Hull of Kintyre - 08/09/2018

I have friends who consider me a depth junkie. I'm really not, but some of the best dives require deep training and a fair bit of commitment. Some time ago when chatting in the pub I had mentioned that the wreck of the SS Kintyre was one of my dive highlights. The Barrman was enthused. He wanted to dive it there and then. Shiny also decided it was special enough to lure him in for a dive.

I promised to keep my eyes peeled for suitable dates. In the end we plumped for Saturday 8th September. High tide was 12.16pm. As such if we entered the water at around 11.15am  we'd nail the tides. The weather forecast looked promising. It all came together as it had once before for Jester and I the previous year.

I was buddying Shiny, the Barrman was with the Wylie Fox and we were joined by one half of Das McLetchies and his buddy John. 

Shiny is always slow at kitting up. I mean, painfully slow. Although, he'll point  out that it means that he has everything just right. And he did, but it meant that we were last in the water and at the back of the queue.

We never saw the rest of the divers disappear down the pipe. Instead, we made our own way down and onto the wreck. Both qualified beyond recreational limits, we headed for the stern and ended up recording 49m. It was a pretty relaxed affair, but made me realise the best bit of the wreck is 40m on the deck. On the way back up along the famous jobby pipe we met the other divers. I was asked if we'd been to the boat. I signalled the affirmative. The rest, it seems, hadn't found it. I never said much about it the dive - nobody wants to be "that guy".

Northern Promise (1) - 17/08/2017

When I suggest to Midge (a diver that the Kingmaker and I met on our last trip to Egypt) that he comes to Scotland to dive I promised a number of things that he'd be able to do, dive and see.

When anyone comes to visit me in Scotland I want them to leave with a good impression. I'm proud of where I'm from. As such I gave Midge some options. He and Miss Hayes (his carer on his first adventure north of Glasgow) chose Anchor Point and Drishaig Reef for day one. Anchor Point was chosen because it is a scenic wall dive and Drishaig Reef because of the firework anemones and potential to see thornback rays.

The weather was always going to be mixed but the dry spells held out long enough for us to have a good time.

We kitted up at Anchor Point with both my Anglo companions already in awe of the scenery at the surface. Impressing them was going to be easy. :)

As we went down Miss Hayes seemed to be having a problem with her BCD, with Midge unable to fix a problem that I'd already noticed, I quickly sorted it. I think it helped her trust me as a guide. After all, she hadn't ever met me before and I could tell they were concerned about depth being that most of their UK shore dives were about 6m.

We went down and I instantly spotted two conger eels (something that was on Midge's list of wanna sees) and a large strawberry deeplet anemone. We pottered about looking at the array sea stars that were on show. We surfaced yards from our entry point. From then on they were hooked on Scottish shore diving.

Our second dive took us across to Drishaig Reef where I guaranteed them the opportunity to see firework anemones  and the potential of thornback rays. Sadly I failed on the thornback ray front....today.

I left them to head north to their campsite while I raced back to Glasgow to get our tanks refilled for day two.

Midge enjoys the view

Stallion Rock 'n' Roll - 16/07/2017

As part my own personal challenge to myself to dive more places I haven't dived before I had organised a boat out of Inveraray to take me and seven friends to Stallion Rock & Kenmore Point - two dives that can theoretically be dived from the shore, but access is limited, restricted and/or tide dependent. 

We set off in fair weather and given that the previous day's weather had been miserable and our forecast was a little uncertain we were all buoyed by this. Our initial plan had been to dive Stallion Rock first and Kenmore Point on the way home given that Stallion Rock was a little further from port, but the presence of another dive boat meant that we switched that around - it made little difference to us.

The entry from the boat was, to be honest, a little sporting as the boat was not ideally suited to diving with having to clamber over the side onto a platform for entry but it wasn't my worst boat experience - at no point did I think there was any significant danger.

My buddy for the day was Jim, with whom I've shared a couple of diving adventures. We were last off the boat. A situation that arose for two reasons:

1. I didn't want to hold anyone up as I put on my twinset and donning it would be easier with less kit swilling around the boat
2. If another diver pair had trouble (equalising etc), as event organiser I could hopefully help them from the boat and would happily dive as three if required

As it was everything went to plan on both dives so no significant intervention was required.

Jim and I plopped in at Kenmore Point last, moved closer to the shore to give us a visual reference going down and sank straight down to 30m. It was a decision that was probably a mistake. We were diving the southern wall and would have been able to enjoy a gnome garden and some more life had we just stayed at 20m where the main part of the wall bottoms out (thereafter it is silt with occasional boulders). That said, it was good to go down a little deeper with Jim, to ensure he was comfortable with that depth before doing Stallion Rock which benefits from a deeper profile.

Heading north we moved up and really got the benefit from doing so as the amount of interesting life improved. We surfaced on my SMB and new LOMO reel to replace the reel lost on the previous week.

