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Launched from – Portree
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 01/09/06
Time – 13:19
Max Depth – 34.6m
Duration – 54 minutes
Temp – 13 C
Rating – 1

The Last Dive

I don’t think this area was as well known to the boat skippers as the rest of Skye. The winds had once again started to pick up and a decision had to be made for our last dive site. Looking at the charts there looked like an interesting falling reef on Holomon Island, so thats where we headed. We were dropped into Kelp, again, I still don’t like Kelp, then made our way to find deeper waters. The area was mainly covered in sand, some of the Norwegian Lobsters were free roaming around, there obviously wasn’t enough shelter for them. As you approach them they make a single sweep of their tail and shoot away at quite a speed, settling down another metre or so away. Swimming further down I eventually came across some small rocks sticking out of the sand, Urchins, Cup Corals etc. littered the hard surfaces, with the Norwegian Lobsters hiding underneath.

And Finally

Unfortunately this wasn’t what I would call a good dive, there wasn’t a lot to see, we could just blame the weather. The dive didn’t last as long as some of the others as I had run out of Oxygen for mixing my nitrox and had a very weak mix. It would have been nice to see something special on our last dive, but at least we had a dive. 17 dives in a week, a range of dives to suit most tastes and abilities, two very good skippers and some excellent visibility made this an excellent week on the whole.

Launched from – Portree
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 01/09/06
Time – 10:10
Max Depth – 32.0m
Duration – 57 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 2

Heading home

Today was our last day of diving on this trip. To make life a little easier for the 2 boats from Lochaline they decided to do the last 2 dives from Portree. Portree was about 45 minutes by road from Uig, but several hours by boat and on their way home. They would have a long trip afterwards and then start another charter the following day.

We arrived at Portree just as the boats turned up, kit was loaded and we set out to dive a couple of sites within the area I would call an estuary, as it wasn’t in the sea. The area had several different Loch names, it was all the same bit of water. Our first site was just out of Portree harbour on the left hand side, Beal Point was the closest mark. We entered the water and made our way past the kelp to the sloping reef area. The reef was a mixture of sand and rocks, at around 25m there was a small wall a few metres high. Once again the vis was good at around 15-20m and it was quite bright although there was cloud above. Reaching as deep as I intended to go I came across a huge white anemone, each tentacle was as thick as a finger, I hadn’t seen one this big before. I coudln’t even find it on my usual marine life reference website. So I’ve asked the question, it is apparently an impressive specimen of Bolocera Tuediae. Swimming along the sloping reef there were quite a few large colonies of Light Bulb Sea Squirts, there was one cluster that looked like it had partly melted. There was of course a lot of the usual Urchins, Cup Corals, Cushion Stars, Sea Stars, Spiny Starfish and the now, very common, Norwegian Squat Lobster – Munida Rugosa.

Fading Fast

The dive was not as good as some of the ones we had done on the likes of Sgeir Graidach or Eugenie Rock, but the anemone Bolocera Tuediae helped made it better. Looking back at the photo’s there was one I took from a distance with an urchin in view, it was at least 3 times the diameter of the Urchin, at least 30cm. The dives were now fading in diversity and not as spectacular as most of the dives we had had during the last 7 days, only one more to do.

Launched from – Uig
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 31/08/06
Time – 13:20
Max Depth – 51.7 m
Duration – 61 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 5

Another wall dive

We were told that the island of An T-iasgair had recently been voted the best wall dive in the U.K., thats a big challenge. One side went down to about 90m, it ceratinly sounded like it should be good. We wouldn’t know whether we could dive the site until we got there and saw the sea state. Luckily, when we arrived the sea had levelled out a bit and we were told we were going to dive it.

We all kitted up as soon as we could and we entered the water very close to the rocks. Looking down from the surface the visibility looked quite good, so down we went. Below us we could see a steep rocky slope going down for quite a way, I decided to follow it down for a while, even at 50m the ambient light was so good you wouldn’t need a torch. The life down there was quite limited, Urchins, Cup Corals and a few Jewel and Dahlia Anemones as well as a few small fish. It wasn’t long before my dive computer was running short of no-deco time so I started my ascent. I started to swim around and up the the slope when I came across a near vertical wall, in what was probably about 30m visibility it looked very interesting. During my ascent up the wall I saw a couple of Plumose Anemones, the odd Edible crab, Sea stars and a few Cushion Stars.

At about 20m I came aross a sloping ledge covered in Kelp, there were still some divers below me on a ledge that was covered in Dead Mans Fingers but I was on my way up still. I carried on getting shallower and started to notice quite a few Jewel Anemones on the rocks beneath the Kelp. Eventually I ended up at 6m to do my stops and decide to spend it rummaging around beneath the Kelp. It was an amazing sight, there were Jewel Anemones of every colour hidden beneath. As I looked closer I also saw lots of Dahlia Anemones and Dead Mans Fingers. The whole area was so pretty I spent a lot longer than my deco hidden in there, I could now see why it was possibly one of the best wall dives in the U.K.

