Beginners Luck
It was one of my early dive expeditions we’d had an idyllic week, camping on the shores of this rather isolated loch and going out in the boat, hot sunshine long- summer days and good diving. We were diving out of the loch and had gained permission to dive on the wreck of a collier beached in shallow water.
This wreck was one of the many victims mined or torpedoed in the Western approaches in those days of 1914-18 war. One thing there was plenty of was coal, coal fires on the beach helped with the camp cooking and the locals weren’t adverse to the odd a free bag or two for good will.
Despite the fact we had dived this wreck all week and had got to know it inside out there didn’t seem much else on it in the way of value. Not that that was the point it was still an interesting dive the anchors still trailed out and the cast iron prop still on never failed to impress. Over the years it had become something of a sheltered habitat for marine life offering a haven to fish and the odd lobster.
We were going to have another dive on it today; we motored out only a couple of minutes from the beach we could still see our camping spot. My regular dive buddy was John we had learnt to dive together. A particular trade mark for John was his chilled laid back diving style. Whilst others seemed to swim around at break net speed from one end of the wreck to the other, John drifted around pulling himself through the kelp forests around the wreck. When buddied he had a particular habit of hovering above you, has wasn’t left or right but always there a couple of metres above. A bit disconcerting at first but ok once you got used to it!
The wreck was shallow in 14m. So there I was finning along one side of the hull, on the seabed over mountains of best steam coal once earmarked for warships of the fleet. John as usual could clearly be seen hovering above making his way through the kelp on what was the mostly flattened deck and top of the wreck, there wasn’t much up there! I glanced up to see Johns outline against the sunshine and the surface pushing the kelp aside and clocked that he’d stopped finning, something had sparked his interest. I could see he now had hold of something partially masked by the kelp; yeah it was one end of yet another bit of piping about 4ft in length that littered the wreck being. Now especially for John and knowing his temperament he was getting unusually animated and furiously rocking this piece of piping back and forth, what the hell did he want with that?
He signalled me to ascend to him I might as well have a look what was causing the commotion! The pipe was well trapped in the wreckage and kelp; never the less he was still pulling it back and forth trying to liberate it like a man possessed.
Sensing the urgency of the task I joined in and gave him a hand helping rocking the pipe back and forth stirring up the silt in decreasing vis.
There was something curiously different about this pipe at this point I noted it had a capped end to it; John took his knife out and scratched it, a glimmer of Brass interesting. I have to say I was still a bit bemused at why he was expending all that energy and using all that air? he wasn’t into collecting metals. We kept rocking the pipe back and forth each lurch releasing it further from the grasp of the wreckage.
After several minutes finally it came free of the wreckage the remaining section appearing out of the kelp showing its true length. It was about 5ft in long with a flange on one end; it would clearly have been bolted to something. We manoeuvred it around I was still trying to get an idea what it was. There was a machined opening in this pipe and something vaguely familiar about it. A realisation was starting to dawn “No it can’t be can it surely not it was?” What it was, was a ships steam whistle” yes poking up out through the kelp in only 3-4 metres of water.
Johns face was a picture and even through the mask and regulator I could detect a wry smile, hell what luck. Various shouts and expletives where made by both of us through the regulator. Between us we dragged it off the wreck finning to our nearby moored boat, the exclamation on the surface““You’re just never going to believe what Johns found?” “What” “the whistle” “Yeah sure you have”came the reply of disbelief, no honest really.
The others in our boat still didn’t believe us till it hit the deck on the boat.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost reflected in dumbfounded looks, silence and disbelief as a couple of the self proclaimed non ferrous metals spotters who been scavenging the length of the wreck reflected on Johns nonchalance and his luck and as always his understated manner ,their faces really were a picture.
Of all the luck!!!!!! The good humour kicked in John really did take some stick all in good humour. After taking pride and place outside the tents for the remaining stay the item went back in the car home. I have to say I and quite a few other fellow divers were pretty impressed when a few weeks later around at Johns place we clocked the now gleaming whistle stood upright next to the fireplace. There was no dispute it was not the thing you see next to everyone’s mantel piece, what do they say guaranteed to break the ice at parties? You bet!!!! .
Moral of the story the next time you’re exploring shallow wrecks it just pays to keep you’re eyes open don’t you think?.
