This years poor weather continued to affect our diving, forcing us to cut short the Ullapool trip and cancel altogether the Bass Rock/Isle of May trip we had planned during July and August. Luckily we had a couple of really nice dives nearer to home up at Crawton, where we enjoyed some unusually good viz for this year and had a reminder of what a really good dive site it is when you can see past arm’s length!

It had been about a year since the club last mounted an expedition over to Lochaline to dive the wrecks in the Sound of Mull, so it was overdue and as we headed over on the Friday night, fingers, legs and various other parts of anatomy were firmly crossed that we would get some decent weather and viz this time as we were due a break! As we headed over we seemed to be leaving behind a nice evening and driving into the drizzle and when the majority of us gathered at Ardgour for something to eat, it was raining outside and a good breeze was blowing. It really wasn’t looking too great for diving the next day. We completed the drive to Lochaline unavoidably splatting a good few frogs on the way as a (insert collective noun for frogs) of them seemed to have descended onto the A844 road – a biblical plague forewarning of crappy/no diving the next day?

When we arrived everyone ditched their gear at the Lochaline Dive Centre and trotted down to the pub for some much needed refreshing drinks and to discuss a plan of attack for the next day.

We were all up early on Saturday morning, the boats were in the water, kit and divers aboard and ready to go at the agreed time of 8.30. Maybe the clubs days of habitual faffing are behind us? Aye right. As we headed out of Lochaline and into the more exposed water of the Sound the waves started to build a bit and we had a good bouncing about and a refreshing shower of drizzle and spray to wake us all up before we arrived above the Hispania for the first dive of the day.

The Hispania needs no introduction to a large number of the UK’s divers as it’s widely regarded as one of the best wreck dives available in these waters. It’s also a particular favourite of quite a few of the club members and we were looking forward to another chance to have a good rummage around it. As we headed down the shot line it was quickly obvious that current wasn’t going to be a problem on this dive as there was none to speak of and the viz was really pretty good too.

The first wave of divers definitely got the long end of the stick as half way through their dive the wreck started to turn into diver soup as one of the hard boats out of Oban dropped in the twin-set brigade. Some of them were in after us and out before us and you have to ask, what’s the point? Regardless, everybody had an enjoyable dive and with all souls back on board we headed off up the Sound again to our lunch stop on Calve Island.

The day was starting to improve a bit as we stuffed our faces with sandwiches, crisps, chocolate and even strawberries on the North-East Shore of Calve Island. After a bit of surface interval we all piled back on to the boats and got kitted up for the next dive, which was just round the corner from our lunch site. This was the first time several of us had dived the wall on Calve Island and we were certainly not disappointed. There were some of the biggest shoals of fish I’ve seen in ages hanging in the water feeding, the visibility was excellent and there was no current to speak of. This is one of the most impressive vertical walls that I’ve dived and it left me wondering why we don’t do it a bit more often!

Once everyone had completed their dive we pottered round the corner and into Tobermory for some refreshments. The sun was shining by this time and we nipped into one of the locals for an hour or so. Once everyone’s thirst had been quenched we all headed back to Lochaline to haul the boats out and scrub up before heading out for a meal.

We started a little later on Sunday morning and our first dive was just round the corner from the slip on the wall at Lochaline pier. This is another impressive wall though it seems to get dark an awful lot quicker as you descend and there isn’t an abundance of life on it. That said there are the usual suspects hiding in crevices and if you’re looking for some free fishing tackle it’s a good place to start! We timed it well again and there was little current to speak of making for a nice gentle dive completing our safety stop over the sandy beach just to the side of the pier.

We finished off the weekend’s diving by heading out to the wreck of the Thesis. This is another enjoyable wreck dive where you often find large shoals of fish hanging around the exposed ribs of the hull up toward the bow. The ribs themselves are covered in orange and white dead men’s fingers giving them the appearance of bizarre cacti. The Thesis is open enough that you can dip in and out of the holds and the space below deck without any danger of getting stuck and it’s just about the right size to explore fully during the time your computer will allow you without going into deco.

While the second wave of divers were exploring the wreck I was lucky enough to watch an otter for almost ten minutes, repeatedly diving under the surface and popping up again to feed on its catch. Below the surface some of the group were in full hunter gatherer mode and surfaced with an extra weight belt, a reel complete with line and even a chunk of a Poseidon reg!

As we headed back into Lochaline a pod of porpoises put on a display for us and put the finishing touches to a really enjoyable weekend that helped restore our faith in diving in Scotland after such a hit or miss diving season. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to dive the Rhondo and check up on Winnie the Pooh. But that just means that we’ll have to plan another trip back again some time soon and I don’t think you’d find anyone on the trip who’d turn down the chance!

Any excuse for a Pooh joke. Fingers crossed that the upcoming club trip to Ardnamurchan is as much of a success as this one!