barbeque Saucy

It's been another great diving week...

On Tuesday evening, a group of us headed through to Eyemouth to join Alex, Don Lees at al. aboard the Aquanaut again. This time, the conditions were perfect. We had a fantastic dive at Hawkness Caves and a nice drink & chat in the pub afterwards. Was a very long day but well worth it.

Saturday brought a trip that I'd been anticipating for a few weeks. Gus & I headed across the Forth to the Kingdom of Fife. We reached the Dive Bunker in Burntisland in good time & met up with the rest of our group. We were diving from their massive RIB which involves getting kitted up & climbing into the boat & getting towed a few hundred yards on the road before even hitting the water. The ride out to the dive site (about a mile in 2 minutes) was absolutely exhilarating!

First dive was the HMS Campania. This wreck has an amazing history. Launched in 1892 as the RMS Campania & commissioned as a Cunard liner, she was winner of the Blue Riband for fastest Atlantic crossing, first ship to have a Marconi radio installed & the world's first aircraft carrier! She sank in 1918 just before WW1 ended and at that time was a naval vessel.

The viz wasn't great but the scale of this wreck has to be seen to be believed... massive! We saw a tiny proportion of it before our computers lapsed into deco prompting our ascent under our delayed SMBs.

Back to port for cylinder changing & lunch. Then back out at high velocity to the site of a WW2 wreck this time: HMS Saucy.

Gus led on what was to be his 250th dive. Viz was a bit better. On descending the shotline we immediately identified the deck gun festooned in plumose anemones. We made a nice tour of the wreck, trying to rescue an edible crab from netting en route. With 12 divers on this relatively small armoured tug, the viz suffered. The consummate wrecky that he is, Gus found his way back to the shotline in zero viz & we ascended. A brilliant day's diving rounded off with some great craic in the pub.

As I entered the pub, I received a call from Gord inviting us for a day of diving & barbeque at Anchor Bay on the following day with him & his wife Helen. Sarah & the kids were keen so we collected some cylinders & I got the kit ready while Sarah sorted out everything else (I got the good deal I guess).

Sunday was a fantastic day. Cloudy at home but sunny when we arrived at Loch Fyne. I had a brilliant couple of dives with Gord's pal Kash, collecting some juicy squatties for the BBQ during the first dive. On the 2nd dive we spotted a couple of big dogfish (or possibly the same one twice) and some big congers. There is an amazingly deep vertical crevice which contained a shoal of fish & a big conger at its base. We could see the whole length of the conger within its lair.

Sarah dived with Gord & Helen. They had some great diving too. Gord completed his 300th logged dive: congratulations to him!

The only downside was the infestation of midges at the lay-by. Absolutely awful! We escaped from the site as soon as we'd dekitted & headed to the Creagans for drinks & log book filling.

What a brilliant weekend: my 4th weekend of boat diving in a row!

Unfortunately that's all of my scheduled boat dives completed now but maybe we'll sneak in the occasional one at some point.

if at first you don't succeed...

The best things come to those who wait... or so the Guinness ad stated anyway. Well, we'd been waiting since March for our boat diving outing at the weekend. It was back then that our club's president Euan first proposed that we arrange a day of boat diving from the beautiful Berwickshire port of Eyemouth. After 2 months & 8 pages of posts on our forum, the day finally arrived on Saturday. Unfortunately, so did force 6+ gusts!

I really don't seem to be having a lot of luck with my boat diving trips this year. First, the Clyde wreck diving trip then the Sound of Mull & now Eyemouth. Maybe I should have done the decent thing & stayed at home... not a chance! The forecast for Saturday had been looking pretty dodgy since the middle of last week. Strong winds. Very strong winds. Extremely strong winds. The good point was at least the direction was from the west & south-west. If there had been an easterly component then the whole event would have been a bogey. We heard word on Friday lunch time from the skipper that the plan was still on. Everyone was relieved... for now.

A bright & breezy start for everyone (except the Frazer) on Saturday morning. We loaded the minibus with reasonable efficiency meaning that the carnivores were treated to their bacon roll pit stop as requested. We then made our way eastwards at a very sedate pace (although I did attain the mighty speed of 68 mph at one point downhill with a tailwind! (It turned out that the bus was limited to 62 mph.) We arrived at Eyemouth Harbour in good time & met up with Dot, Pete and the boat's skipper Alex.

