Weekend in Oban

[ScubaDiva]

Have a good time everyone - we want reports when you are back!

[Lew21]

Which pub are we meeting in?

[Scrawn]

Oban Inn, If my rubbish memory works, it's on Stafford Street..

[Lew21]

(20-11-2008 02:52 PM)Scrawn Wrote:  Oban Inn, If my rubbish memory works, it's on Stafford Street..

I'll find it. thanks

[Phil O]

Bags packed - man are they heavy!!! Not enough room for warm clothes so lets hope the cold and snow does not happen. See you all in the pub for a nice cup of tea and scones

[oneill207]

Hey guys
hope it comes off for you given the forecast. I've just been blown out -I'm afraid it's quarries for me until next season

[Phil O]

Great weekend - it was good to meet Lewis (lew21) and of course to spend a couple of nights out with Polly is always a pleasure.

I arrived early (ish) at around 3:30 and went to the hotel to meet Polly and Lewis. They had already managed to find a pub and have a couple pints and it wasn't long before the 3 of us were in the Oban Inn luxuriating in ale.

Louise (Scrawn) arrived next with her partner and by then I start to lose all sense of time - we moved from one pub to the next and back again before tucking into some haggis

The rest of Louise' club arrived late and we met them next morning with a bit of a gale blowing. Now, Oban is known for being a place where you can always dive and rarely gets blown out - this weekend would test that. Breda was the first dive and I buddied up with Polly and Lewis. The vis was poor and you couldn't really sense the size of the wreck but all in all a good dive. Except of course for me getting very wet through a dodgy neck seal - so wet that I sat out the next dive on Shuna.

So off to Tobermory and a night at a wee hotel - its orange and sits up the hill above the MishNish. Park Lodge?? Actually for me it was a quiet night. Shower, snooze and a wander down to the MishNish for a couple of pints before a jaunt over to MacGochans bar where we had a nice scrummy meal. Just after the Tequila's came out I admitted defeat and went back to bed.

Sunday came and so did the wind. It must have been Force 6-7 when we set out to look for a sheltered dive spot - Shuna was choppy so went further south to a quieter site where we gathered Scallops. My neck seal really failed that dive and I was soaked within 5 minutes and gave up after 17 mins leaving Lewis to buddy up with another pair. That was the end of my days diving and I changed and tried to warm myself - Pollys hands were a great help here.

Second dive was harder to find but eventually the guys dropped in for their last session of Scallops and Crabs before we head off back to Oban. The weather had worsened and I guess must have been gusting 7-8 especially through the bottom of the sound as we moved towards Oban. I have to take my hat off to Paul, the skipper of the boat - Silver Swift - whose 30 odd years of experience of fishing in these waters was evident.

Great weekend and enjoyed meeting the guys from Louise club. Hope to do it again some time

[Lew21]

Cheers Phil, well done for putting up with my snoring & rambling in my sleep.
Especially enjoyed the scallop dives on Sunday, learnt a few things on Saturday
i.e.: remember to open both cylinder valves fully when going to 27m
& more practice of bouyancy skills (& don't drink so much the night before diving).

Again, well done to Paul the captain of Silver Swift for getting any diving on Sunday & for getting us back to Oban, not much chatter in the wheelhouse while we 'surfed' along the SOM.

Nice to meet all you guys & hopefully catch up with you again.

Polly, Hope you managed to get your work done

[DaveS]

Hey peeps - what a cracking time!
Phil, Polly, Lewis - was great to hook up with you all.
Thanks for organising it Lou - sorry you weren't well enough to dive - a cold dip may have cured the hangover (hehe).

I'm looking forward to going back next year with slightly smaller swells on the trip back to Oban. How the boat staying upright in the waves I have yet to understand.

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(17-11-2008 01:17 AM)Scrawn Wrote:  Hopefully, we'll do the Hispania. I haven't dived it yet...

If we're meeting in the pub, I like most lagers, most decent single malts and peanuts. This isn't a hint, it's just for general information..

You forgot to mention your addiction to jelly babies Lou

[Polly]

So Lewis, Phil and I managed to gatecrash someone else's club trip and it was lots of fun. I arrived at about 2, hoping to write a play before we hit the pub. Lewis arrived at 2.30 so the laptop went away and the beer came out to play. Hooray!

We'd already had a couple by the time we met Phil and the afternoon soon started to have that deja-vu feeling to it, as Phil and I sat giggling in the corner. The others arrived later on, had some nice food and then went to sleep ... in the COLDEST HOTEL ROOM IN THE WORLD!!

Next morning we managed to surface reasonably safely (well, most of us anyway) - loaded up the boat and headed off. It's beautiful out there - absolutely gorgeous, even in the grotty weather. I did the first dive with Phil and Lewis. I nearly had to bin it after the first few minutes though as I was 'seeing stars' on descent for a good 30 seconds or more (any ideas what that was all about?) I didn't feel lightheaded or as if I was going to blackout but I certainly didn't think it was a good sign...however, it cleared and all was well after that. I was a bit over-weighted (my arse obviously hasn't increased as much as I thought it had) and as my Diva will only take a certain amount in the pouches, the rest was on my tank which always knackers my back. Although it was a little uncomfortable, I didn't care, it was just great to be back in the water.

With dodgy back, seeing stars and not being quite warmed up properly, I decided to be sensible and opt out of the second dive. I was plenty happy just being on the boat soaking up the scenery.

The evening was fun. Beers. Tequila. Disco... and then a small disagreement with a couple of local idiots sent us trotting back to the hotel a little earlier than expected. However, this was no bad thing as it meant we got a good night's kip.

Woke up on Sunday to really dodgy weather...and I was suffering from a cold / chill so again decided to opt out of the diving (where did all this sensible attitude come from?) even though I really wanted to go in. This week is one of the toughest of the year, work-wise, and I didn't want to risk being properly ill. Everyone else seemed to have fun hunting for scallops though and the 'ride' on the way home was worth the trip money in itself. I genuinely wondered if it would be worth kitting up half-way home, just in case we ended up being thrown in.

As it was, I did get properly ill and have had to take time off this week as I still feel so rough. Hopefully I'll catch up with everything soon. 8 plays to write in just 2 days now. Hmm.

Still, it was worth it.

Lovely people. Lovely scenery. Lovely food. Not-so-lovely weather but lots of lovely lovely beer!! (and the Convoy theme tune on the jukebox which just about made my weekend...!)

Thanks for inviting us Louise - hope we haven't put you off wanting to invite us again in the future!