Mid Lancs Sub Aqua club provides opportunities for Scuba diving around the Wigan, Chorley, Standish and Horwich areas. A branch of BSAC.
At the end of September, Mid Lancs went to Largs, a small town to the West of Glasgow.
The weather was excellent and the sea was calm, the water was a little green due to algae blooms which are common at this time of year.
Thanks to Nick for the footage, you can see more on Nick’s YouTube channel and also on our Facebook page
During the Summer months, we try to get out diving in the sea as much as possible. In July, we headed down to Anglesey to dive the wreck of the Segontium, a mussel trawler that sank in 1985.
Thanks to Nick for the footage and editing.
In June, a few of the members of Mid Lancs travelled down to Dover to dive with Mutiny Diving for a long weekend. Footage of the trip thanks to Nick.
This year Mid Lancs is 20 years old. The club was started back in 2005 with a mission to go diving and have fun. We’ve achieved a huge amount over the last 20 years all thanks to current and past members.
Lots of diving events are planned for the coming year, we’ll be updating the website and our social media pages with our activites.
With some favourable weather in September, Mid Lancs decided to run a day trip to Anglesey. As we head further into Autumn, the conditions don’t allow for diving in the sea so this was our last trip of the year.
We don’t stop diving during the Winter, we’ll be heading to some inland sites and have a few skill development courses planned.
In mid May, a group of divers headed to Anglesey to dive the wreck of the Kimya. As the morning mist started to clear, the group headed out into the bay to find the wreck teaming with life. One of our members with a talent for video editing captured the day.
Six of our intrepid explorers ventured up to Orkney for a week of diving in the incredible Scapa Flow.
After a long time coming, the trip to Scapa Flow finally came around in October 2023. It was a long drive, but what a week it was, battleships, cruisers, great food, great company and a storm! We were on the Valhalla which is based out of Stromness (https://mv-valhalla.co.uk/) which is a great boat to be living on for the week. The boat housed 11 of us in total which we dove from and slept on overnight. If you want to read more in depth (no pun intended!) about these wrecks why not visit https://www.scapaflowwrecks.com/.
We got straight into the High Seas Fleet with the SMS Karlsruhe, a cruiser laid down in 1915. This was a great dive to start to the week, not too deep that it pushed us too far to start, but a fantastic wreck to get us into the swing of things and a nice shakedown. It was also a great way to make sure all the kit was working perfectly.
The second dive took us to the F2 & Barge, this is a WW2 wreck and the barge that tried to salvage it, this sank next to it in a storm which provides a great dive on 2 nice wrecks. On the barge the anti-aircraft guns from the F2 can be seen in the hold pointing towards the sky. Really interesting dive.
On our second day we ventured to the SMS Brummer for our first dive, a mine laying cruiser of the High Seas Fleet. This is a firm favourite in the Scapa Flow wreck list, it’s largely still in tact at 35 meters.
The second wreck of the day was the SMS Dresden, a light cruiser that lies on an incline so a depth can be chosen to suit what is wanted. We got to 32 meters on this with lots to see.
Our first wreck we witnessed our fist of the battleships in Scapa Flow, the SMS König. You can’t describe the sheer size of these vast ships. You drop down the shot line and all you can see is this beast as far as the eye can see. The fact this ship fought at The Battle of Jutland is alone enough to make this an amazing dive.
SMS Cöln, that’s all that needs to be said. This (for me…) was possibly the best wreck dive that you can do, around Britain anyway. There is so much you can see that is still distinguishable, 150mm anti-aircraft guns, the last remaining torpedo tube above the high elevation guns. The armoured control tower can easily be made out with the gimbals still in tact which the sighting optics would have been located. This is a must do when up there, an incredible dive.
Well, its October in the UK, so obviously the weather took over and this blew us out for the day. We took the opportunity to explore Orkney and see some of the historical sights it has to offer. Speaking from experience, if you go to Orkney in October, make sure you take a coat!
On our final day of diving we first headed to the SMS Kronprinz. This is another battleship, the sister ship to the SMS König and an opportunity to see the massive 12″ guns that these massive ships had. We descended down to the wreck, and thankfully some good person has tied the shot very close to where these guns are as this again, is a massive ship which would be hard to find anything. You drop down under the ship which is upside down and see these barrels sat there looking so peaceful, but these enormous guns had also fired at Jutland which is just a surreal thought.
The last dive of the week we had a choice where we wanted to go and it was decided to go back to the Cöln, there was so much to see we just had to see it one last time and to get some more great footage on the GoPro.
Where will 2024 take us? Would you like to learn to dive? Already a diver and looking for a new diving home? Why not get in contact with us and come down to meet us.
And so 2023 begins, and what a fabulous year it will be for us here at Mid Lancs SAC. We held our yearly calendar meeting this Monday where we plan our scuba diving agenda for the year. Our plans this year include lots of day dashes upon Little Mo, trips away, and inland dive site day trips. Below is a sample of what is to come. If you like the sound of any of these adventures, get in touch and book yourself a try dive.
FEBRUARY
Stoney Cove for some deeper diving and potential for some depth progression for new Sports Divers.
MARCH
Trip to Capenwray and a day out on the boat. We usually get to Anglesey on the boat, depending on the attendees will decide where we go, but rest assured we aren’t short of amazing wrecks and reefs around Anglesey.
APRIL
Wast Water is on the cards, this is another great trip to build experiences for people and get some depth in for the Sports Divers and Dive Leaders. We have a shore dive planned in Anglesey and to finish off we have another boat day dash planned in.
MAY
Annual trip to Largs for a weekend. This is a fabulous trip that can cater for most levels, from scenic reefs teeming in life to deep wrecks full of history. Another boat dash is also planned for those not wanting a full weekend.
JUNE
Practical Rescue Management course, which is a great way to build experience of what to do when things don’t go as planned, this also helps for Dive Leaders looking to get a few modules signed off.
JULY
Trip to Puffin Island where there is a chance to see some seals and some interesting marine life, and another day trip on the boat.
AUGUST
Possible trip to Weymouth, which is an incredible area for diving, lots of wrecks to be seen. (This is TBC due to bank holiday weekend)
SEPTEMBER
Plan is two day dashes on the boat throughout the month.
OCTOBER
Training course, this time Search and Recovery which is another great course to help with the what happens if?
NOVEMBER & DECEMBER
No plans up to now, throughout the year we have another two calendar reviews where we can book in things for these months. We always accommodate what members want and are happy to assist if someone wants to plan a trip for the club.
Is 2023 the year you start diving and come to all these amazing places with us?
How can we help?
I will be back soon
