What happened to Fort Bovisand?

Started by solenostomus · November 1, 200718 yr

3Posts
3Replies

solenostomus Archived member 68 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

November 1, 200718 yr

Hi there, I am sure there are some UK divers here who know more.

In 1999 I did a freediving course with Howard Jones at Fort Bovisand. I joined one of their first weekends to freedive in the SETT in Gosport and I took part in the Unboxed Blue freediving championships in Sept. 1999 also at Fort Bovisand.

Needless to say I have fond memories of the place. At the time it was bustling with activity - commercial diver training, Howard's courses, weekend divers launching RIBs etc.

When I was in the area again a couple of weeks ago I found the place deserted. The signs had faded, windows had been boarded up and I could only see a lone parked car and a large RIB.

Can anyone post stories of what happened?

Edited November 1, 200718 yr by solenostomus
Dan Schwartz Archived member
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

November 1, 200718 yr

From the Wikipedia article on Fort Bovisand:

Recent Use

In the early 1970s the fort was converted into an important national commercial diving school and scuba diving centre, which flourished for many years, but at last got into difficulties, and disagreements among its management.

By 2000 the main leaseholder Fort Bovisand Underwater Centre went into liquidation, but the other diving services trading at Fort Bovisand kept on trading, and the accountants managing the liquidation encouraged this to preserve the value of Bovisand as an asset, particularly because Fort Bovisand diving school had a world-wide reputation. There followed months of argument about the status of the leases and viability of existing businesses based there.

In December 2000 Marine Contractors Ltd (one of the main businesses based there, and one of the parties negotiating to take over the running of Fort Bovisand) went into receivership. As a result the owners (the Ministry of Defence) decided that it was no longer possible to keep the site functioning. The accountants acting as liquidators for the owners obtained a court order for possession and changed the locks and evicted the remaining diving etc firms trading there.

On 13 January 2003, news said that Fort Bovisand was likely to be sold on the open market, but that accountants Begbie Traynor were still interested in hearing from businesses, including diving concerns, who might want to take it on.[1] By Mid-2005 ex-BBC boss Greg Dyke and local property developer John Steven owned Fort Bovisand and had plans to set up a new business there.

Edited November 1, 200718 yr by Dan Schwartz
tdpriest Archived member 2180 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

November 9, 200718 yr

I arrived by RIB on the Bovisand harbour wall a couple of years ago to find a dive shop operating in the old DDRC block, but everything else gone to wrack and ruin, with a rusty hulk occupying most of the harbour proper. Very sad.

I remember helping to run a university diving week maybe 20 years ago, and being very wary of the Basic Air Diver (commercial) course members who had a fearsome reputation. We also launched from the harbour one evening as a small, ancient coaster foundered in full view of the Bovisand bar: we pulled the sinking vessel into Bovisand harbour as it slowly filled up with Plymouth Sound, much (we hoped) to the disgust of the Joint Services Sub-Aqua Club (military personnel) who lost the race to the rescue! That particular wreck was refloated, so perhaps history will repeat itself...

Tim

B)