After some sandwiches and tea provided by Joe (our skipper), we got ready for Stallion Rock. Topographically, I was keen to explore as much of site as I could so Jim and I had a short discussion about depth and made our plans. This time we were rewarded for our decision to go deeper, as it turns out Stallion Rock isn't really even a rock. Instead, it's the peak of an underwater cliff that at depth has been hollowed out into a wall with overhang by thousands of tides. It was beautiful. As I swam along underneath I felt a little insignificant and enjoyed the the deeplet anemones and creatures that had it made it their home.

I came up exhilarated, glad to have gone deeper, and relieved that the swell had dropped down a little from our time of entry. As we bobbed about I asked Jim how many dives he'd done. He said that was 200th dive and also the deepest he'd been - two milestones on one dive.

Nudibranch

Devonshire Cup Coral

Cushionstar

Jim

Jim

Deeplet Anemone

Deeplet Anemone

Common Sunstar

Northern Sunstar

Seven Armed Starfish

Beagles About - 18/09/2016

Beadle's About was a pretty crass TV show here in the UK during the eighties and nineties. Basically it's presenter would play stress inducing pranks on the public before coming in disguised to remove the tension and allowing hilarity to ensue. Today, our adventures on K-Peps RHIB were pretty similar for me. 

Jester and I had agreed to meet K-Pep for a dive out of Largs on his boat. Once we were there we decided on one of the Clyde's most famous wrecks - The Beagle.

The Beagle collided with another boat in 1865 only a year after her launch. Much of the structure has rotted away over the years, but you can definitely still make out the structure of the boat with most of the hull still intact. She lies upright in about 32m.

The day started well with a smooth ride across the channel to Great Cumbrae , but as we neared the wreck site the swell picked up. As Jester and I kitted up  a couple of Minke whales passed by the port side of the RHIB. It was surely a good sign, but when the handle on my tank broke any good feelings I'd picked up vanished - I was nervous.

I won't lie, whenever I do a new site I get a nervous tingle - it's part of the reason why I do it - but I'm also fairly confident that I don't like small boats, a swell and descents down a rope to nowhere. It's probably my trinity of bad conditions. As such, both Jester and I opted to leave the cameras on the boat. 

Then just as I was about to roll in, K-Pep said something. Something that inspired confidence and caused my nerves to dissipate. Here's what he said, "You'll come back laughing." I've been here loads of times and every time it has been true, I have come back laughing.

At that, I went to the line and dropped. I found myself at 20m before I realised Jester was 5m behind me and struggling to equalise. I waited a moment and then he was there. Down we went and we were on it. A wreck that has quietly sat here for 150 years waiting for me. It was recognisable as a boat. The hull was intact, the stern clearly visible. The point where the Napoli had pierced her hull could still be seen. The only difference was that today it was crawling with sea life:

• nudibranchs
• cod
• anemones
• cup corals

I wished for a moment I had my camera, then I remembered how I'd felt on the surface. 

We pottered about for 20 minutes before the spectre of deco began chasing us back up the line. As we did deep stops and safety stops we messed about chuckling to ourselves. Then, just like that, we were back on the RHIB laughing - just as K-Pep had said.

With the weather worsening and Stugeron not taking full effect on one of our party we headed back to the marina with a win tucked safely into our log books.

Afterwards we went into Nardini's and had an ice cream. When in Largs...

The size of his head

Nardini's

Far From The Madding Crowd - 21/01/2016

Thomas Hardy was an exceptional author, but few people know his first love was poetry. In fact, one of my favourite poems is The Darkling Thrush. In the poem, winter's gloom is palpable, but one little bird casts itself against the onslaught of winter.

"An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,In blast-beruffled plume,

Had chosen thus to fling his soul

    Upon the growing gloom." 

The weather was at best miserable: 

• marginally above zero
• raining
• windy
• melting snow

Myself, the Zookeeper and Jester had taken the decision to dive at Finnart for an evening of diving. It was my first cold water dive since returning from Egypt and the other first dive since the gluttonous Christmas period. Drysuits were to be stretched to their maximums, but not before we overcame the issue of removing an insert from the cylinder.

Without means of removal we were stumped. I took it upon myself to walk the 50 yards to the oil terminal and asked if they had any allen keys. I was greeted by a young man named Euan who told me he had qualified with his PADI Openwater qualification a few years ago in Australia. He was now planning on becoming a commercial diver and had lined up a job in Australia. He was very helpful and, more importantly, he had allen keys.

We dived. In the first three metres it was as though hell had frozen over. I haven't yet checked my computer for the temperature, but my bottom temperature was 6c. If only the thermocline had been that warm.

We bumbled around enjoying Devonshire cup corals, deeplet anemones and the regular assortment of life.

On the safety stop we ensured we stayed below 3.1m where the thermocline was visible. Once accomplished, we accelerated through the water and out ensuring that our stay in. 

