Teaching Teachers - 13/04/2019

With a number of Eastwood Divers divers' undertaking the ScotSAC Instructor Course at the end of March, we have a number of trainee instructors all keen to get experimenting on students. Well, for Chairman G, today was that day. We were taking M-Dawg in for his every first dive. 

Now, I'm fully aware of how bad everyone is on their first dry suit dives, but experienced divers who are new to teaching totally forget!. Chairman G was a little surprised and later confessed how he'd been totally exhausted by the end of the day. It was tiring, but I think by the end of the second dive M-Dawg was starting to get it.

The Day's Divers

A Giant Stride for Mankind - 02/12/2018

OK, so it would be an exaggeration to say accomplishing a stride entry is a big deal, but when we noticed the tide was high enough at the Caves for a stride entry it was too good an opportunity for the Barrman and I to miss. We grabbed two trainees, who required to do the skill to complete ScotSAC's branch diver award and took a step into the relatively unknown for them.

I never took any pictures.

Down With The Deep - 27/01/2018

As part of the Barrman's drive to get ready for diving Scapa Flow he's looking to get his Landlady up to ScotSAC Master Diver. As such, we headed to Hangman's Reef where he and the Landlady would clock up another plus 30m dive while Walker Texas Ranger and I took the opportunity to explore the site.

The guide suggests going to the left, however, I'd heard that if you dive to the right you can reach the southern tip of the Caves. To me it seemed worth the effort of exploration given that I'd only been here once before when doing my 50m qualification. 

The weather was pretty horrid. So we kitted up and headed to equally horrific visibility. In the early stages it was less than a metre, but we persisted and were rewarded as it grew to around 4m. More than adequate for our needs.

We swam along to the right passing dogfish and firework anemones eventually reaching rock formations that certainly resembled the Caves. We turned and headed back using the complete lack of visibility to assure us we were almost home. We were right.

The Landlady reckoned that was enough for the day, given the weather and left the three of us to dive the suggested guide route. In all honesty, it was pretty similar but the rock formations were a little closer than those to the right. and as we ascended we found the old anchor. It was pretty impressive.

I found myself liking the site and will definitely explore deeper (40m) on my next dive there.

Single Again - 13/10/2017

A trip to the The Caves beckoned as myself and two additional member of Eastwood Divers started a new monthly Friday Night dive. The prospect of it being Friday the 13th didn't bother me, but the descent at the Caves to the waters edge in the dark, in a twinset was enough for me to rejig one of my regulators and dive it on a single cylinder.  A decision that as I mountain goated in and out of the water I did not regret.

The weather had been wet on the run up to the dive so the stream running under the road was in full flow. In some ways this made the entry less slippy and hazardous and by the time I was half way down I noticed the tide was high, reduce my clamber considerably. 

The dive itself proved to be lobster themed as we went about cutting them loose from the fishing line left by fishermen at the site. We plodded on for 45 minutes in decent visibility before heading up.

As successful first for our regular club night dives.

The Last Hurrah of Summer - 29/08/2016

Monday 29th August 2016, is pretty insignificant to us Scots, but for our friends south of the border it represents one of the last hurrahs of summer. You see the last Monday in August is for most in England a Bank Holiday. As such it presented an opportunity for me ol' mucker from Leeds, Josh, to come up to Scotland for a dip.

This time Josh was joined by Ricky and I brought Jester along for the ride. The weather forecast had been for rain, but the weather gods were with us we enjoyed nothing but pleasant sunshine.

After meeting at Glen Loin we headed to Anchor Point, Loch Fyne where we kitted up, buddy checked and headed. I had before the dive made a list of all the things that it was possible to see here including the list o the exceedingly unlikely, including:

• Pod of dolphins
• Basking shark
• Types of whale

I then went on to say that it was more likely we wouldn't any of these things and we all laughed.

