Rachel Meadows delights in a‘ rufty-tufty’ visit to the wonderfully colourful Hispania
Mull’ s magical wreck
Rachel Meadows delights in a‘ rufty-tufty’ visit to the wonderfully colourful Hispania
Droylsden SAC represent
Briefing: The Hispania is a popular wreck in the Sound of Mull, Scotland. Still intact and fed by strong currents, it attracts an abundance of marine life. It lies at around 24-32m. There are many different dives that can be done on the site, making it adaptable for most divers.
The Dive: My club dived the Hispania as part of our week-long trip to Lochaline. This was my first trip away with Droylsden SAC, and had been a test of my abilities, but a fantastic introduction to UK diving. We’ d dived several wrecks, but the Hispania was the one that the club collectively was looking forward to. DSAC veterans had told me of the Hispania’ s history, how she had struck a rock while seeking shelter in December 1954, and how, despite the crew being saved, Captain Dahn had gone down with his ship. It was a sobering thought, and brought solemnity to the dive. No longer were we just looking for marine life, but we were remembering Captain Dahn too.
Despite the cantankerous sky and the steady drizzle of rain, we set off, clinging to the sides of our RIB for the hour-long trip to the Hispania. Rain gave way to hail, and icy waves reared their heads to slap our faces.
This, I’ ve heard, is all part of being a‘ ruftytufty UK diver’, along with the slightly-leaky borrowed suits that mark a club beginner!
The grumbling clouds darkened the water: descending down the shotline( the Hispania is marked with a buoy) felt like being swallowed by the abyss. Below, picked out by the light of our torches, the wreck took on an eerily magical quality, glowing yellow, emerald and white, such was the density of the sponges living on it.
Steering gear at the Hispania’ s stern
The shotline ended at the stern: we( and by‘ we’, I mean my instructor, Dave) was excited to see some of the steering gear. I was just pleased to recognise I was at the‘ fat’ end! As we finned along the deck, shoals of silver darting into the twilight all around, sponges and dead men’ s fingers carpeting the structure made the dive feel quite surreal. Although there are accessible swim-throughs, Dave and I remained above and explored the structure, hunting out crustaceans and nudibranchs in the nooks and crannies.
Our dive ended back at the shotline. I looked back at the wreck, vibrant with life, and reflected again on Captain Dahn. I’ m looking forward to returning as a more seasoned diver to explore more of this beautiful wreck.
Debrief: Experienced or rookie, the Hispania caters for most divers. It’ s a spectacular dive with clear waters, shelter and a wide variety of marine life to explore. �
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