After the boat handing refresher session on the River Tay, the Mayday bank holiday brought a chance to take the club RHIB to the Isle of May for its first dive trip in a while.
Torsten, Jo and Craig were diving, with Mark acting as Cox,n and Alistair providing boat handling assistance in return for a lift to the Isle of May for bird watching.
We launched from Anstruther, and although the day was blindingly sunny, we encountered quite heavy swell from the northeast as we crossed to the island, requiring careful passage.
Fortunately in the lea of the island conditions were sheltered and calm. Alistair was dropped off and the others kitted up. This was Craig’s first time diving off a RHIB and first proper back roll entry.
The three divers set off, first exploring some wreckage close to the island and then tracking around 100m out and parallel to the shoreline where they met some still chilly water temperatures and conflicting currents.
Divers recovered, a spot of lunch was had, and a little bit of surface exploration undertaken. We spotted Alistair high up on the cliffs, then ventured slightly out of the shelter of the island, where we quickly encountered rising swell and turned back.
A second shorter dive in and around the island caves followed, then Alistair was collected and a second careful crossing brought us back to Anstruther. We’d timed our arrival to meet a rising tide, allowing plenty of time for our unpractised boat crew to recover the Tay Explorer and set it up for transport home.
Finishing up early evening, the group were joined by Jo’s partner Edward and rounded off with some very good fish and chips and ice cream before heading home.
Mark O’Connor