Seaweed and Shore Diving - July 06
There was talk of blind folding me when the subject of shore diving came up again. Fortunately we were going to a site that I had already dived so it was deemed unnecessary on this occasion. As much of Cornwall gets so overrun by visitors there are some shore dives that the local divers like to keep a bit quiet and I have been sworn to secrecy not to reveal the location of this particular one. The day was, as always seems to be the case when I am down in Cornwall, bright and sunny so I decided to take the WA lense and see if I could get some nice shots of kelp and the weed that is so aptly named bootlace weed or mermaid tresses. Some weeds seem to have a huge different number of names as this stuff is also known as deadmens ropes, sea lace and cat gut. It grows in large clumps stretching up to the surface for several feet.
There are a lot of different weeds on this dive as you move down the bay. The vibrant green of the sea lettuce that looks shiny as the suns lights is from above has the appearance of cellulose. Pieces of it waft around disturbed by the movement of the water and our fins it is so delicate and sheer.
Also in the shallower areas are the broad wrinkled blades of sea belt sometimes known as poor mans weather glass, sugar kelp or oarweed.
The texture on these always fascinates me but I can never seem to really capture it in photos very well.
Following the rocky edge seawards, huge clumps of holdfast cluster across the end of the bay and in the gullys as we work our way across. This has a multitude of names and probably even more that are not in my book but can be known as sea tangle, tangleweed, sea girdle, horsetail kelp, and devils apron. It is difficult to photograph as the slightest touch or movement disturbs the billions of white hydrozoans that cover the stipes……so its best to get the pics before your buddy swims through it!
Although I didnt get a picture of any there is a lot of very attractive sea beech with its distinctive smallish red leaves growing in clumps on the rocks, these get dragged almost flat by the surge. There are also several different sorts of wrack in various places around the bay.
I think seaweed is very often underrated as an attractive marine plant. We are very disparaging quite often in our remarks about ….just loads of kelp on that dive…..yet not only does it have its own intrinsic beauty it provides shelter and homes for hundreds of sea creatures. This particular dive for some reason is rich in its variety of seaweeds and marine plants, I am sure there are probably dozens and dozens if you were to go round and identify all of them, I have merely named a mere handful. Rarely have I seen quite so many different plants in such a small area.
