North Cornish Coast Again, The Runswick - July 06
As we arrived we could see the seals clambering off their rock disturbed by the engine noise as we gradually drew nearer. Watching them splash into the sea alarmed by having their peace and quiet interrupted I hoped they might join us on the dive as our destination was right in between the rocks.
This dive was to be on the Runswick on the north coast of Cornwall near Trevose Head. Here there are a series of rocks called the Quies and it is between these there lies a wreck called The Runswick. It’s a steamship that was carrying coal and torpedoed by a submarine in 1919. The timing of slack was quite important for this dive as some of the fastest currents on the north coast occur here. However, the up side is that it is a haven for marine life as the currents bring rich nutrients to this area.
After kitting up we gently chugged over towards the rocks, flipped over the side and down. Visibility was good and you could quickly see the place was covered with a multitude of different sorts of weed with large spider crabs perched everywhere.
Bits of wreckage could be made out strewn across the seabed and we moved along the wall till we came to the stern. Although the wreck is very broken up and has caved in on itself it still makes an excellent dive. There are numerous hidey-holes for marine life to scurry into as they hear your bubbles coming; those that are a little slower get to have their picture taken! Of particular note for me on this dive was the Tom Pot I saw.
I have wanted to see one of these comical little fishes for a long time and have envied the pictures others have come up with after finding one. I noticed this particular little Tompot when he moved off a piece of wreckage. Trying desperately to get myself in a good position to take a few pictures he actually ended up swimming underneath me so I had to take pictures from above, probably one of the worst views when trying to photograph fish! However, I still managed to get a few and although they are not good I am still quite pleased as I had been wanting to see this attractive little fishey for some time. What amazed me was that he swam right underneath me and didn’t seem to be too bothered he even kept stopping to look up at me, as I hovered a metre or so above trying to get a picture. He finally disappeared into a hole and I was no longer able to see him so I carried on and began to notice all the beautiful jewel anemones that cover parts of the wreckage.
With my air beginning to get a little low I decided to do my stop right next to one of the walls, which make up one of the small rocky islands above. There was quite a lot of surge and knowing I would probably get pushed out should I put up a DSMB I decided just to hang onto the thick stalks of the holdfast that were growing on the wall. I thought I would have a poke around underneath the kelp stalks while I did my 3minutes and see if I could find anything interesting….and I did! The most beautiful pink jewel anemones were growing just under the kelp that I was hanging onto! For some time I have been trying to get some pictures of pink jewel anemones and whilst I can often spot them now, so often when I do they are closed…….. these however were open! With a large Ikelite housing I need two hands to support my camera and trigger the lever to take a picture so it must have been hilarious watching me try and take pictures of these. Using the crook of my elbow to hold a stalk of kelp so that I wouldn’t drift off the wall I then had to try and keep the camera still enough whilst being pushed around by the surge. Various bits of kelp kept drifting across the lense, which was also very irritating, but I did manage to get a few and whilst not wonderful, certainly a a slight improvement on what I have achieved so far.
more piccys
Various Dive Sites in Cornwall
