UKDIVING
Amphipod riding a larval stage starfish at night
Sula Sgeir
After a further long steam , we moored overnight in the sheltered harbour at North Rona , but our next diving destination was 11 miles further west . The name Sula Sgeir comes from the Norse loosely meaning ‘ gannet skerry ’, or ‘ rocky island of gannets ’, which is pretty accurate . Majestic gannets are amongst my favourite seabirds and many of them were at home here , as was apparent from the noise and the smell of the guano-covered rocks . In fact , Sula Sgeir is famed for its gannet harvesting ; for hundreds of years , men from the Ness district of Lewis , 41 miles to the south , have travelled to harvest young gannets , or guga , from Sula Sgeir . This tradition was recorded as early as 1549 and continues as an annual tradition under licence to this day .
The first underwater attraction we sought here was the underwater arch at Thamna Sgeir . The entrance can be a little tricky to find ( I will admit to having missed it twice ), at around 16m on a wall that descends to 30m or so . For those lucky souls who locate the arch , it ’ s possible to swim through the clear water up to the other side and perhaps admire the diving birds , which include guillemots , razorbills , shags and puffins , as well as the famed gannets . Even if you neglect the arch , the wall here is fabulous , colourful and every inch smothered in sponges , anemones and dead men ’ s fingers . Other interesting dives include the series of caves in the southern part of the island , with resident grey seals and high-energy-loving wildlife stuck to big boulders , or the sculptured sheer walls of Gralisgeir to the south , whose edges would be piercingly sharp were they not covered in life like all the sites here . My dive at Gralisgeir was notable for a massive swarm of comb jellies passing me in the water column as I admired edible crabs and jewel anemones .
46