UKDIVING
from Clidive , who provided some extra information on dive sites and at what states of the tide they were diveable .
On the day before leaving for Mallaig with the boats , one of our group had to drop out due to family reasons . We had a quick conference and the remaining five decided
Diver bubbles on the sonar
to continue with the trip , and to still take two boats .
We left the Lothians on Saturday morning , towing our two RIBs to Mallaig . We launched and readied the boats with our gear in the pouring rain . However , disaster struck as we were unable to start Go Forth .
Three of the team went in the last ferry to Inverie at 6:00pm . This left Sands and I to wait for a mechanic to arrive . Alas it was not to be , and we ended up leaving Go Forth moored to the ponton at Mallaig while we transferred gear to Safina and headed over to Inverie , arriving at half past seven , somewhat later than planned .
Home sweet home
We were accommodated very comfortably at The Gathering and Lookout bed and breakfast , hosted by Cara Gray . This included a restaurant where we ate each night . We had magnificent views back out over Loch Nevis . With cooked breakfasts and dinners , it took the sting out of the long days diving , prepping the boats and doing air fills .
Our mooring was out in the bay which meant that we had to swim back and forth from the mooring each night and morning . We each took turns to make the swim . We made a number of trips in and out of Mallaig Harbour over the week . One interesting feature is that it is the only harbour in Scotland with a traffic light system . If the light is red , you cannot enter or leave the harbour – it means the Caledonian Macbrayne ferry is on the move !
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Smallspotted cat shark at Smyth Rock