Portland Naval Base Dive

On Sunday October 15th 1995, Totnes divers had a chance to dive within the Portland Naval Base, which has now closed as a military base. Since no civilian diving has happened there for 130 years (and probably not before that), there lay the promise of much naval detritus for the taking.

The event was a fundraising one. Organised by Southern Marine Rescue and the army, we paid our £10 to become part of the day of a thousand dives. Pretty dramatic stuff eh?

We arrived and indeed there were many divers and not a few cameras. After registering and picking up the mandatory teeshirt, we entered the old naval base. Very quickly, we discovered the truth. Divers who had emerged, spoke of amazing sights, of truly zero visibility, where even a strong torch beam failed to penetrate (ooh! I love it when he talks dirty, don't you?). Where groping around in mud was the reality. At least the depth wouldn't be punishing - a mere 11 metres within a calm harbour.

We kitted up feeling very excited as we listened to the briefing. We were told to avoid the pier supports in the water as they were unsafe due to the Navy boys' habit of crashing their boats into them. We were given 3 choices of entering the water.

1. Climb down the steps and snorkel out.

2. Catch a boat (easier said than done, they're very fast round there)

3. Walk to the end of the pier, jump 8 metres down into the water, and swim out.

Number 3 was, of course, judged to be the only way Totnes divers could possibly think of entering! So off we went. Peering over the edge, the water looked a long way down, at least 20 metres - if not more! An amateur video recordist determined us - were we men or water rats? We were going to do it!

So hearts in our mouths (remember training, the DV goes in the mouth!), we jumped in. And blow me down, if it wasn't bad at all. Just don't look at the water as you fall.

We prepared to descend into the murk, attaching a buddy line. As we dropped down we realised that the reports had not been exaggerated. This was serious bad vis! Glutinous mud covered my bottom, just asking to be disturbed by the slightest movement. Within seconds, my buddy and I couldn't see each other. But the buddy line was excellent. We knew we were only 6' apart and attached, so we couldn't lose each other. Just as well 'cos in the 45 mins of the dive, I only saw him three times (same ole story eh?). But in a perverse kind of way, it was quite enjoyable. Conditions were safe and apart from banging into the piers, not being able to see the compass or computer, you knew that nothing much could go wrong. Even if the equipment failed, the buddy line and shallow depth were reassuring. So we relaxed and just experienced the thick clouds of mud that we swam through.

We didn't find much. Just some old bottles and bits of metal that we grasped unseeing from the mud. We ascended and waited on the surface to be picked up by boat... it had been good fun and a dive for the logbooks.

So, why do we do it? Why is swimming across thick mud almost pleasurable? I don't know and short of indulging in 'the psychoanalysis of the diver mentality', I can only suggest that it was adrenaline boosting. Best of all, the day was a success for Marine Rescue... and Darren saw a ray!