Anyway as he headed down we bumped into the first of a series of large catsharks. When I signalled shark Josh and Ricky looked at me with hint of 'that guy's crazy'. Then they saw it. Their first sharks in British waters. OK, they are spectacularly small in the grand scheme of sharks in the sea - but they are sharks.

I'd have taken a picture of the encounter if it hadn't been for the fact that I'd put my camera in the housing upside down!!!

Back on the surface we all agreed it had been a great dive with visibility around 10m. From there we had a spot of lunch, before driving back along Loch Fyne to Loch Long and the Caves. Jester and I weren't too fussed about this dive, but Josh was keen to do it and I hadn't dived in about a year. 

It actually turned into quite a nice dive, with a nice sea lemon, a few anemones and lobster etc. That said the visibility was a lot less - around 3m

All in all, two great dives with some tolerable buddies and some fantastic weather. I suspect this will be the last diving hurrah of summer.

Sea Lemon

Closed Anemone

Open Anemone

Bloody Henry

Through The Clouds - 02/03/2015

After doing a lot of not diving last week, The Kingmaker and I decided to visit the The Caves, Loch Long. With snow forecast we took my 4x4 just in case we ended up coming home in a blizzard -which we did.

Kitting up in the failing light and snow I already had numb fingers before I even entered the water. Thankfully, the effort of clambering down the Caves unpleasant entry warmed the cockles enough to make the dive bearable.

We plopped in and I was immediately aware that the vis was less than 1m. As I sank, I watched the depth reading increasing. 5m, 6m, 7m, 8m, 9m with no improvement in the visibility. Then at around 12m I burst through the cloud only to see the Kingmaker a few metres ahead of me. Prior to this I had been following the faintest glow of his Seadragon video light.

It had opened out into a perfectly reasonable 4-5m. We dropped down to a few metres above the visible bottom (27m) where I spotted a clawless lobster - someone had clearly decided the on lobster claws for dinner, but had considered the main body too much hassle to cook.

I was enjoying myself. The last time I was here the visibility had been poor. I forgot how good a site it can be. Highlights included cluster anemones and deeplet anemone perched on the side of one of the sheer drops.

The return journey, normally my favourite part of a dive at The Caves, was poor due to the silt laden halocline that we'd entered through. Still, a pretty good Monday night scuba escapade.

My old friend

Pink spotted sea cucumber

Cluster anemone

Cluster anemone

Deeplet anemone

Deeplet anemone

The Kingmaker

Hunt for Red October - 12/10/2014

Today's trip to the Caves, Loch Long was a tale of two dives with one setting up the fun for the other.

As member of my local ScotSAC I occasionally dive with my local branch. Today I was with two new buddies who I'll nickname the Hook and Starfish. Hook's an experienced seadog with over a thousand dives while Starfish is newly qualified youngster. In the dive my job was to swim at the back and help keep an on Starfish.

We kitted up and headed down. I was glad to see that someone had added to the rope that TDFKAMF and I set up couple of months ago. Although weathering and use has taken its toll. It probably needs retied. Anyway, as I've said before, the entry to the Caves is tricky and, with her parents looking on, Starfish coped admirably.

We plopped in, got settled and then dropped down to 10m before going all the way down to 27m+. Fortunately, the vis was good (6-8m). We made our way through the dive finding some nice anemones and ballan wrasse. Towards the end of the dive I noticed a massive lobster under a rock, but Hook and Starfish had already gone by so I thought I'd revisit it on out 2nd dive.

On the surface we chatted about the dive and I mentioned the Lobster. It was at this point Hook got his name as he produced his lobster hook. I commented about the size and Hook explained that if they are too big there not fit for consumption as the meat is too tough. On this dive the hook was merely for luring out the lobster and seeing just how bog it was - not for catching.

So began the Hunt for Red October - a lobster the size of a submarine!

We dived a pretty similar profile and on the return we began our search. Taking account the of the incoming tide, we adjusted  the depth that I spotted the monster. As I was using a 10l tank I was starting to run pretty low on air when I finally found it again. It was as big as I remembered. I took video footage of Hook trying to lure it out, but you don't get to be a lobster that big without being a bit cannie.

