Free
UKDIVING and easy
The snorkel trails of Harris
Vincent Johnston , a snorkelling member of Perth BSAC , discovered there was plenty of room for both diving and snorkelling on a club trip to north-west Scotland
I
joined
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BSAC in February 2019 as a Snorkel Diver . There are three members of my club who also enjoy snorkelling and we meet up to snorkel dive at Fife Ness on the east coast of Fife . One of the aspects of BSAC that I enjoy and appreciate is that it embraces more activities than just scuba .
For me , snorkel diving is a happy medium between scuba and free diving and Scotland is an excellent location for it . I did my Snorkel Diver and Sports Diver qualification with the Perth branch of the Scottish Sub Aqua Club , but have no interest in scuba diving anymore . With snorkelling I can concentrate on photography and filming , which is why I took up scuba diving in the first place . I enjoy the freedom of not carrying the heavy scuba tanks , buoyancy compensator and regulators , although my dive bags still have plenty of gear for snorkelling . I use a drysuit and an Ameo Powerbreather snorkel system , which is modular and has to be built up and dis-assembled for each dive , and meticulously cleaned . I use a dive watch and take a compass , torch and my GoPro camera with me on most dives . I have a weight belt , but don ’ t use it as I can ’ t duck dive in a drysuit as I ’ m too positively buoyant .
My first trip to the Isle of Harris was very much a lastminute affair , and took place pre-Covid . I contacted Steve Lilley , Diving Officer of my club Perth BSAC , a week before a club trip to the island , to see if I could join them . I was welcomed on the adventure and started organising ferry bookings straightaway .
The divers were divided between two houses , both self-catering . I stayed at Tigh Chailein on Mharaig Bay and others were staying at Tigh Na Mara on Carragraich Bay . My house had drying facilities – perfect for diving gear – and both boats were kept there : the orange club RIB Deep Dancer and fellow Perth member Mark Edward ’ s boat Proper Job .
Arriving in the late afternoon , a day after the other divers , I tried taking my quadcopter drone up to get some aerial photos and videos of the bay while the evening sun set . I discovered that Harris was not the easiest place to fly , with constant strong winds and power lines everywhere .