Castaways Sub-Aqua Club

	Castaways Sub-Aqua Club
	A Branch (Branch No 2071) of The British Sub-Aqua Club

The contractual obligation trip
or...
Can I take Zoe and Meg home with me?

Tobermory, Scotland

1st - 8th April 2000

OK, sulk over, I did go on this trip and I did dive, hurrah! So I guess I better write something about it.

"Yes, it really is snowing"

In the first week in April a group of hardy Castaways' divers travelled to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. After the problems with numbers on last year's trip we had to charter the same boat this year or lose a large deposit. Everybody who went last year had no worries about diving on the 'Silver Swift' again as this is a really nice boat and its skipper Paul really knows his stuff.

"Ninja divers"

This year instead of the 'Ikea' cabins the group lodged in a farmhouse 15 minutes drive from Tobermory. The farmhouse runs as a B&B as well, but we stayed in a completely self-contained wing, with bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and a really nice living room complete with wood-burner. Although the accommodation took a couple of days to warm up everybody was comfortable (apart from Nobby who had to put up with Gobber's nocturnal emissions).

"Nanook of the north?"

Diving was from the Silver Swift out of Tobermory. This is a very comfortable dive boat, with plenty of cabin space for getting out of the weather and a very well thought out dive deck. The doorway at the back made getting into the water easy and it has a good ladder for getting back in. Paul the skipper knows the waters like the back of his hand and being a diver himself gives very good briefings of what to expect underwater.

"Sleepy Ninja"

"Scenery at the site of the Rondo"

Needless to say the old faithful sites of the sound were dived: Rondo, Hispania, Calve Island, etc. The weather let us get out to Coll on one day and to dive an undived pinnacle between the mainland and Muck on another. Talking of the weather we had a complete mixed bag, on the first day it snowed as we were kitting up to dive, needless to say it was very cold. The weather improved as the week went on and it never interfered with the diving.

"Kevin demonstrates why we respect him so much"

In summary a fantastic weeks diving was had by all. Nobby learnt how to shell scallops, and even managed to eat one before smothering the rest with tomato ketchup. And everybody fell in love with Zoe and Meg. No these weren't the local "good time girls", they were the two Black Labrador puppies that lived at the lodgings. Each morning as we left the farmhouse they were outside waiting to say hello and play.

Anthony Peacock

(Photographs courtesy Anthony Peacock)

And finally, the following sequence of photographs shows what happens if you mix a sauna, some beer, two bottles of wine, some happy divers and a power failure… (Those of a nervous disposition should look away now. Ed)