UKDIVING
Sea loch anemone at Bo Ruag
The Dives
Bo Ruag 57 ° 1 ’ 11.13 ” N , 5 ° 44 ’ 25.55 ” W George and Keith opened the diving on Bo Ruag , a pinnacle that breaks the surface just inside Loch Nevis on the south shore . We followed it down to 35 metres , it continues to the floor of Loch Nevis 120 metres below . The rocks are covered in brittle stars and squat lobsters .
Unfortunately , after the dive a surface incident occurred in the boat , resulting in a facial injury . First aid was given on the boat and the casualty taken to Belford Hospital in Fort William . It was with much sadness that our friend Alison had to leave the trip to attend the dentist for an assessment .
Smyth Rock 57 ° 01.55 ” N , 5 ° 44.2 ’ W Smyth Rock is a pinnacle on the north shore of Loch Nevis , almost directly opposite Bo Ruag . It lies 10 metres below the surface , so a few runs over it with the sonar was required . With little current , great viz and our target a decent size , we descended ‘ freestyle ’ onto it , without a shotline .
We were able to circumnavigate the pinnacle , corkscrewing our way back up . As we did so we encountered shoal after shoal of small fish .
We explored Smyth Rock and Bo Ruag again during the week . Each night in the B & B we spent hours looking at each other ’ s pictures and identifying the life . George and Janet were expert in identification and knowing the scientific names . George taught us that while we might have a subject species framed in our picture , there was usually several other species in the frame as ‘ by-catch ’ that were just as interesting .
We also examined the charts each night , looking for interesting sites that weren ’ t in guides . We ’ d then head to them the following day , and after looking at the surface features and our sonar scan , we would refine our selection of dive sites . We even went as far as putting each buddy pair into slightly different sites in order to sample as much of Loch Nevis as possible .
Reidh a Ghuail 56 ° 56 ’ 39.22 ” N , 5 ° 39 ’ 45.72 ” W This was the furthest into Loch Nevis that we ventured . This site was a series of rocky ledges covered in plumose anemones , urchins and sea squirts galore . On this dive , I found an octopus resting on a ledge and was able to observe it before my open circuit bubbles disturbed it , and off it went .
Sron Raineach 57 ° 1 ’ 6.66 ” N , 5 ° 44 ’ 47.88 ” W This site was a steep slope halfway between Mallaig and Inverie . There were fields of boulders in the deeper portions of the dive with sandy bottoms shallower up the slope .
Birch Tree and Burn 57 ° 0 ’ 3.04 ” N , 5 ° 40 ’ 8.69 ” W Between The Steps and Reidh a Ghuail we had a site with a shallow slope with small pebbles and shells . We saw a few dogfish on this dive , sea pens and squat lobsters .
The Steps 57 ° 0 ’ 2.86 ” N , 5 ° 40 ’ 10.37 ” W A site on the east shore that we called ‘ the steps ’ had a series of ledges and walls . Here , George recorded ginger tiny anemones , Isozoanthus sulcatus , prompting much excitement as the species is cryptic , not easy to find .
Sandaig Bay
Sron Raineach
Bo Ruag
Smyth Rock
Inverie Bay
Loch Nevis
The Steps Birch Tree & Burn
INVERIE
Reidh a Ghuail
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