How
many of you have ever been enjoying a sunny day at Gunwharf
Quays, maybe with your favourite ice cream only to glance
over at Gosport and be visually assaulted by the large,
grey phallic tower rising from the hub of Gosport?
Well to the untrained eye it may appear to be a pointless
behemoth, but to a diver it represents one of the most pleasurable
experiences the South has to offer.
Yes, it was that time of the year again for another dive
in the Royal Navy SETT or Submarine Escape Training Tank
for those not in the know……..
After bombing out of work early I thought I would be the
first to get to Burger King in lovely Gosport. However everyone
else working that day had the same idea and had blagged
finishing early. So by 16:30 we were all enjoying our big
fat burgers a whole 1hr 15 minutes early!!
After stuffing our faces and discussing the events of Tuesday
night in the Eldon we moved on to the main gate of HMS Dolphin.
After signing in our convoy of cars we infiltrated the base
and rocked up outside the 30m high SETT tank.
After getting an informative and really REALLY interesting
brief on the site we all bundled our kit into the lift which
would take us to the top. As soon as the doors opened you
could feel the warmth and see the top of the tank beckoning.
At least all looks peachy until you look down into the tank
and realise you can see all the way to the bottom, at about
28m. So it’s not for those afraid of heights. Oh and by
the way the water is lovely and warm like a bath!
After a little bit of kitting up etc, the first pair to
enter the water was Ricky and Luke on their re-breathers.
The idea being that they make no bubbles although the amount
of gas coming from those re-breathers made you question
that. After Luke’s amazingly fast descent they hit the bottom.
Meanwhile on the surface everyone was sorting their kit,
taking photos and basically pissing around, all itching
to get in the tank.
Eventually after another wave it was mine and Rich's dive.
Our plan was to descend as fast as humanly possible and
maximize our bottom time of space walking. After an ear
splittingly fast descent we reached the depth of 28m, the
bottom of the tank!
Instantly it was off with the fins, and onto the space walking.
This kept us amused for a while until I noticed the mermaid
on the wall, probably the best looking women I have seen
in ages. Or was that the Narcosis? Hang on this happens
in the bar too…
Meanwhile Rich is bouncing around like a
man possessed and despite all his efforts to sneak up on
me from behind the conning tower he failed. After our 15
min bottom time we ascended incredibly slowly passing James
L and Dave on the way down. Once at 10 m Rich decided to
write a message on his slate to hold up to the camera in
the tank. Best not repeat it here but I am sure Ricky was
impressed. After a few minutes at 6m we finished our dive
and hopped out.
Other highlights of the diving were Andy
suffering from vertigo while floating in the water and then
no doubt suffering from narcosis at the bottom! Also credit
is due to Alex and Doug for their safety stop and ascent
from 6m feet first. Although how can I forget Jodie and
her snotty nose pose to the waiting paparazzi at the surface
– gorgeous.
After everyone had done their dive we disbanded
and went to the pub……obviously!
Thanks to Ricky, fast decent Luke, vertigo
Andy, Ali, space man Rich, Dave, James L, John, borg Will,
feet first Alex, Doug, Chris G and snotty Jodie for coming.
Till next time………………..
Karim
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