited it last year with Karen, I was interested to see how much it had changed and whether my favourite turtle was still there.

We caught the Water Taxi from the Mountbatten Centre across to the Barbican (£1 each way, and runs regularly until about 11pm each day – very handy if you don’t have a car to drive round to the main centre).  A short walk led us to the Aquarium.   Once inside there are a number of different species of fish to explore, from Sea Horses and sharks to the ever popular Nemo and Dory.  The Turtle (called Snorkel) was still there but he didn’t seem very well to us, he looked to be swimming funny and kept bumping into the coral, let’s just hope he was having an off day! Although I would recommend the aquarium - all the kids around us seemed to be having a great time, I did feel that it had lost some of its quality from last year but hopefully this is just a blip and it will pick back up.

As we weren’t meeting the others until the next morning, we decided on dinner in a local pub and then crashed back at the B&B.

The alarm woke us at 7.00am on the Saturday (another early start) and the smell of Bacon and Eggs wafted up the stairs, once we had breakfast we rushed out to the car and headed for the Mountbatten Centre for the 8am start.  

Due to Pat being unwell (glad to report he is back to his normal self now and has finally quit smoking – yeah!!!!!!)  they were down to one boat so the divers were now diving in 3 waves, this actually turned out well (or bad depending on which way you look at it) for me as I actually got to see more of Andy than I normally would!

 Andy was in Wave 1 & 3, so as I waved them all off to sea I wandered back to the car to have my first secret snooze of the day.  When I awoke the sun was out and the temperature was warming up so I grabbed one of my many books that I had bought with me (always prepared!) and went down to the front of the Mountbatten Centre, claimed my seat for the day and read my book.   There is always plenty going on down at the centre, from all the many divers going in and out of the jetty, to rowing, windsurfing and children learning to sail, so if you are a people watcher like me it can keep you entertained for hours.  Before I knew it the first wave of divers were back and it was time for lunch.

There is a Café and Bar at the Mountbatten Centre so refreshments are available, however I felt that the café wasn’t really selling the right kind of food that we required, it was more main meals than sandwiches and snacks.  We were more prepared on the Sunday and Monday and popped to the local supermarket first before arriving at Mountbatten.

After lunch it was time for Wave 3 to go diving again, as the weather was so nice (and I was feeling lazy) I decided to stay on my bench and read for the rest of the day.  Once they were back and the boat had been refuelled and tucked up for the night, we headed back to the B&B for a quick bath and change of clothes before heading out for dinner.

Dinner consisted of everyone meeting at the camp site and having a BBQ, many thanks must go to Helen (and Oscar) who organised all the food for us all, it was a lovely big spread!  Andy and Paul volunteered to be the chefs for the evening, and with everyone having a bottle or two it was a very relaxed evening. 

Andy was on wave 2 & 3 on the Sunday, so we had a lay in!!! The first lay in ever known where diving is concerned!  So once we had our cooked breakfast (have to spoil yourself when on holiday) we wandered on down to Mountbatten.  Once I had waved them off, I decided to go and explore the shops.  I caught the Water Taxi over to the main centre and walked up to the shops.  They are redoing the town centre at the moment so it is a bit run down, but it has most shops that everyone needs.  Once I had looked around I decided to treat myself to an Ice Cream up at the Hoe. 

As it was a glorious afternoon, the Hoe was packed with families playing games or just lazing on the grass, the outlook from the Hoe is amazing, you could sit up there for hours watching all the boats come and go.  Once the divers were back, we headed back to the B&B and then out to a nearby pub where we were all meeting for dinner.  The food was very good and generous helpings, Andy is still saying now that he should have had the mixed seafood platter and waters at the mouth just thinking about it!

Monday started with another lay in as Andy was on wave 2, so we packed up the car, said see you next year to Gordon and Shirley and went down to the Mountbatten Centre.  Helen and Oscar were at Mountbatten, Oscar was proudly carrying his new Nemo soft toy and was looking forward to his Dad returning from his dive. 

Once they were all back on dry land, everyone helped prep the boat ready for the road, packed up their equipment, said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.  The traffic wasn’t too bad, congested in places but we were home just after 6pm and Andy was soon hosing down his equipment!

Many thanks to Dirk and Helen for organising the weekend.

A few pictures can be seen here..(mostly of the aquarium)