Sound of Mull October 07
Several times I had hoped to do the shore dive near the pier at Lochaline but had never got round to it. Reputed to have a steep drop off to 90m it was meant to be a fruitful dive in terms of marine life. Most trips to Lochaline for a weekend diving the Sound of Mull seemed to consist of charging up there (a 10+ hour drive), throwing your stuff on a boat, doing three dives a day ( Lochaline Boat Charters ) then chucking your stuff in the car and driving back…….knackered! This time I was hoping it would be a little different as I was going early.
Mark who owns the Dive Centre in Lochaline conveniently appeared shortly after I arrived I so I was able to bag a room at the end of the row furthest away from the banging doors that had provided my early morning wakeup call the previous year Mull 2006
So leaving my cylinders for Mark to fill that evening I set off to explore the area round Lochaline on foot – again something I had never had the time to do. This was taken further along the coast looking back towards Lochaline
The next morning following Marks advice I drove down to the little beach which is about 100yrds from the pier. Coming from the Dive Centre the turning is not easily seen but is on the left about 50yrds before the Lochaline Hotel car park. The short track takes you right onto the beach where you can park, kit up and just walk in across the sand…..perfect!
Wading out into the water and after doing a remarkable impression of a stranded fish flapping and splashing around whilst praying that no one was watching I finally got my fins on. Swimming out over the sandy slope the bottom is dotted with the anemone cerianthus lloydii their delicate brown and white tentacles swaying with the surge.
Continuing over a band of weed and kelp the seabed then begins to drop in large steps, until it finally falls away and becomes a wall. Gradually working my way towards the pier I dropped to about 30m. However, with the sea life not significantly different at this depth I decided to ascend slightly and spend the dive round about the 20-25m mark where there was plenty to look at, this also meant I would get a longer dive.
Checking my air I reluctantly realised it was time to turn and start heading back. I was then aware that there had been so much to see that I hadn’t actually gone that far. With plenty to look at on the safety stop it made it seem no time at all before I was heading up back towards the beach. It took some time to gradually fin my way back up and across the sandy area as the tide was still going out, however with the sun shining and no time pressure I took my time. Having had a super 50 min dive I decided to have my lunch go for a wander and then kit up for a second dive.
Ready once again and in the water I tried to work my way along a bit further until I thought I was under the pier. This I thought I had accomplished by the quantity of snagged fishing line that I found in various places and giving this a very large berth I continued until it was time to retrace my steps. Once again returning to my entry point I found it considerably easier getting out this time as the tide had turned.
Checking the results of picture taking whilst drinking a hot chocolate and admiring the autumnal oranges and browns on the mountains across the sound on Mull lit by the late afternoon sun I thought there were the odd occasions when life was so unbelievably good.
By the following morning everyone had arrived and the John Preston was the first on the list. There were the usual two boatfuls and although Peregrine is a faster boat my preference is always Brenden as the cabin is larger and with a heater!
I have dived the John Preston many times before and the bits of scattered wreckage have been the subject of a lot of research by SOMAP dive centre website. On this particular occasion in addition to an overcast day the viz was not as good as I know it can be here so I decided to stay mainly on the shallow shelf and concentrate on macro pictures.
Next was the Thesis and I had decided to try some ambient light shots, however my camera didn’t agree with this and my strobe kept going off creating backscatter despite being turned off???????? Eventually after getting very frustrated I gave that up on that idea and settled for some shots of the deadmens fingers that coat the skeletal remains.
Also found this little chap hiding amongst them
Along with Calf Island, Greys Rocks is one of my favourite sites in the Sound and although it was a little dark I was still able to find lots of small crabs and leopard spotted gobies amongst the brilliant orange and yellow deadmens fingers that literally carpet the area in places.
