Aberdaron 2007 (or The Trouble with Tractors II)
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007Well, despite the weather we managed a few cracking dives in Aberdaron over the bank holiday weekend. We got there on the Saturday morning after an early start to get the boats out at 07:45. We were originally going to dive a wreck off the North of the peninsula but the wind was blowing too much and we headed into Aberdaron to set up camp and discuss the options.
We decided to dive on Bardsey Island to get the weekend started, on the wreck of the Iiesha. With kit loaded into the boat, we hooked up to Chris’s tractor and we were on our way to the beach to launch. Unfortunately for us, over the winter the council had removed most of the sand from around the slip. So as the wheels of the heavy delta left the concrete and met the soft sand, the whole lot sank down and grounded the trailer on the slip! Going nowhere the only option was to go back to the campsite and collect the jack to lift the trailer up and put some wood underneath to enable us to slide it off. Heading back to camp on the tractor, we were just about to start moaning and complaining about the problem – when in the bay we saw about a dozen dolphins performing acrobatics! They must’ve been chasing a shoal of fish near the surface as the seagulls were circling and diving too. They were somersaulting, jumping and tail slapping & waving for ages (the dolphins, not the seagulls!). Its amazing how dolphins have the power to make you forget about all of your problems and make you smile like a 10 year old. The jack collected we were heading back to the slip when the tractor’s steering went a bit awry, leaving Chris & I carrying jack & wood the half a mile down the road on foot! (We could’ve done with the dolphins again at this point!).
