Sound of Mull and Islands dive
Third attempt and we have finally made it, sadly not all of us, Covid, double booking and a septic cat bite meant that we were down from 10 to 7. The bonus is that we had a little bit more space on the boat and less wait for the shower at the end of the day.
We met the Gaelic Rose at Lochaline marina (///remote.conforms.king, just for Rick!)
After settling into our accommodation on the Gaelic Rose on Thursday night we sat upstairs chatting to Lee who introduced our menu for the week.
Main meals
- Salmon on a pasta ragu
- Venison cobbler
- Lamb roast dinner
- Gammon
Lunch
- Several versions of a fry up
- Wraps and soup
It already felt like a good week was on the cards.
With any dive week the site choices depend on the weather, tide and current we put a basic plan in place and then prepared kit for the next day. The list below are the dive sites we visited.
1. Auliston Point – Sound of Mull
2. Bo Fascadale – Ardnamurchan
3.Pinnacle near Bo Ruag – Loch Nevis
4. Port Longaig – Loch Nevis
5. Elizabeth Rock – Small Isles
6. Calve Island – Sound of Mull, Tobermory
7. Hispania – Sound of Mull
8. Pennygown – Sound of Mull
9. Rondo – Sound of Mull
Friday was an early start heading out of Lochaline for a wall on which to do the check dive. A relatively easy dive and a good way to remind ourselves of dive procedures and skills that may have gone a bit rusty over the winter and covid months. It was a great way to start week. Dropping over the side of the Gaelic Rose into the water it became clear that the visibility was going to be about 5 meters. We descended to about 30 meters and then slowly zigzagged our way up the wall completing a safety stop at 5m. A very relaxed start to the week.
After the second dive we headed up to Mallaig for our first overnight stop. Some caught up on sleep, some read and Ian prepared his talk on small boats for his TIE exam. Once alongside we headed to the Steam Inn, for a quick predinner beer, and Phil had his wish come true when we found Mallaig’s artisan bakery!
The second day (Saturday) we went further North intending on stopping overnight at Inverie so completed a dive on the way. Inverie can only be accessed by boat as there is no road in. When alongside Bob gave us a few hours off so we walked the coast to the local campsite and then returned via the wooded area for a quick lemonade in the newly reopened and community owned pub, The Old Forge. Sadly, we couldn’t stay for the Ceilidh as the sea was causing the boat to knock against the harbour wall, this meant a return to Mallaig and a meal of venison cobbler.
With Sunday lunch on offer this evening and a visit to the Mishnish in Tobermory we made the most of our dives in Loch Nevis. They are always a treat to see and particularly as they have been a rare sight around this area in the past. It seems the reduction in seabed dredging for scallops has meant less sediment so conditions more suited for jewel anemones to establish themselves. Calve Island completed the days diving. This is a great wall dive and never fails to please.
Tobermory was, as ever, fun with Ian trying to procure a free basket of cheese from a local cheese manufacturer in the Mishnish and the next day held great promise with the Hispania wreck on the dive list.
The Hispania is a great wreck but needs perfect timing to gain the most out of the dive. We arrived in plenty of time and kitted up ready to dive. Bob brought us to the buoy, we descended the line just as the tide was slackening off and ended up having a 45 minute dive on the wreck. It was covered in life and visibility was an excellent 5/6meters. To complete the day we had a drift dive over Pennygown Bay which was topped off by finding a small ray just when we were about to ascend.
To finish our trip, we decided to do the ever faithful Rondo. The usual dive of descending to 35 meters and slowly working our way up the wreck completing a safety stop on the stern. A great dive to finish on before driving back home via the stunning mountain passes through Glencoe.
Certainly, a really good way to get properly back into the water after the winter lull.