Still, despite the conditions we flung ourselves upon the growing gloom. A good nights diving.

Deeplet anemone

Deeplet anemone

Devonshire cup coral

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

The Five Dive Weekend Part 1 - 14/06/2014

This weekend I had agreed to go diving on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was to be a three dive day, at three different sites with West Coast Divers on specific photo dives. We were visiting three sites for three different reasons. All on Loch Fyne, they were:

1. Furnace Quarry - photographing deeplet anemones
2. Drishaig Reef - photographing firework anemones
3. St Catherines - for BBQ fun and general reefy fun

Let me start by saying all three dives were good, but for me dives one and two were brilliant.

At Furnace Quarry we entered with the Mermaid buddying with the Bog Snorkeler, while I provisionally buddied with a BSAC diver from Dundee whom I'd never met. Pleasant chap, called James.

I lead the dive down to 25m to begin the deeplet search. We found them, but I forgot proper photographers like to take their time and take test shots. So when I looked back I could only see some flashes in the distance.

Once I retrieved them, we took some time to snap the deeplets. On the return journey the Bog Snorkeler got snagged in some fishing line. Meanwhile, after the dive we were told the fishermen were going mental and throwing bricks into water. Towards the end of the dive we encounters a school of pollock with a few corkwing wrasse mingled in between.

Once out the water we met another diver who told us about brick-gate. The Mermaid wanted to make an issue of it (she's feisty!), but instead we dekitted and headed to Drishaig for a cup of tea and the second dive.

James and I again buddied up and headed down to 30m to find the firework anemones. We were both starting to think we'd missed them. Then, just as we were about get shallow (deco was just 3 minutes away), we found loads - both fully extended and curled up.

As we got shallower we started to see large nudibranch eggsacks, and then James spotted a huge highland dancer nudibranch. Great find - I'd never seen one before.

Post dive we said farewell to James and headed to St Cats for burgers, square suasage and potato scones. The Mermaid put on quite the spread. The Bog Snorkeler was moaning about the midgies, but we had explain that they weren't that bad compared to what we were used to of late.

For the third dive it was just me and the Bog Snorkeler as Avril's drysuit had leaked and soaked her undersuit. It was a pleasant enough dive with a lot of things to keep  B-Snork happy, but I was miffed I never found a Scorpion fish. Anyway, I've got two more dives before this weekend is over. :) 

Drishaig - Highland Dancer

Furnace - Deeplet Anemone

Furnace - Deeplet Anemone

Furnace - Gaslamp Sea Squirt

Drishaig - Stickleback

Drishaig - Firework Anemone

Drishaig - Firework Anemone

Drishaig - Firework Anemone

Cooking at St Cats

Adventures in Biff - 10/06/2014

Biff  - Adj used to describe someone with little intelligence or something that requires little intelligience. E.g. Sam got a biff job at a warehouse yesterday.

The site was a midgie infested, but beautifully calm Furnace Quarry, Loch Fyne. While the runners and riders included The Zookeeper and The Announcer. It was a bit of a biff affair. Between the Zookeeper and myself we had a lot going on/wrong. I was test driving some new gloves - flashy expensive 4th Element 7mm mittens. which seemed reassuringly lobster like and epic. 

We kitted up and made our way through the midgie clouds to the entry. By the time I entered the water I was roasting but the mittens were so thick so as not to let any cool water circulate (I'll be glad of this come winter).

Until we got a bit of depth where the neoprene was compressed, I also noticed that it had hampered my dexterity. Not because of the mitten but because of the thickness of the glove. 

We swam along enjoying the deeplet anemones, wrasse and young cod reaching a maximum depth of around 26m - the girls went a bit deeper.

Me by the Zookeeper

My real problem was that my mask strap was too loose and as such my mask kept flooding. Hampered by the fancy mitts, I was unable to fix the problem. As a result, after 18 minutes I was already willing this dive to be over. Sadly, it had another 34 minutes still to run. On the way back, Laura papped me underwater and as well as my hoses looking like they've been dragged through a bush backwards you can clearly see my mask 1/3 filled with water.

We stopped numerous times to help entangled crabs. Last time at this site this was a source of great personal satisfaction. This time it was just another thing stopping the dive from being over. 

Having fists for fingers meant I never took that many photographs. I mainly took deeplet anemone shots.

Four learning points arose from the metaphorical ashes of this dive:

1. The midgies now mean that I don't want to dive in the evening again until September unless there is a strong wind.
2. I had a little bit of mask trouble on my last dive. Why didn't I remember to tighten it? It's done now.
3. The mitts will be good come the winter, but even then not for photography dives.
4. The rush to avoid midgies at kit up meant I didn't take time to properly arrange my hoses how I like them.

Nature likes beer

Pink Deeplet Anemone

Pink Deeplet Anemone

Deeplet Anemone

Plumose Anemone

Plumose Anemone & Seaweed