Night Dive Before Dawn - 28/09/2018

I'd never dived Brackley Point at night so when the Barrman suggested that the club head there for a training day I was keen to go the night before to experience it in the dark, because, as we all know, diving is always better in the dark. StewPats stepped up to the mark and we took the opportunity to also get down below 31m so that the dive could also count towards his master diver training. 

We kitted up and headed in and down. The slope was much steeper than I remembered, but the visibility was immense- easily 10m.

We pottered about enjoying some nudi's, a scorpionfish and a little cuttlefish before heading up and to the wreckage of the old barge. Upon arrival it became clear that we were surrounded by one of the largest schools of pollock I have ever seen. Hundreds of them, everywhere. The vis was so good that I could soo Leigh on the surface looking out for us with her torch. We were still at 10m. Back on the surface she said she thought we were about to surface.

The following day I took Freeflow Bob in for a wee dive. during which he successfully completed his master diver striptease and also happily pottered down below 31m. The kids grow up so fast these days. 

Bouncing Bombs and the Wrecks of Loch Striven - 27/08/2017

Panoramic view from the Ferry

When I suggested to member of the club that we could do a little getaway and BBQ at Loch Striven I wasn't sure how many people would come given how inconvenient it is to get to. So I sold it on the promise of an introduction to wreck diving. However, at around the same time the BBC and BSAC very kindly cobbled together a news story that included one of the loch's most famous episodes.

Sir Barnes Wallis designed the 'highball' during WWII to allow aircraft to better attack large battleships, but the design and principle would ultimately used to more famous effect in the Dambuster raids.

Today there are still highballs on the bed of the loch, but our plan was to dive the shallow wrecks of a small WWII landing craft and a barge at a depth of 12m at Brackley Point. The shallow depth means that our ScotSAC Branch divers can enjoy two nice little wrecks.

With a number of people requiring to complete a variety of different training tasks, the Land Lady had decided to take control of the operation and earn her expedition organiser stripes. That allowed me to take a back seat and just dive with our only willing branch diver - Freeflow Bob.

We all arrived and pitched up for the day at what, it seems, is a very popular site for outdoor enthusiasts of all ilks.

We made friends and went diving. Freeflow Bob led me through our buddy check and took me down to 12m and off we swam. Almost instantly we hit wreckage and then swam along a relatively bland sandy bottom. We returned underwhelmed, but Freeflow Bob had managed to take a few snaps.

Our second dive a couple of hours later was to the right which offered up a larger, more identifiable wreck.

Back on the surface there were BBQs, frying pans with burgers, happy children and kayaking. It really was a fun day. We'll be back.

Dive site

Near the surface

Fun on the beach