My First Boat Dive

Recently I joined a scuba club called Castlereagh Sub Aqua Club, based in Belfast, and completed my BSAC Ocean Diver qualification, which allows me to dive to a depth of twenty metres. With that done, it was time for my first boat dive.

Unlike shore dives, which made up most of my training, a boat dive means travelling out to a site and entering the water directly from the boat. Our destination was the wreck of the Georgetown Victory, which lies off Killard Point, County Down.

We met at Ardglass Marina, a fishing town where the harbour is shared by both working vessels and recreational yachts. It was a grey day with little sunshine as everyone arrived and began unpacking their kit.

I am still piecing together my own set of gear, so I had a bit of a mix on this dive: my own basics, a club BCD, club regulators and another member’s cylinder. At one point I needed help fixing the cylinder insert, which Tracy, who was leading the dive, kindly sorted while I tried to learn by watching.

The club rib is around six metres with a powerful engine, more than enough to get us safely out and back. Kit loaded, we motored out of the marina. A couple of grey seals watched us from the rocks as we passed. I thought I heard one shout - "Amateurs!". The trip north to the dive site took about fifteen to twenty minutes.

I was paired with Craig, one of the instructors who had trained me. He is thorough and knowledgeable, and gave me a few final tips before we rolled into the water. We descended to about five metres, and I was struck immediately by the visibility. I could see parts of the wreck below as well as kelp swaying back and forth in the wave action. Some divers find that motion unsettling and a cause of motion sickness, but I found it calming as my body moved with the swell.

The wreck mostly lies flat on the seabed rather than standing upright, but there was plenty to see. We passed other pairs of divers and then found ourselves alone, exploring sections of the wreck. Craig had brought his GoPro, which resulted in me being roped into some underwater modelling beside a section of metalwork. At one point he missed spotting a lobster hiding under a plate of wreckage until I pointed it out right beside him. We also came across a small shoal of pollock gliding above the kelp. They seemed aware of us but kept their distance, and it was mesmerising to watch them moving so effortlessly in the water. It was nice to see these creatures in their natural habitat, rather than on the end of my fishing rod.

After about forty minutes Craig deployed his delayed surface marker buoy. The first attempt did not go quite to plan, but the second worked, and we began our ascent with a safety stop before surfacing near the boat.

Getting back on board was more of a challenge. With weights and kit still on, climbing into the rib takes some coordination. I was carrying nine kilograms on my weight belt, and as I tried to follow Craig’s instructions, the belt slipped out of my hands and sank straight to the bottom. A costly mistake and a sharp learning curve, but one I will not forget. The others had a laugh at my expense, making sure I did not get entrusted with any more weights that day.

Once everyone was safely back on board we returned to Ardglass, tied up, packed away our kit and rounded things off with a coffee. Six divers in the water, six divers back on shore, and my first boat dive complete. It was a brilliant experience underwater, matched by a very practical lesson in what not to do once you are back on the surface.