On Wednesday 18th September 2019, the advanced party for Exercise Barbarian Odyssey 3, a 159 Regt RLC diving expedition, arrived in Gibraltar during early afternoon following a 2½ Hour flight from London Heathrow.
The advanced party were there to complete an initial recce and other key activities in preparation for the arrival of the main body three days later. The party consisted of the expedition leader Captain ‘Cliff Pearn’ (BSAC First Class Diver / National Instructor / ESADS), WO1 ‘Tony Overbury’ (BSAC Advanced Diver / Open Water Instructor / ESADS), WO2 ‘Wayne Dunn’ (BSAC Dive Leader / Open Water Instructor) & Corporal ‘Dom O’Reilly’ (BSAC Dive Leader / Open Water Instructor).
On hand to meet the advanced party was a former diving student of the expedition leader, RM Sergeant ‘John Corbett’. John is a locally based reservist & highly experienced diver & instructor (BSAC First Class Diver / Advanced Instructor / ESADS). Attached to the expedition for five days, he would prove to be an invaluable source of local knowledge & assistance.
Over the first four days, the advanced party completed a range of key tasks including a hand over of equipment and facilities at the JPDU (Joint Personnel Diving Unit) at Gun wharf Basin, familiarisation of the two RIBs the expedition would be using & sorting transport from the local RN MT office.
Conditions above and below the surface were excellent with underwater visibility of 10 – 15M and water temperature of 21 degrees & the team were able to complete a total of six dives between Thursday & Saturday, including dives on established local wreck sites such as the SS Excellent which lies just outside the breakwater of Gibraltar’s Inner Harbour at the southern end of its busy commercial port less than 10 minutes away from the JSDU.
The Excellent herself was a 1082-ton screw steamer built by the Short Brothers of Sunderland in 1880. She was 260 feet long with a 36ft beam and now sits upside down on a flat seabed with the stern pointing north in 25M and the bow in 28M. The wreck allows suitably qualified & experienced divers to venture inside the structure and see some of the colourful fish life residing within including scorpion fish, wrasse & snapper.
Two of the instructor team were able to complete key elements towards their Advanced Diver training during the first four days, including practicing an emergency ascent from 20 – 6M, detailed dive planning and dive management practice.
On Saturday 21st, the main body arrived by late afternoon and after taking over their accommodation and following several key briefs were ready to begin their training in the morning.
Day one focused on practicing buoyancy and re-familiarisation for the Sports Diver and Dive Leader trainees at a local site known as ‘Rosia Bay’ and by the end of the day all of the students were ready to progress with learning & practicing the key skills towards their next qualification.
Over the next six days, the team completed a total of 11 further dives amid a variety of sites and conditions, including numerous different wreck sites in ‘Camp Bay’ and ‘Little Bay’ as well as the outstanding wreck of the SS Rosslyn which has an abundance of sea life and which was a firm favourite with the instructor team. In addition, the team ran collective first aid & rescue training and delivered all of the theory lessons for the Dive Leader and Sports Diver trainees.
Two of the existing sports divers were able to complete several depth progression dives which took them below 20M as part of their dive leader training & the remaining ocean divers were able to complete all of the key practical skills and theory lessons towards their sports diver qualification.
By the end of the week & after passing the dreaded theory exam – three students successfully qualified as sports divers & two other students had also made big strides towards completing their dive leader qualification – with one recording her 50th dive while on the expedition.
In addition, two of the instructor team had made huge progress towards achieving their Advanced Diver qualification with only a couple of elements left to complete once back in the UK in order to qualify.
The final dive of the week was at a site called the ‘Seven Sisters’ which encompasses a number of underwater pinnacles or rock formations which harbour a huge amount of sea life as well as an underwater camera placed there as part of ongoing efforts to monitor sea life in the area. After a final hour-long dive at this pretty site the team headed back into the JPDU to wash down and hand back all of the equipment before a well-earned team evening out.
Saturday brought a welcome break with a mandatory 24-hour interval between diving and flying. The expedition party completed a cultural tour of some of the amazing tunnel complexes inside the rock of Gibraltar, before heading up to the top of the rock for the stunning views and to see the famous Barbary Apes.
All in all, exercise Barbarian Odyssey 3 has been a huge success with several personnel able to qualify as sports divers and two of the instructor team gaining significant experience & progress towards their Advanced Diver qualification – helping to deliver a step-change in the regimental capability to deliver further expeditions and training ‘in-house’. This has done much for recruiting and retention in the Unit, one individual said:
“Gibraltar is a wonderful place above the water, but dip below the waves and it is a different world entirely. Epic stuff.”
This was a fantastic opportunity which was enjoyed by all – with much appreciation for the continued support of The Ulysses Trust.
By Cpl O’Reilly