At the surface Hook confirmed that he was way to big for consumption, but we still have no idea just how big he actually is.

Deeplet anemone

Ascending

The view when surfacing

Conger eel

Bloody henry

Beadlet anemone

Wrasse Never Sleeps - 07/08/2014

The Zookeeper and I had heard of a 20m vis report at the Caves, Loch Long. Even if it wasn't going to be that good there was still the potential for an excellent dive. So, after work, we headed up for an evening dip. At the site we encountered a couple of friendly fisherman visiting from Royston Vasey.

Test driving a new Mares Matrix computer, we kitted up headed down to 24m. The visibility was good, and getting better the deeper we went. Perhaps not 20m, but certainly around 15m.

As we swam along we encountered a load of lobsters and edible crabs in the cracks and nooks of the rock faces. At one point a lion's mane jellyfish flubbed by.

On the turn we found more lobsters, some even posed for photos.Then came the large ballan and cuckoo wrasse - quite a lot of them.

The final twist on the dive was an edible crab trapped in fishing line. Naturally, the Zookeeper took pity on it and began cutting it free. However, unlike some others which are quite happy to be freed, this one took quite a liking to nipping her fingers. I won't lie, it was moderately amusing to watch.

In short, extraordinary vis and a fun evening. Although, photos were limited after both the Zookeeper and I developed camera issues.

Lobster by the Zookeeper

Me midwater by the Zookeeper

Sea squirts

Plumose anemones

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men - 04/07/2014

TDFKAMF and The Beast

TDFKAMF and I had decided we'd go look for Thornback Rays in Loch Fyne. However, the moment we jumped into the car we heard on the wireless (yip, that's what I call a radio) that the road from Loch Long to Loch Fyne was shut because of an accident. Instead we headed for The Caves, Loch Long, followed by a second dive at the A-Frames.

I knew from the night before that the vis was going to be at best 2-4m. Moreover, we could hear fisherman down the banks. So we went and had a chat. They were decent guys prepared to look out for our bubbles. In addition, I offered some free fintell (fish intelligence) about the sea bed and why they snagged their lines. Ebony and Ivory living in perfect harmony.

The Caves has been missing its guide rope through the tunnel for sometime, so after a careful descent we headed down to around 25m. It was TDFKAMF's first time at the site. I think he enjoyed it.

Amongst the usual life were a myriad of moon jellyfish, horseman anemone, bloody henry and the amazing starfish and its shadow. :)

While at the deep end of the dive I spotted a 20m length of rope. It was attached to a weight which TDFKAMF promptly cut as I gathered it up for the return journey. 

Once back at the surface three divers were staggering down through the site to begin their dive. Without my glasses it took me a while to recognise the faces - but the voices and the hair of Gentle Ben alerted me to their identities. Two member for of the Aquatron team and a third mystery lady named Jenny. Presumably, she had been tricked into diving with Gentle Ben by her husband, Polite Mark. :) Some banter and the promise of a rope for their return exit meant we had a laugh as we squeezed past on the rock face. Polite Mark remarked the next day in shop that he thought it strange that I had taken 20m of climbing rope with me on my dive. How was he to know I'd found it underwater?

TDFKAMF and I set to work - still fully kitted - to re-assemble the safety line. Polite Mark remarked that he found very useful on his way back up. Mission accomplished I'd say.

Dekitting quickly in the midgie infested lay-by we headed to the A-Frames for a pretty routine dive during which nothing particularly interesting or remarkable happened. Although I did bump into a piece of wreckage that I found on my first ever dive at the site more than two years ago. I got a little nostalgic.

