In Cornwall, event planning can be an arduous task. Poor visibility, inclement weather, rip currents, waves and large tidal ranges can cause the whole thing to be a very hit-and-miss affair. However, with such an array of stunning dive spots, all these obstacles just add to the anticipation and heighten the sense of achievement after a successful dive. The World Earth Day dive was no exception.

I had recently had to cancel a Dive against Debris due to storms, but today the conditions were looking good and so enthusiasm was high. Usually on a debris dive, we have no idea what we may find. This time though, I knew there was plenty of ghost gear tangled around our entry and exit point, the old lifeboat slip. I had set my sights upon one particular piece that I had spotted on a previous dive and made it my mission to retrieve it. I asked the group's Dive Officer Colin, “Can I borrow a lift bag? I'm after an abandoned lobster pot”. I buddied with Dave who, sporting his new camera setup, was more than happy with the potential photo opportunities posed by raising the pot. Its location was unmistakable; on the very bottom of the slip on the right-hand side. Although, to my dismay there was no lobster pot; it must have been buried under the shifting sands of the winter storms. A little downcast at the apparent instant failure of my little mission, we continued around the slip, removing fishing line, hooks, lures and weights.

 We then continued to catch up with the other three members of our group. After a short while we found Clare, Shirley and Gus busying themselves in a nook, pulling out more bits of fishing line. All I could see at first was a bustle of fins. But then, out of the murk appeared the mother load; not one, but two discarded lobster pots! Dave started snapping photos and the others, having removed the loose debris, continued on there way to find more. I chose what I thought would be the easiest pot to lift first, attached and deployed the lift bag and then…..absolutely nothing happened.

 I looked at Dave apologetically, as he was not getting his dramatic, ‘pot winging its way to the surface’ photo. I then proceeded to begin digging and cutting away at the pot’s net to get to the stones and sand from inside, fully expecting that it would take to the surface at any moment. All my digging achieved, though, was to remove the fingers from my already worn gloves. Adamant that the pot would be abandoned no more, out came another lift bag; still nothing. More determined now than ever, I tried frantically wrestling and levering the pot up and down. It pivoted, but was wedged tight - literally between a rock and a hard place.

After about twenty minutes of wrestling, digging and many bar of air guzzled, I signalled to Dave by wiping the imaginary sweat from my brow, that I was knackered. He had been helping, but was somewhat hindered by holding his very precious camera. Desperate to get properly stuck in, he handed me the camera and proceeded to take over wrestling the stubborn pot from its chosen resting place. After a few more minutes, it finally broke free and was winging its way to the surface! Unfortunately, I failed to capture Dave’s triumphant moment, as I had no idea how to use the camera I was holding!

Mission accomplished, I smiled as widely as possible without losing my regulator and we collected a few more bits of debris on the way in. Upon arrival at the slip, the swell had increased; there was now a surge that made the exit quite interesting. Colin had his shoes off and was helping to retrieve both the bounty and divers from the water. Clare and Shirley came on the dive in the hope of building on their diving experiences and the exit certainly counted as one! When organising events, you naturally want everyone to have a good time, so I was relieved to see, once they made it onto dry land, that they had beaming smiles and said how much they had loved the dive. As had Gus who, having dived the site many times, had acted as their guide. Then followed the usual banter and excitement comparing finds, as Rach catalogued the data.

All-in-all, we had a highly enjoyable ‘World Earth Day Dive Against Debris’. If you haven’t tried one yet, you will be surprised at how much you can get out of it. It can be challenging; you can help build your diving experience with team-work; you get to visit new dive sites, or protect your favourite ones. There are always new and interesting people to meet and by removing and cataloguing your finds you get to make a real difference. If you are interested in participating, search the Project Aware website for a Dive Against Debris near you. Please also take a look at our Facebook group: Dive Against Debris Volunteers UK.

Now, what happened to that lobster pot? Well, when it arrived home in pride-of-place in their garden that evening, Anita, Dave’s partner and group Treasurer, somehow failed to see it as treasure. She was even less impressed when it turned out that the bath Dave was running wasn't for her, but for rinsing his camera! So, the very next day the pot was recycled and found a new home through Facebook….As for the second pot, it's days are numbered!!