Launched from – Uig
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 31/08/06
Time – 10.24
Max Depth – 36.9 m
Duration – 48 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 2

Return to Ascrib

Once again the weather was dictating the dive sites, the winds had picked up and we had to run for cover. South Ascrib, the island where we dived Scalp Rock a couple of days ago, was at least offering some shelter. The forecast was for the wind to drop a bit during the day so hopefully we could get to a different site or two later on. We entered the water not far from Scalp Rock, in about 10m of water and headed south west towards the wall, The visibility had been affected by the bad weather, probably due to run off the land from the rain, unless it was just this area. The wall started at about 20m with a sandy slope dropping off into the distance at the western side of the wall. While I was still descending I came across quite a few Scallops, I wondered what we were going to have for our supper. A few Scallops later I decided to have a look along the wall. The wall wasn’t too interesting, a couple of Sea Stars, a yellow encrusting Sponge, Sea Fans, Edible Crabs, Cup Corals and Urchins, all expected really. It wasn’t long before I decided to come up to the shallows, the wall wasn’t worth going into decompression for. Coming up to the shallows there are a few boulders getting more and more scattered around the sand as you get shallower. On one of the rocks there was a large anemone, similar to a Dahlia Anemone but a lot larger. More Sea Stars and Common Starfish were scattered around the area. Once again there was quite a lot of Maerl, both dead and alive, lying on the Maerl was a Scorpion Fish, it had changed its colour to its surroundings, so it was a combination of pink and brown. Lying around the combined sand and dead Maerl were some more Scallops, just enough to make a decent meal for a couple of us. There were also a few Sea Cucumbers and Razor Shells in the sand, not my favourite dive but better than nothing.

Launched from – Uig
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 30/08/06
Time – 16:17
Max Depth – 9.3 m
Duration – 46 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 4

Small wreck

For our last dive of the day we were offered a choice of a drift on Gaeilavore or a tiny wreck on Tulm island called the Rhodesia. We had only drifted Gaeilavore yesterday, again so soon didn’t sound inviting. The wreck was described as small, the last lot of divers never found it and it wasn’t up to much. We thought we’d find out.

Not so small

I dropped in very close to the island of Tulm. As I descended I looked to my right thinking the rocks were very straight, swimming along I came to the end of the straight rock to find it was actually the wreck, I was expecting small, this wasn’t small. I poked my head into a hole and looked around. There was enough room for me so I swam into the wreck, it was quite tight but not too tight. As I exited I saw another hole which I couldn’t get into but I did have a good look around. I went back into the first hole and went another direction, this was getting a little too tight so I backed up. I swam a bit further up the wreck and found another hole, inside was the engine, just in fron of it a boiler, probably about 2.5m in diameter. I estimated that the original ship was probably between 40 and 50m long. I decided to swim to the bow and then swim completely around the wreck. The wreck lies on its port side, the starboard side lays upright and quite intact. I never found a definitive bow section, it may well be hidden under the kelp that engulfed the wreck. I managed to get into the area in front of the boiler, but decided about trying to manouvre around it.

As a third dive of the day it is excellent, a maximum depth of 9.3m in mid tide wasn’t going to cause me any problems. Life was limited to a few starfish and Wrasse, but I wasn’t bothered about that, the wreck is great for a good rummage.

Launched from – Uig
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 30/08/06
Time – 09:43
Max Depth – 29.1 m
Duration – 49 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 3

Skye wreck

Todays first dive was going to be on a wreck, a coaster called the Nordvik. Apparently it hadn’t been down very long, but due to it’s exposed position it has broken up quite a bit. The boat operators we were using normally operate in the Sound of Mull, they don’t get the conditions associated with the open sea, most of their usual wrecks are quite intact. We were happy to dive something that wasn’t just scenic or a wall. As we arrived the skippers decided that conditions were suitable and in we went.

They weren’t lying

The wreck is pretty similar to the wrecks in the shallow waters of Cornwall, quite flat, without too many recognisable pieces. There wasn’t as much life as I expected, usually wrecks attract large amounts of fish and Conger Eels, but fish were minimal and no-one spotted and Conger Eels. The wreck lies in around 28m of water, with a few bits scattered up to about 20m. There are a couple of what seemed to be rooms, maybe a winch room and another room full of engineering stuff. Life all around was minimal, the Cup Corals and Urchins that seemed to be common place everywhere else had given this wreck a bit of a wide berth. I was having mixed feelings as to whether I liked it or not. As a wreck dive it did make a change, but considering what we had been seeing over the last few days it wasn’t that exciting. Swimming arounf for 40 minutes I still couldn’t decide if I liked it or not. Waiting patiently on my stops a Lions Mane Jellyfish made its way past, the long mane was a little too close for comfort.