It was a spring tide and it was low water meaning that the kit had to be lowered about 15 feet down onto the deck of the boat. This task was successfully completed with lots of rope work & team work. Thank goodness that we had nautical folk on hand to tie reliable knots. We exited the harbour at 10am in glorious sunshine but also ominous gusts of wind. Everyone zipped up their suits except Gus who maintained that he'd be fine. About 2 min out of port we all got a good laugh when a big wave crashed over the deck & soaked his thermals... silly boy!

The plan was to dive at Diver's Hole near Weasel Loch but the conditions were not kind. Alex did his best for us but decided that it wasn't safe so we reluctantly returned to port. We salvaged the day by deciding to shore dive at Nestends just up from the New Harbour. The site was fairly deserted apart from a van load of dubious-looking Belgian military divers, one of whom was having his first ever try of an aqualung! None of us strayed too far from the gullies on our dives as the swell was quite noticeable even at 10m+ depth. There was lots of standard east coast life with masses of dead men's fingers plus dahlia anemones, pipefish, lobsters, squatties and occasional shoals of fish. Joe & I spotted some small red fry within a crevice on the rock face. I took a few photos.

Most of us decided that we didn't want a 2nd dive at that site so we headed into the metropolis of Eyemouth for some delicious ice cream. Frazer also enjoyed spending his hard-earned cash on fresh fish to feed to the local seals in the harbour. While this was ongoing, I returned to the bus & noticed that I'd received a text message from Dot (who'd headed home) giving me Alex's contact details. I phoned him to thank him for his help & see what the situation was. He very kindly offered to come down to check out the sea conditions. The show was back on the road!

Despite some reluctance from some of our group, we loaded up the boat once again. This time it was a breeze as the tide was high meaning that we could literally step from the harbour straight onto the deck. Alex took us to Agate Point which is south of the harbour. He dropped us right on top of the wreck of the SS President. There's not much of the ship left: just really rusty plates & boilers. We then made our way through many gullies to Agate Point. Gus & Shug successfully found the excellent archway while the rest of us failed dismally. Everyone had a fantastic dive. Particularly memorable for Joe as his mask almost filled with blood: that's one way to clear your sinuses out!

The day was finished off with log book filling accompanied by delicious fish & chips. What a brilliant day: largely thanks to Alex being such a great guy. It was brilliant to spend such a pleasant day in such good company... cheers, guys!

Kintyring... but worth it!

Well, our family have just returned from a fantastico weekend on the beautiful Kintyre peninsula. The long drive meant that we didn't arrive on our friend's farm until after 11pm on Friday night. After unpacking & some banter we headed to bed.

In the morning, the kids all woke up excitedly, ready to explore the wonder that is a dairy farm! Fortunately, the ages of John & Ruth's kids were compatible with ours, so they hit it off immediately. I left Sarah & Ruth to catch up on old times & headed to find the Diving Officer of Campbeltown Sub-Aqua Club (a branch of the Scottish Sub-Aqua Club) who had kindly offered to give me some info on local dive sites. After an exceptionally scenic drive alongside Kilbrannan Sound, I arrived at the house which can only be described as having a breath-taking location. Overlooking the Sound and surrounded by vibrant flowers which were almost iridescent in the beaming sunlight, it was a true oasis. I was made to feel very welcome and enjoyed a mug of coffee & biscuits while overlooking the sea, discussing the best local sites. I was also invited to join the club on their RIB on the following day...

Sarah & I planned to have a quick dive on the Saturday afternoon while Ruth kept an eye on the kids at the beach. Due to the calm sea conditions, we decided to dive at the Stirling University Marine Research Station at Machrihanish. This offered easy access to scenic diving, and also seemed appropriate as the facility is affiliated to the department where I'm currently employed. It really was a beautiful day with the sunlight piercing through the blue-green water, illuminating fields of hypnotically swaying kelp. The dive could best be described as a shallow bimble. Depth was minimal, but it was a pleasant liberating experience. It was so nice being able to just nip out for a dive without having a 90 min drive to negotiate!

With plenty of the day left, we made the most of it, with the kids having a great time on the farm. An evening barbecue washed down with plenty of red wine was just the ticket although I pitied poor John who had to arise at 5am for the milking! He seemed to take it in his stride as always though, being particularly adept at mid-conversation power naps.

I arose on the Sunday morning with a mildly throbbing red-wine-head and glanced out of the bedroom window to check on the sea conditions... nice and calm just as we wanted. I phoned to confirm my attendance on the RIB trip & then started to get excited! Upon arriving at the slipway, the boat was just about to be launched. I introduced myself to the other divers & we loaded our gear on board.

