Back to the Lot January 29, 2007
Posted by chris in : Uncategorized , add a commentI was looking forward to this trip as we had the whole of the week off and decided to head down to the flat after the diving. If the weather was nice we might get a dive in the Med too. We stopped over at the Ibis Friday night and were the only people there - I don’t think the Dordogne is all that big a tourist destination in winter.
On Saturday morning we set off to the hotel in Gramat and managed to miss the turn again. Like last time we were going to be late. However, Pat had Oli map-reading so they were hopelessly lost and even later than us. They had finally twigged they were going in the wrong direction when the road signs were showing Bordeaux as the next big place!
After a late breakfast we set off for St George. With our new canister lamps this was a much better dive than last time. It really proves the point that you need good lighting for this type of diving. The viz was good and on the second dive we found a pike sitting at the bottom of the entry slope at 30m. Quite why a predator that hunts by sight would sit in the total darkness beats me. Perhaps they don’t feed much in the winter? The water temp in the cave is fairly constant and warmer than the river and entry pool, but then that would speed up the fish’s digestion and make him need more food?
At the end of the day we set off to take the tanks to André (www.gonflage.com). His set up is truly impressive and he is a very amiable chap too. I did this time manage to resist the cold beer in the fridge though.
On Sunday we headed off to St Saveur. I had liked this cave last visit and was keen to see how it was with the new lighting. So far nothing had gone wrong and I was not living up to my reputation for canning half the dives. This was clearly a good time for a problem therefore. So after dragging the kit down the hill from the parking and kitting up I found I had left the manifold isolator closed. Twat. Open it up. 90 bar. Great. Sit this one out then. Kelly did the dive with Pat and Corrine who had joined us to finish off her course started in Doubs. She had bought kit and done loads of practice and was a different diver to last time. They tell me the viz was fantastic.
The afternoon dive was Truffe. We topped all the tanks up with the portable compressor, but this is a shallow dive so 180 bar was fine and doesn’t take too long. The entrance is a tight squeeze that shit me up last time. This time the entry pool was like grey chalky gloop full of leaves swirling about in the water. We followed Pat in as he wanted to do the blacked out mask drill with me. Somehow it felt harder to get in than last time. I guess looking back just the pressure of the exercise again, but it shit me up again. I gritted my teeth and got in.
The mask drill was easy enough - you just follow the line making sure not to get too positive and not to let go. In a cave the line is your life, so it’s not a drill to be taken lightly. Once Pat took the blackout off he left us to repeat the drill with Corrine and Carmello who were waiting in the entry area. The squeeze in was still very much in my mind so once they had set off I headed out. Poor Kelly, a 20 minute dive watching me doing a drill. As I squeezed out I could feel a touch of repressed panic. Of course this makes your chest bigger as you take in too much breath and so it’s harder to get out. The sky was a very welcome sight.
Next day we set off to do Landenouse. The entry pool is accessed by a ladder and there is nowhere to park. After a look round (the viz was superb) Pat thought it would be better to do Trou Madame again. Shit. I wasn’t looking forward to the humping of kit up the rocks, but this was to be my line running exercise and the end of the course. I had to do it. Luckily the water level was up from last time so the first part of the dive where we had carried the kit last time could now be swum, much easier.
We arrived at the site and Kelly and I decided to walk up and have a look. As I got near the top of the rock scrabble Kelly began screaming. I thought she had fallen and broken a leg - a constant fear for me on this site. I set off down towards her mindfull that if I hurt myself there would be two of us needing to go to hospital. After a couple of meters I could see her and she was fine. She was pointing at the rocks. As I got closer I could see what it was.
A young wild boar had fallen from the cliffs above and was injured. His back legs and pelvis appeared to be shattered, but the front of the animal (where the teeth are) was working fine. He was not really keen on our being there and was snapping at us but unable to do anything as the back half of him was not working. The only action was to kill the creature and end its misery and torment. As we were surrounded by big rocks that seemed the best weapon. I picked up a rock of about 5 kilos and hurled it with all my strength at the animal’s head. If you have ever killed a pig you will know they have a very strong skull. I had subdued him a little but he was far from dead. At least now I could get closer. A second rock hit a bit more accurately and he was clearly on the way out. The poor fellow looked up at me with doleful eyes knowing the end was near - these are delightful animals and this was not a pleasant experience for me.
The third rock did the job and his eyes greyed over and his little trotters ran their last as the front brain died leaving the back brain to run on autopilot. Blood slowly oozed from his snout and mouth coating the rocks around him in his death-throws. Then nothing.
What a shame. I would have loved to eat the chap but we were in a hotel and couldn’t butcher him. He had died for nothing. Hopefully he made a meal for the local foxes so he didn’t entirely go to waste.
The dive was OK and the reel running went well. Pat shook hands and then left us to repeat again with Corrine and Carmello. I ask Kelly what she wanted and it was out. Three days of air diving and stress had taken their toll and she had a headache. We exited and dragged the kit back to the car past the poor piggie. It was drizzling with rain - we couldn’t even barbecue the chap on site….
Last day and Emergence du Ressel. We awoke to snow and freezing conditions. Horrible. When we got there the Célé river was brown and huge logs were flying past in the torrential current. No way. Cold wet gear and all that? But Pat, like a kid, is not to be discouraged. They kitted up and persuaded Kelly to. I decided to do shore cover duty.
At the entrance to the cave the current was too strong and Pat canned it. Everyone else now had to de-kit and hump the kit back to the car. I allowed myself a little smile at my wisdom. Ressel will have to wait ‘til next time.
