Boat Charter
Spellbinder II can be hired for a range of activities besides wreck diving. Read on to find out more.
At sea burials
Spellbinder II has in the past been chartered to undertake at sea burials. Allan can provide this bespoke service if you contact him directly.
Commercial Charter
Spellbinder II is licenced to undertake commercial charters. If you have a need to hire a boat, then please discuss your needs directly with Allan the skipper.
Day charter
Spellbinder can be chartered for the day and can pick up at Royal Quays on the north side of the River Tyne, or the Customs House on the south side of the River Tyne.
For divers seeking dives of less than 40m there is an option for 1 – 3 dives in a day, with lunch provided after dive two. There is no compressor on board, so you will need to bring your own cylinders. Two cylinders per diver, so the third dive is just using up the air that you have left!
For technical dives, getting the tides right, is important. So too is surface interval; therefore, for dives of 50m or more, the dive day generally consists of only one dive.
Evening charter
Throughout the summer months, as the day length allows, many groups and clubs charter Spellbinder II for evening dives. Pick-up is north or south of the River Tyne. One wreck dive is chosen, with 45 minutes bottom time.
Depending on the evening and the group focus, there may be an opportunity to undertake a dive at less than 20m or more than 40m.
If you are interested in the block book evening charters, please speak to Allan. He can also advise which groups have which evenings, so you may be able to join a group instead.
Conservation
Over the years Spellbinder II has been chartered on multiple occasions on behalf of Seasearch. Seasearch trains volunteers to undertake surveys of the sea bed and to log all of the species and habitats seen. For undertaking this type of activity, Allan is a great skipper, he can advise on the best time of day to dive the tidal reefs, as well as locating some of the more challenging marks to dive within the marine conservation zones.
Currently Allan is also working with SeaScapes and their Beneath the Waves Project, which aims to crate 3D models of some of the wrecks of the Durham Heritage coast. This work takes dedication, especially by the skipper with so much camera equipment on board!
Ghost Diving UK
Allan, Spellbinder II’s skipper, has also been working with the group Ghost Diving, the northeast chapter. They have surveyed a number of wrecks off the Northumberland and Durham coast which have ghost nets on them. Once surveyed, they then go back and remove the netting.
Net removal is not an easy process, it takes time and planning to do it safely. Therefore they need a team of qualified divers, and sponsors to work with. Recently they have been working with Healthy Seas and if you watch the video link below Hyundai, the car manufacturer.
Hyundai + Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving short Film
The short film has been included because it provides some great shots of Spellbinder II, but also shows what good work the Ghost Divers do and how large the nets are that they have to deal with. Many lift bags are required to raise the nets from the seabed.
Spellbinder II
If you have a question about charter, then click the button below. Allan can advise on pricing and availability. Boat hire is on a by boat basis, not bums on seats.
