Glas Island is without a doubt one of my favourite dive sites in Loch Fyne. We headed back there in March for another weekend of diving aboard the Fyne Pioneer. Otter Spit (a sand bar, not the drool of a small, furry aquatic mammal) effectively narrows the loch in the locality of Glas Island and accelerates the tidal flow past it. This makes for a proliferation of filter feeding life and a bottom that is swept free of the silt that can be found elsewhere in the loch.
Continue reading “Glas Island, Loch Fyne – March 2014”
North Strome, Loch Carron – September 2013
If you were to make up a list of picturesque locations for a shore dive, North Strome would have to feature near the top. Located in the Strome Narrows at the mouth of Loch Carron it is just to the East of Conservation Bay, the subject of a couple of previous Immersed posts.
Continue reading “North Strome, Loch Carron – September 2013”
Loch Fyne, ‘Stallion Rock’ and ‘Gortein Point’ – December 2013
2013 was a pretty amazing year of diving for me. I managed to clock up over 100 dives (despite 2 months off due to a broken collar bone) in a whole range of places in both the UK and abroad. I dived all around the coast of Scotland at dive sites old and new in locations including Loch Fyne, Jura, The Firth of Lorn, Oban, Loch Linnhe, Loch Leven, Skye, Loch Duich, Loch Carron, The Moray Firth, St. Abbs, Eyemouth, and I even made it across the border to The Farne Islands. Further afield I enjoyed another return visit to the warmer waters of the Red Sea (Sharm El Sheikh) and I had my first chance to sample the stunning diving available at the Bunaken National Marine Park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. I also had a handful of great dives whilst visiting Bali.
The year finished as it had started, in the significantly colder waters of Loch Fyne where the diving can be just as stunning on a good day at the right dive site. It’s a great place for winter UK diving as the weather is rarely severe enough that you can’t get in for a dip somewhere along its length. Both shore and boat diving are available and this time we were back on board the Fyne Pioneer with skipper Simon Exley.
Continue reading “Loch Fyne, ‘Stallion Rock’ and ‘Gortein Point’ – December 2013”
Tulamben ‘Drop Off’, Bali – July 2013
This was actually the first dive we did in Bali at Tulamben, our second being at the Coral Garden which was the subject of an earlier post. The dive starts with a swim across an area of sandy bottom where our guide pointed out several different kinds of brightly coloured Nudibranchs (Sea Slugs) dotted around. We soon reached the start of the wall that drops away to 40 metres and gives the dive site its name. Continue reading “Tulamben ‘Drop Off’, Bali – July 2013”