UKDIVING
Stephen and Mae Dorricott outside Sula Sgeir
Sea slug Facelina auriculata
North Rona
Next , we returned to our safe anchorage at North Rona , and we even managed a night dive around the boat . Here , in such a remote spot , we were intrigued as to what species would be attracted to our diving lights – the closest I ’ ve come to black water diving in the UK . I certainly wasn ’ t disappointed ; as well as the expected jellyfish life and the odd crustacean I saw a free-swimming nudibranch , amphipods hitching a ride on larval-stage starfish , and much to my excitement , those A-list slugs called sea angels . What a thrill !
During our couple of days at North Rona we were able to explore the island briefly ; trying not to disturb the seabirds and in particular the great skuas , who were fearsome in warning us away from their nests .
North Rona and Sula Sgeir are two of the most isolated of Scotland ’ s many islands . Located over 40 nautical miles north-west of Cape Wrath and a similar distance north of The Butt of Lewis , they form a Site of Special Scientific Interest and represent an important breeding site for seabirds and grey seals . The history of North Rona is harsh and sometimes tragic . The first inhabitant was reportedly St Ronan in the 7th or 8th century , but for hundreds of years there was a continuous population of around 30 people , until rats from a visiting ship ate all the island ’ s food supplies and sailors killed the islanders ’ only bull , leaving them to inevitable starvation , which was only discovered by accident by
a shipwrecked group from St Kilda . Further resettlement occurred in the 1800s but the island has been uninhabited since 1844 , although you can see traces of its history in ruined settlements and even the remains of the chapel of St Ronan .
Diving-wise North Rona doesn ’ t disappoint , of course . The island is roughly triangular with many enticing features carved in the gneiss rock . I ’ m sure we only scratched the surface of available dive sites but we found life everywhere . Our final dive here was off Gealldruig Mhor , a separate rock to the South of North Rona , which featured intensely populated kelp habitats sheltering such animals as rarely seen Montagu ’ s sea snails and innumerable gorgeously coloured nudibranchs .
47