Divers: Dave Metcalf, Geraldine Metcalf, Mark Knox, Mal Brown, Gail Brown, Ray Brown, Ian Brown, Carl Wilkinson, Clare Tate, Ian Muirhead, Christine Dent, William Short, Carolyn Kippling, John Kippling, Martin Fraser, Alan Thompson, Tony Dixon, Debbie Dixon, Neil Taylor, Andy Anderson.

Another well organised weekend with a good turn out but who ordered the weather?  The sea state was rough and the planned trip out to the Farne Islands had to be changed to Plan B.  We would brave the seas and dive one of our favourite sites – the Somali.  The trip out was hair raising and the adrenalin was flowing before we entering the water!  As expected, the dive site was the only option in the area for the day and upon approaching we could see a gathering of RIB’s and hard boats which were heading in from the North.  It was going to be diver soup on the wreck but this did not deter us. 

Waiting for our turn to dive seemed like forever and you could see people were turning green as the boats bobbed about on the sea.  John (my husband and my buddy for his sins!) was under strict orders to meet me on the surface as soon as possible as I had a new pair of force fins and knew that they would feel strange for the first time in the water.  As I turned on the surface to swim towards the shot something strange happened, I was finning but not moving, these fins would take some getting used to!  Rescued by John we dumped our air and made for the shot line under the water. 

The best feeling in the world is descending a shot line in the gloom of the North Sea and waiting for the image of a wreck to loom out of the darkness below.  Today was no exception; I always manage to get excited about diving the Somali even though I have dived this site many times before. We quickly decided our chosen route through the wreckage and headed towards the ships substantial boilers.  Here we discovered a shoal of fish and I shone my torch towards them and watched the light dance around their scales. 

As expected there were a lot of divers present and we decided to get out from the main structure and headed towards the edge where the seabed is clearly visible.  It was here that I could practice finning and become accustomed to the alien objects on my feet!  We followed the perimeter of the wreck, searching the seabed on the way for a glimpse of any new parts of the Somali.  Even at 30m on the seabed we could feel a slight swell from the rough seas above, we were conscious of the fact that time was of the essence if our other diving friends were to get a good dive as well. 

We turned and headed back towards the shot line.  On the way back we passed Dave and Alan who had also opted for a quieter dive away from all the other divers and in search of better visibility.  This was the first time Alan had dived the Somali and you could see that he was in awe of the whole experience, the amount of wreckage, the fish and other sea life, it made me think about my first time on the wreck and how I talked about it for days afterwards!  As we approached the shot line I saw something glisten beneath me and stopped to investigate, it was only a broken bottle and I buried it in the seabed to keep it out of harms way to other divers.  John was waiting for me on the shot line ahead and I swam over to meet him. 

As I began to ascend the shot line I paused to take one last glimpse of the wreckage beneath me and reflect on an interesting and enjoyable dive.  I was already beginning to look forward to my next dive on the Somali.