The following day began with thick fog cloaking the Sound. Both boats tentatively left the safety of Lochalines harbour and started the short trip out to the Rhondo keeping in constant contact with each other but it was the Mull ferry that our ears strained to hear. Dave the skipper of Brenden is also one of the ferry’s skippers so was well aware of its exact route. However, surrounded by thick fog with limited visibility none of the vessels were taking any chances and the sound of the ferry’s fog horn marking its position could often be heard until we were safely past and on our way further up the sound.
Fortunately as we approached the dive site the fog began lifting. The Rhondo having dropped down a steep slope is lodged upright at a fairly vertical angle and although her stern quickly appears at 5m her bows lie at 55m. She is one of the most popular wreck sites in the sound but I never find her a particularly interesting dive mainly due to the scantiness of life. This was in direct contrast to the second dive of the day Aulison a fabulous wall dive.
Again staying around 20-25m gave me an hours dive and what a fabulous hour this was. The wall was covered with life. Many different anemones including one of my favourites the white cluster anemone. From a distance they look like drifts of snow blown to coat every inch of the rocky wall and closer examination reveals dozens of tiny little spiky anemones.
Huge clumps of red fingers with their delicate white polyps catch nourishment from the passing currents as do the quickly retreating peacock worms. Surprisingly I saw no crabs of any sort but came across one of the biggest spiny sea stars I had ever seen. Clinging to a fairly flat vertical patch of rock his arms must have measured nearly two feet across, a formidable predator for anything that lay in its path!
The final dive of the day was the Shauna. Arriving just after another boat left we descended to find the viz was shite. Hovering over the deck I noticed a movement around the top of a wide pipe like opening protruding from the deck and drawing closer I realised that it was a huge conger sticking his head out for a look around at the latest black clad visitors. Unfortunately as I got nearer he disappeared. The viz was so bad I knew there was no chance of any sort of decent photo so hoping that it would settle I went for a quick troll round the deck but saw little through the haze of silt. Returning once again to the congers lair I saw his nose again emerging which then quickly disappeared again as he spotted me approaching. Settling down beside the opening I prepared to wait for him to emerge again and despite the poor conditions try a picture or two. Unfortunately another curious diver spotted me. Coming over he grabbed the side of pipe not only disturbing silt and sediment once again but then shining his light sabre down the hole! As the diver disappeared off into the murkiness I knew that my chance of getting a picture had gone ………..as had the conger when I looked down the hole. Finally scared off by the activity and strong light invading his territory he had disappeared into the bowels of the wreck.
The final day of this weekend dawns and the first dive was the Hispania. Probably the most popular wreck in the sound and certainly to my mind the most attractive. Much of the wreck is covered in the bright oranges and stark whites of plumose anemones giving it the appearance of being encrusted with jewels. The presence of so many of these filter feeders is down to the very swift currents that bring nutrient rich water flowing over and around the wreck, but this does mean that she can only be dived at slack. My plan had been to take ambient light pictures from the bottom of the shot and I did.
These done I waited for the remaining divers to come down in order to get some diver shots. Waiting a few minutes I realised I may have missed them and conscious of my ever diminishing air supply I set off for a browse around the deck.
Feeling the current picking up again and checking my air I decided to call it a day and head back up the shot.
The final dive was to be Penniegowan Quarry, a scenic dive. There is more to the Sound of Mull than its wrecks and all of the scenic dives I have ever done up there have always been good. This was a new site to me and so I was looking forward to it. The brief had been simple, down the shot and then head north. This was what I thought I had done…..obviously not! After swimming north for about twelve minutes and even dropping down to 30m to see if there was anything there I discovered nothing. I had obviously missed the wall somehow and ended up surfacing some distance from where I should have been……apparently it had been a very good dive!
So ten dives later and despite the iffy viz at times I felt I had had a fantastic weekend and was only annoyed that I had missed the last dive ….how?… I really don’t know.
Note:- Anyone thinking of doing the same shore dive please go to the link below and read a very scarey account posted on a thread in the Conger Alley dive forum. Although I didn’t read this until after my visit it certainly will make me even more cautious next time.
Account of shore dive Lochaline Pier
The Sound of Mull More pics
