Our first UK sea trip of the season saw ten Arden Divers and friends heading for the stunning island of Lundy.
The adventure began a couple of days before when we learned that the compressor on the island had broken down. Angie spent a frantic afternoon trying to organise extra cylinders and fills on the mainland. Fortunately her efforts proved to be unnecessary as they managed to get the compressor repaired in time for our arrival.
We dived from Obsession II and were well looked after by Leigh and Gemma from Lundy Diving. The weather was kind and we managed to get the full six dives in on our three day trip, covering wrecks, reefs and, of course, seals. The seals seemed to be keeping themselves to themselves on the first day, but one chap decided to thoroughly investigate me on the second day. This wasn’t your usual shallow seal dive though—this was at 22m on the wreck of the MV Robert! He was swimming between my legs, and seemed fascinated by my dry gloves, which was a little worrying given how big seals’ teeth are. The third day saw a brisk easterly which gave us an opportunity to explore the west side of the island, where several of us spent a good hour surrounded by seals.
Our accommodation for our two nights on the island was Millcombe House, a comfortable seven bedroom mansion with stunning views back across the sea to the mainland. No roughing it for us! Not only did we have the comfort of the house, but we ate like kings thanks to Alastair, who cooked a fabulous curry on the first night. The second night saw us all up at the pub enjoying the food and beer there.
All in all it was a fantastic three days away, superbly organised as ever by Angie. Huge thanks to Angie for working so hard to make it all happen, Alastair for the amazing food, Leigh and Gemma for taking such great care of us on the boat, and everybody for their amazing company.
