Northern Soul - 22/04/2018

Having a campervan has made diving more pleasant in a number of ways:

• Between dives I can take refuge from the elements in the van and cook up a tasty treat and a cup of tea
• If meeting friends I don't have to rush up to sites at the crack of dawn - I can arrive the night before sleepover
• I can go to more rural spots and not have to worry about getting back

This weekend I was teaming up with me ol' Yorkshire mucker Josh. He was wanting to dive "some deep Scottish walls". I felt I could oblige combining my campervan and his desire to test out a new tent.

So I assembled a plan:

• Day 1 - Dive Trail Island with K-Pep in the Firth of Clyde
• Day 2 - Dive Kentallan Wall & the Slates
• Day 3 - Dive Lochaline Wall in the Sound of Mull

I asked Jester if he wanted to come, then I asked my buddy (Wylie Fox) for an upcoming trip to Scapa Flow. They both agreed. The team was set.

Trail Island saw Jester, Josh and I all diving off K-Peps much loved RHIB Jenny. As we set of from Largs we realised we had nailed it - the weather was perfect. We rolled off the RHIB and headed down to 30m the point where the sea bed disappears into the abyss. I led us over the wall and down to a casual 34m and along the wall. We bumped into a few nudibranchs (flabellina pedata, flabellina lineata) and the odd candy striped flatworm. It was going well from a nudi perspective and josh had nailed his first Scottish wall. I'd been wearing a hire drysuit that wasnt that dry so I sat out a 2nd dive on the Lady Isabella Barque in preference for drying out in the sun.

From there it was the drive north to our overnight stop at Caolasnacon for our overnight stop.

The following morning we were joined by the Barrman & the Landlady for Kentallan Wall. I had dived Kentallan wall a couple of weeks before and wasn't expecting too much life. Sadly, for us I was right. It was a decent dive, but it was cold and my undersuit was still little on the damp side. As such, I decided against doing the Slates in preference for letting my undersuit dry.

Afterwards four us headed to Lochaline to set up camp for the night. The dive the next day would be memorable.

I'd never dived the Lochaline Wall. The only other time I'd been there was when I dived in the Sound of Mull years ago, but missed out because I'd arrived late.

Wylie Fox was the expert and we'd just follow her lead. So, the next morning, we kitted up and entered the water one hour before slack. We swam for a bit in the shallows then plunged down toward 46m. ~The bottom was still nowhere in site. So with the discretion being the better part of valour we turned and zig-zagged back up the wall before the tide turned and dragged us out. 

The wall was covered in life. We emerged agreeing that it was perhaps the best shore dive we've done in Scotland (Kintyre excepted). From there we began the long trek home and the even longer drive for Josh who had nourished his diving soul away from the English quarries.

Flabellina lineata

Flabellina lineata

Flabellina pedata

Cushionstar

Northern Sunstar

More flabellinas

Northern Promise (2) - 18/08/2017

In our messaging group the Kingmaker and I had offered Midge & Miss Hayes something a little bit special for our second day of diving. However, Miss Hayes with one eye on the rather miserable looking weather and probably the slightly sinister look of the Kingmaker decided that diving wasn't for her today and rocketed off her an old friend who lives in the area.

They were excited, their campsite had afforded them stunning views of Loch Leven and the drive through Glencoe had tipped their scenery sensors into overload. The Kingmaker and I knew our first choice of the Kentallen Wall was going be a winner....once the weather cleared up.

We waited, sipping tea, for the stair rod rain to stop in the Holly Tree Hotel. When it did we moved fast. So fast, in fact, that I forgot to fasten my crotch strap on my wing. Once corrected the Kingmaker threw the navigational responsibilities my way, absolving himself of any blame should the dive end up a disaster. I'll tell you now, I nailed the navigation bringing us along underwater right back to the slip. I took the plaudits.

The dive itself was great. There were loads of cuckoo wrasse and scallops all set against the back drop of the submerged Great Glen Fault. The visibility was cracking - easily exceeding 10m - but it was on the return that I really made the dive by spotting thornback ray nestling in the sand. I had been redeemed. Where I failed at Drishaig I had succeeded today.

I emerged from the water a hero.

Our second dive at the Slates was never going to be as good, but even the depth adverse Midge was starting to get a taste for it popping down to 34m and spotting scorpion fish. We had him. 

He'll be back to Scotland - he promised....

Kentallen Wall

Oysters & Cristal - 29/07/2015

With the Mermaid camping with JoeLe up on Loch Linnhe, the Zoekeeper and I decided to trundle up and join them for a dive on the Kentallan Wall. Loch Linnhe itself forms part of the Scotland's Great Glen fault line and the wall is part of a deep canyon that seems to run up the fault line. 

We met up at the campsite and headed to the entry at the Holly Tree Hotel. Where the water was calm and the tide was on a gentle flood. We spent some time constructing ridiculous fourway selfies before finally kitting up and entering the water.

Straight away JoeLe was having some difficulty so he abandoned the dive, but the three of us continued out. Surface swimming about 40m from the end of the pier to the point where the bottom was beginning to disappear. At that point we dropped in over 10m of water and continued the swim to the wall underwater. After a further swim we got to the edge.

Before choosing to tumble down the verticle drop our first significant find was a large Janolus Cristatus - the crystal tipped nudibranch. It's quite spectacular - the Cristal of nudibranchs.

Dropping further we found more, a large conger, saw lots of large fish, sunstars etc. However, the main draw has to be the topography. I've heard a lot of talk about diving the fault line Iceland, but here I was swimming along the very same thing right here in Scotland. And the visibility was superb! It was easily 15m, perhaps more!

We returned to shore entirely underwater and surfaced to be greeted by a variety of people.  We dekitted and headed into the Holly Tree for a quite delicious meal - which included my first taste of oysters. My review can be read on yelp if you are really interested, but given they provide you with the parking it seems only right that they benefit from divers custom.

After lunch we headed to the Slates for an easy second. Which I'm glad of. For the second time I got up close and personal with the elusive male cuckoo wrasse,

Site Entry

A fourway selfie

Janolus Cristatus

Burrowing sunstar

Janolus Cristatus

Janolus Cristatus

Northern sunstar

Common Sunstar

Cuckoo Wrasse