I booked a club trip to support my dive leader training to Porthkerris in Cornwall.

I, Steve, Hugh and Barry took the very long trip down to Cornwall on Friday (it took me 7 hours to get there) for our weekend of diving.

Our accommodation was the Volnay (sleeps 4) and Raglan (sleeps 2). The accommodation was clean and comfortable with plenty of room, both rooms were en-suite, with TV and tea making facilities and a small BBQ in the garden area and a few benches. There is also room for a few tents or camper vans on site, but the drive from the main road to the site is narrow and steep!

The onsite facilities were OK, but I would suggest that you take any food or drink items with you as there is only a small food van if you wish to grab a sandwich between dives. They have their own air filling station on site and a shop to purchase any items you may need for diving.

After settling in, we all got together, cooked dinner, and talked about our dive plans for the next day. 

Day 1

Buddy pair Steve and me & Hugh and Barry

The first dive was the Vase with depths ranging from 10m down to 40m; this was a pretty reef dive with lots of kelp, sea fans and Sponges. Our depth reached was 26m, and the water was 17°c.

The second dive was the Volnay; this boat was sunk after hitting a contact mine in December 1917 and was bought into Parthallow bay and sank to 21m onto the sandy bottom. This wreck is well broken up. We had dived to 19m, and the water was 19°c.

After the day of diving Hugh, Barry and myself went out for dinner.

Day 2

Buddy pair Steve and Barry & Hugh and me

The first dive of the day was the Mohegan and is the most dived wreck on the Manacles. There were sea fans, dead man’s fingers and Hugh and I were lucky enough to see a free-swimming eel and a cuttlefish. Depth was 26m, and the water was 16°c.

The second dive was The Helford River; this was a gentle drift dive and relatively shallow at 7m. Hugh took his yellow net to bag a few scallops. There wasn’t a great deal to see on this dive, but I was entertained by Hugh picking up a large Spider Crab and it pinching him (BSAC rule Hugh, “look, but don’t touch!”) there was lots of Spider crabs, scallops, and we did see a few hermit crabs.

With day two over, we got packed up by 4 pm and made our way home, much quicker than the drive down. I enjoyed the dive trip and will look into booking it gain but maybe for a few extra days.