UKDIVING
A velvet swimming crab feeds on a sea toad down underwater as giant steps extending into the blue . In turn , these are cut with canyons three divers deep , with bright white sand on the bottom . There are tonnes of fish in the water column , and on one pinnacle there were so many catsharks , it was strange to see them so active in the day , swimming through the kelp above and below you .”
“ There is so much territory up here to explore ,” Cathy continues , when trying to summarise the diving highlights . “ You drop in and don ’ t know what to expect . I ’ ve sunk through the kelp and found myself in a huge cavern nobody knew was there . Most divers comment how fishy it is , there are shoals of big saithe and pollock , and enormous schools of sand eels and mackerel . We see John Dory and anglerfish and occasionally adult skates , 6-8 feet
across . In early summer there are lots of seabirds and guillemots and razorbills often mob us on safety stops , probably confusing our silvery bubbles with bait fish . Octopus are common , but 2019 was amazing , we averaged 20-30 per week , with folks seeing 10-12 on a dive .”
But it is the visibility that makes KLB so special and allows you to appreciate the landscape on a scale rarely possible in the UK . Chris , who isn ’ t given to hyperbole , says frankly “ we can almost guarantee at least 15m year-round , but it can easily be 20-30 + m for long periods , as it was from August to October 2020 . Because the seabed is mostly huge rock slabs that drop to the depths , the viz doesn ’ t get stirred up by storms , even the day after it ’ s blown a hoolie it will only drop to 10-15 m and we don ’ t usually get big plankton blooms .
A sponge spider crab on sea vases
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