One of our resident UK advocates , Yo-Han Cha embarks on a weekend odyssey in search of quality diving
UKDIVING YO-HANCHA
He would drive a thousand miles ...
One of our resident UK advocates , Yo-Han Cha embarks on a weekend odyssey in search of quality diving
Apparently , driving from Bristol to Lochaline just for a weekend of diving , is ‘ dedicated ’. The looks I was being given suggested that the members of Clifton SAC were being far too polite to say what was on their minds , that I had taken leave of my senses . No-one was suggesting that the Sound of Mull wasn ’ t worth diving , it was just that it was a long way to go for four dives . I was jumping on a private trip organised by my friend Deborah McNeill of South Queensferry SAC , and I was pretty sure I hadn ’ t lost my sense of priority .
It was a weekend on the Gaelic Rose , a liveaboard operating out of Lochaline in the Sound of Mull . I ’ d filled a space on the same trip last year and turned up having only known Deborah , but the group , mainly from South Queensferry SAC but also from a smattering of other clubs around Scotland , proved to be a friendly and welcoming bunch . So , the sell for my first dive trip of the year was a great diving location , great company and a great skipper and crew . Sold ! I just had a lot of driving to do .
I love diving in not just the Sound of Mull but also the surrounding sea lochs , one of which came in handy as the fierce north westerly decided blow down the Sound on the Saturday . The weather was a bit mad that day . We ’ d tucked into Loch Linnhe , where there was glorious sunshine and shelter from the weather , but we could see a grey curtain of wind and rain ahead of us blowing through the Sound . So , despite Mother Nature ’ s best attempts to spoil our fun , we managed a successful day ’ s diving looking for nudibranchs and squat lobsters .
The wind died down on the Sunday , which meant that the wrecks in the Sound were available for us to dive . My first choice ( and that of many others ) is always the Hispania , but on learning that two other boats were also planning on diving it , we quickly agreed that it would be too crowded and decided to pivot and dive the Rondo instead . I gave my dive buddy , Lucy Rutherford of South Queensferry SAC , a quick guide to underwater modelling over breakfast and another lovely day of diving was had .
The journey back definitely felt longer than on the way up and caffeine saturation was a necessity , but four successful dives were completed . Old friendships were renewed and new ones made . The geography of the West of Scotland meant that despite the weekend starting with horrendous weather , we were still able to tuck in somewhere and find beautiful dive sites . This is in comparison to the English South Coast where , at the time of writing , a mixture of strong south westerlies , hailstorms and thunderstorms have blown out my Plymouth Easter weekend trip with Reading BSAC . So , would I be up for another weekend dive trip to the Sound of Mull ? Absolutely ! �
Lucy Rutherford of South Queensferry SAC
“ A great diving location , great company and a great skipper and crew . Sold ! ”
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