As one of the few wrecks around its worth doing it to break up the week, as a dive in its own right it wouldn’t be worth the time.

Launched from – Uig
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 30/08/06
Time – 12:54
Max Depth – 42.4 m
Duration – 63 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 5

Walls again!

Described to us a one dive you shouldn’t miss, Sgeir Graidach is part of the reef system that stretches a couple of miles along and includes Eugenie Rock. Parts of the reef system break the surface, Sgeir Graidach doesn’t. The main difference between this site and Eugenie Rock is that Eugenie bottoms out at 35m, Graidach bottoms out at over 50m.

Pretty good

We were once again dropped on at the edge of the kelp, I headed straight down to my maximum depth of around 40m and started working my way along the reef. It the depths there is definately a lot less life, mainly Cup Corals and Urchins, what a surprise, fish life was also limited so I started making my way up the reef to see if it got better in the shallows. The shallower I got the more life there was, Dead Mans Fingers were popping up as well as cushion stars. As I got shallower the ambient light made the excellent visibility look even better, once again over 20m. More life appeared as I got shallower, Edible Crabs and small fish in shoals. It wasn’t long before I found myself at the start of the vertical wall, but by this time I was running out of time. I followed along the top of it for a while until I noticed the Jewel Anemones in between the Kelp. They were everywhere, every colour combination I have ever seen all in one place, there were also quite a few Plumose Anemones and Dahlia Anemones. Inquisitive Cuckoo Wrasse make for an easy target to film, whereas Anemones aren’t so easy, there was a little surge making me and the camera move, but nothing major. As I made my way shallow I came across a lot of crevices, within these crevices were Dead Mans Fingers and all the Anemones, it was very pretty. I gradually got shallower and shallower until I found myslef on top of the Kelp. Shoals of small Pollack and whiting swam above the top of the Kelp, while Ballen Wrasse hid between the kelp. A free swimming Dogfish made it way past, I followed it for a little while, but when it swam into the Kelp I didn’t follow. As I made my way to the surface another Lions Mane Jellyfish was making its way past, the second today.

An excellent dive, very colourfull, a photographers dream, definately not to be missed.

Launched from – Uig
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 28/08/06
Time – 14:59
Max Depth – 16.4 m
Duration – 64 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 2

Shallow end

As the third dive of the day it was going to be a shallow one, a food hunt, this time it was to be Scallops. The area around Eilean Beag was known for Scallops, and as we all liked Scallops it sounded like a good idea. The island had dozens of seals sitting on the rocks watching us kit up, probably wondering what we were playing at. We were dropped in on the Kelp again and headed off to find sandy patches where the Scallops were likely to be. The site itself was quite boring, rocks, kelp, urchins and a few Swimming Crabs were the only things in site. The days low visibility made conditions even less inviting. It wasn’t long before I had a smile on my face as I started collecting Scallops. I thought I’d collect enough for two of us, things started slowly but picked up as I found a large sandy patch below the area where the seals were. A dozen or so Scallops later and it was time to go home and eat. I do like Scallops.

As a dive site, it would have to rate quite low, but finding your own food always makes things seem better.

Launched from – Uig
Boat used – Brendan
Date – 29/08/06
Time – 15:36
Max Depth – 19.3 m
Duration – 46 minutes
Temp – 13C
Rating – 2

Habit Forming

It was beginning to look like our last dive of the day was to find our tea, there was a site at Rubhavoraven that was on the way back to Uig, where several previous visits from divers had found Crayfish. So it looked like the possibility of Crayfish for tea tonight. Not everyone decided to do this dive as they were either cold, tired or couldn’t face seafood again. We were once again dropped into the water in the shallows on the edge of the kelp and headed off to deeper water to find the Crayfish. The whole area was once again covered in basalt rock and boulders, these had a covering of Sea Urchins, as usual. Scattered between the rocks were several Norwegian Lobsters, Sea Stars, Cup Corals, Spiny Starfish, the odd Dahlia and Plumose Anemone and a few small fish. One fish that decided to let me get quite close was a female Dragonet, very nice colouring. During the dive I came across some divers from the other boat, the Peregrine, one of which was carrying a bag with a couple of Crayfish in. I never saw any, probably due to the fact the others had caught them already, or maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough for them.

Fished up

The dive itself wasn’t the most exciting, in fact compared to the other dives we had done it was quite boring, but as a third dive it was ok. Hopefully we won’t be going back again this week. Due to the lack of our ability to catch our tea, Dave the skipper, had prepared some Pollack that we had caught at one of the surface intervals, “properly” as he stated, it was very tasty.