We’re off for a club trip to The Garvellachs again soon. The following is a summary of some of the diving we’ve done there so far. Fingers crossed for good weather as there are some really nice dives to be had there!

What and where are the Garvellachs?

The Garvellachs are a group of islands in the Inner Hebrides around 15 miles south west of Oban.

google map link – click here

What’s the diving like there?

So far we have discovered three really good dive sites, all down the west coast of the islands, two walls and a reef (or possibly a proper wall if we were to head in the other direction), though I’m convinced there are plenty other sites we’ve yet to discover. See the google map link on the previous page for rough location details. More about the dive sites later. As far as depths go, the Garvellachs lie in deep waters (217 metres within half a mile of the shore at one point!) and much closer to shore they drop off to depths outwith the recommended air breathing range fairly quickly. I’m not intending to scare-monger here as we’ve yet to experience any serious currents providing you keep an eye on your position as large volumes of water are shifting through the channels between the isles even reasonably close to slack water. Suffice to say, keep an eye on the conditions, watch your depth, be aware of your dive starting to build into a drift when it started with no current and diving equipped with a DSMB is a must. There is some really nice diving to be had but keep in mind there could be unexpected down-currents, make sure you can deploy a DSMB mid-water and otherwise there’s nothing to be concerned about.

How do you get there?

Head for Oban and take it from there, depending on where your accommodation is. Ideally you want to be based as close as possible to the isles themselves, but it’s 30 mins drive from Oban to a convenient launch site which is tide dependent. A good place to launch from is the slip at Cuan where the Luing Ferry leaves from. The blokes on the ferry shouldn’t have a problem with you launching there providing you don’t impede access, but run it past them just out of courtesy all the same. The end of the slip is uncovered at low tide so watch your tide times for getting the boat in. There is a slate covered beach at Ellenabeich that you could also launch from, but this would require a 4×4.

Where do I get air-fills?

Short of taking a compressor and standing about filling for a couple of hours, the next best option is to head to Puffin and fill up there. It costs a wee bit more but it’s worth the time it frees up especially if there are a good number of divers.

Does it take long to get there?

Transit time when launching from the Luing Ferry slip are in the order of 25-30 mins to the dive sites when the sea state is good. It’s feasible to return to the slip between dives, but better to take two cylinders each and have lunch out on one of the Garvellachs. There is a slip mid-way down the east side of Garbh Eileach that is ideal for stopping over for lunch at, or a couple of other beaches you could put ashore at providing the sea isn’t too rough.

Dive Sites

Garbh Eileach Westerly Wall

Read the rest…

Hello and welcome to the Montrose Sub Aqua Club’s Blog! Here you can find out about the day to day goings-on of the diving club, trips we’ve been on, news about the club and other general guff. I’m even hoping (naively probably) that some of the other club members will contribute to this and let the rest of the world know what we’re up to!

Check back regularly and see what’s been happening!

Mark