Moon Jellyfish

Moon jellyfish

The Amazing Starfish and its Shadow

Horseman Anemone

The Gathered Rope

Bloody Henry

The A Team

Re-roping the tunnel

Re-roping the tunnel

Edible Crab

Camo'd Spider Crab

Shore Crab

At last look back

Going Deeper - 18/05/2014

Having been away with work I haven't been diving in about 10 days. Meanwhile my pals have been diving in various locations an have been very smug about it on social media websites.

Today was my first chance to get wet. Myself and Mr Fallsoveralot were meeting at Aquatron before potentially heading to the Caves. While at the shop, in walked Fast Ed who happened to have his kit in the boot of his car. A few smooth words of seduction and he was willing to abandon his wife for the afternoon to join us. :)

So we headed up to the Caves only to find the small stream in full flow and visibility likely to be poor. We therefore headed further down the road to the A-Frames to do a dive that would break his depth record, but stay within the limits of his training (30m).

Leading the dive out in poor visibility my plan had been to dive to the big frame, then head down past the deep frame before turning back once we reached our desired depth. In the poor visibility however and fairly swift current I missed it. Instead, we ended up overshooting and heading down to around 29m  before turning back and hitting the deep frame and what I normally call frame 2.

The depth and different route meant we encountered plenty of sea cucumbers, peacock worms, a firework anemone and a decent array of fish and crabs. Sadly, Ed also spotted fishing lure, and I found a plastic bag (floating at 20m) from East Dunbartonshire Council ironically promoting greener more sustainable behaviour

In total it was 45 minutes and by the time we surfaced the rain and poor vis was enough to dampen our enthusiasm for another dive. However, Grant recorded a whopping 29.2m on his computer - smashing his depth record.

Peacock worm

Pink spotted sea cucumber

East Dunbartonshire logo

Clean environment

Peacock worm

Hermit crab, dead man's finger and sea squirt

Buried edible crab

An Aladdin's Cave - 10/03/2014

View from Lomond Shores 

Recently, Laura has started a new job at the Sea Life Loch Lomond aquarium. So last night Big Al and I headed up to Lomond Shores to meet her after work go diving and receive details of out 'secret mission'. After parking up, enjoying the view and then heading to the aquarium we met Laura.

Our mission, should we choose to accept it, was to collect some mussels to feed the 'stars' of the rock pool exhibition. We accepted and headed a few miles up the road to the Caves at Loch Long. For me, this would be my third time in a row at the site, but I wasn't too bothered as I'm still mesmerised by the boulder wall and the myriad of life it contains.

While kitting up and buddy checking we joked about remembering everything before clambering down the rock face. As I plopped into the water I realised that I had forgotten my fins. So Big Al - who was at the back of the pack - very kindly climbed back up and got them for me. 

Once underwater we headed down to around 20m and began the critter search. There was some great life about including:

• large edible crabs
• lobster
• dahlia anemone
• wrasse
• cod
• bloody henry

Laura had quickly filled her little bag and we headed back enjoying the great visibility. Once at the surface the swag was transferred into a tub containing sea water and we headed back to aquarium.

Peacock worm

Dahlia anemone

Bloody henry

I should say that up until that point in my life I'd never been in the aquarium, though I'd been to its sister site in Oban. So upon arrival we were greeted at the trade entrance by Mark (the manager) who took us in and gave us a closed door tour of the facility. 

I was really impressed, the main tank is particularly good with a great selection of sharks, grouper, eels and a green turtle. Well worth a visit I'd say!

Dude!

Grouper

Day-lightful Caves - 09/03/2014

A friend of mine is starting up a PADI scuba school. Today I had volunteered to assist him by providing some surface cover. As a result, I got the opportunity to visit the Caves during daylight hours. As regular readers will know I only recently dived the site for the first time at night, so to see it in daylight was a pleasant experience.

Those who read my previous blog will know that I gave quite a vivid description of the entry, well today I took some footage, but as always the photos and video don't quite do the angle of descent justice.

I did pop in for a 29 minute dip down to 27m too, but the visibility wasn't great. As such, I never took any photographs underwater.

Divers descending

Entering the water