The sun was shining; the sea was calm; it was too good to be true. Inevitably, Murphy's Law kicked in! This was the season's first outing for the club's 5.3m Humber RIB. The engine had just been serviced. Unfortunately, it seemed that in their infinite wisdom, the engineers didn't check the battery of the 75 HP outboard... flat as a pancake! Much scratching of heads and muttering of frustrated words ensued. Shore diving alternatives were mooted. While the deliberations were ongoing, the local RNLI crew launched their RIB alongside us in about 60 sec flat for helicopter exercises in the Sound apparently. It was decided that jump leads would be our best option but no-one had any! I really must remember to put our jump leads in our main car as this is the 2nd time in a month when they would have been useful on a diving trip. Anyway, I suggested that there might well be a set on the farm. I phoned Ruth who dashed out at full emergency vet speed with the precious items. After a few attempts, the strategy worked & the engine roared to life. The show was back on the road... thanks to Ruth!

We made our way out of Campbeltown Loch and north into Kilbrannan Sound. It was a while since I'd been on a RIB and I'd forgotten just how much of a buzz it was. We headed to Otterard Rock which is a submerged pinnacle/boulder slope rising from a sea bed of ~40m depth situated a few hundred yards from the shore. I splashed with Daniel who works as a commercial diver on fish farms. There was quite current running as we descended the shot line & reached the reef. We drifted & pottered about. There was a noticeable plankton bloom which took the edge off the viz. Spotted 2 beautiful big dogfish, lots of small life & the occasional wrasse. A nice relaxing dive. Ascended under my dSMB and clambered back on-board.


We then headed south, rounding Davaar Island at the mouth of the loch. We dropped anchor in Kildalloig Bay in about 3m depth. There were 2 trainees on-board, ready for their 1st or 2nd dives. I shadowed Daniel who was instructing Shaun. The viz was stunning: 10m+. Sunlight streamed down, illuminating the abundant benthic life on offer. There were also numerous jelly fish (including small lion's manes) and comb jellies. I spotted a delightful dogfish & screamed through my reg to attract the others who were about 8m away at that point. After confusedly looking around to try to work out what the weird noise was, they made their way towards me just in time to see the little shark swimming off. Not to worry though as Daniel found another one a couple of minutes later. I also found a nice pipefish which Shaun enjoyed playing with. Lots of little shrimp of a variety that I'm not familiar with, peacock worms, chitons, wrasse... there was just a great abundance of life bathed in glorious sunlight.

Unfortunately, the other trainee didn't get a dive as her suit inflation hose didn't fit the valve. However, she still got to have an excellent snorkel in the bay where she appreciated all of the life on offer.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip and I am very grateful to Livingstone and the rest of Campbeltown Sub-Aqua Club for making me feel so welcome. I hope to catch up with them again soon.

It was a long journey home. We were all knackered. It was well worth it though.

Cathedral octopus

Went for an evening dive on Tuesday with guys from SUSAC. As the conditions were favourable, we decided to head to the east coast. I'd been wanting to try & find Cathedral Rock (a submerged double archway) at St Abbs for ages. This was my fourth day of diving in a row following our weekend liveaboard trip!

We submerged at exactly 20:00 (30 min after HW). Resultantly, access was easy. Headed SE, skirting several walls. They were adorned with the most voluptuous display of anemones & corals with large friendly ballan wrasse making us feel very welcome. Much to my relief, I brought us to the archways. The tide was running against us, so we had to get down low & pull ourselves along the rocks to get through the big arch. We then ascended beside it and allowed ourselves to be sucked through the upper small archway. Stopped to poke our fingers into the "air" (expired gas from divers) which had gathered on the ceiling.

We then made our way back. I was instructing Joe, so we carried out a shared buddy breathing ascent from 15m. He managed it without any bother: could see the other buddy pair almost the whole time during the ascent as the viz was 10m+. I then tried to guide us home. After a short time, I was flashed to join my buddies. Gus had found a sedate but beautiful octopus sitting on a rock. Absolutely wonderful!

Unfortunately, my navigation was flawed on the way back & we ended up doing our safety stop mid water. At least we had the delight of being surrounded my multitudinous comb jellies: quite amazing. We had a long surface swim back to shore but all agreed that it was a fantastic dive.

Our plans for a 2nd dive were scuppered by the news that night diving is not allowed at St Abbs Harbour so we returned to Coldingham to visit the pub for a coke & log book filling. We weren't made to feel very welcome in there... perhaps not local enough?!