What's New?

Keep a check on this page for all the latest updates within the club. It doesn't have to be diving related, just what's fresh with the club and it's members. If you've got any club news you want put on the page email it to Dan

Need somewhere to stay if you're coming to Ullapool?

I am often asked by visiting divers where would be a good place to stay when they come up to the village diving...well here is the definitive answer for you....

Contact Malcolm MacLeod on 07785 335994

A postcard to Brenda....

Dear Mum,

I know it's along time since I last wrote you a letter home, but it was a very long winter in Wester Ross. Do you  remember those divers I met a couple of years ago that I used to tell you about? - you know, there was the girl who giggled every time the boat went over a wave, the one who went away to have a wee boy, the tall guy with the goatee who was so keen to get in the water we had to hold him back and insist he did the DIY before his mother in law came to visit, the one who spent more time trying to fix his car than driving it and then there was the one who jumped in with his pee zip open....remember them? well I met them again the other day and believe it or not they are still diving.

They are really nice guys, I have been doing some more diving this summer with them. We had the usual summer BBQ on Isle Martin, we haven't been away all that far, a mixture of boat problems, work commitments, music festivals all got in the way...but we are going away the weekend after next to explore some new places. I am really excited mum because I've never been to Handa before and I reckon that these diver friends I've made and me will have a great time, the viz is good at the moment and hopefully the weather will be good.

I know it's a long time since I wrote to you Mum and you don't hear much of me apart from reading this website, so I promise you I'll keep writing some more stuff so you know how I am getting on up here with my diver friends.

Love Andy

x

 New Regional Coach and sports divers

Since last year there have been a few changes in ScotSAC. Kev Watson has taken hold of the helm/wand/shitty stick (take your pick!) as our Regional Coach. We have photographic evidence that he has visited the branch once already and I know he's hoping to be back soon, so if anyone has any training they want to do then now's the time...take advantage of him - he loves it!

"What the hell have I let myself in for?"

Since the last update, Phil has qualified as a Sports Diver (see Isle Martin 2006 for more about Phil) and Hamish has very nearly completed all his training. It wont be long at all until Hamish is all finished and signed up I am sure. Well done and congratulations to both of you.

"Now I am a proper dive one day my 15 litre cylinder will last me more than 15 minutes"

Isle Martin 2006 - The Alternative Solstice Dive

The countdown for Christmas seems to get earlier and earlier every year by the end of October now we are being told there are only so many shopping days left before the big day…well if you walk around Ullapool in the beginning of June you’ll hear people whispering and nodding to each other …“I cannot believe it’s only 3 weeks to go”….”The last one was only just yesterday” …”is it really that time of year already?”

No, people in Ullapool don’t celebrate Christmas over the solstice weekend, the talk is all about the Ullapool Sub Aqua Club annual summer BBQ on Isle Martin. But like Christmas, it doesn’t just creep up on you, it belts towards you over the horizon like a DSMB heading for the surface and before you know it you’re hunting out the tent, the skin-so-soft and taking orders for carry outs to be bought up from Inverness. 

For some reason in recent years we have really lucky with the weather, it’s not often you could plan a BBQ in the north of Scotland and get glorious weather three years on the trot for it…the sort of weather that makes getting into a drysuit a really unpleasant experience, it’s hot, you’re sweaty but the minute you roll back into the crystal clear waters of Loch Broom it all becomes clear why you’re doing it all…crystal clear water and viz that can only be dreamed of in other parts of the UK. 

Like previous years we were joined for the weekend by friends of the branch from Aberdeen and Glasgow, sadly this year the London arm of the branch, the Gucci girls, weren’t able to make it. However, this year we had a new regional coach in Kev Watson, was this really going to be the best time for him to meet the branch?…trapped on an island with enough drink to float a navy….answer that one yourself! 

On Saturday morning while things like the BBQ, wood, stereos, food and people started getting ferried across from Ardmair, a quick 5 minute crossing from the island a group headed out to dive to collect part of the food of the food for that night. Now, if the number of scallops in your bag after a dive is a measure of a man then either some folk had been out to plant a huge goody bag full of scallops the night before or they would’ve be better of suited to clubbing mammoths over the head during the last ice age….while others of us just wont even talk about it! But after a quick dive in the morning and several goody bags full of scallops we headed back to island to sit in the sunshine, have a drink and help continuing preparing the food. Isle Martin has got a couple of croft houses and a bunkhouse that can be rented out from the Isle Martin Trust. The facilities are minimal…somewhere to sleep, somewhere to boil a kettle and a toilet….but what more could you need? 

Anybody who has been to one of the USAC BBQ’s before will tell you that these aren’t just your normal run of the mill bangers, burgers and beer BBQ’s. These are scallop kebab, prawn, roast lamb and vodka tomato BBQ’s…yes Vodka tomatoes…don’t ask! But after a quick burst of…”no thanks, I don’t like tomatoes”…”go on, try them, they’ve got vodka in them!”…”really?”…”aye, they’re really good, don’t taste of tomato at all!”….”phoar, they’re good, give me another!”  You get the picture! And with Darrell sorting us with prawns it was set to be a good night.

For some people it was their first BBQ with the club, new trainees had joined, some had qualified and last years trainees watched on with glee knowing what lay ahead for those for those had just been signed off. (Congratulations by the way Phil on achieving your sports Diver award from everyone in the branch) Of course it’s nothing to do with SSAC and alcohol should always be used in consideration…but normally divers like to keep liquid out of their snorkel when their using it….not however when lying on your back with one end in (what you think is) a single pint of Boddingtons….it wasn’t long before last years trainees gave a nodding wink of “that was me last year mate, glad it was you this time!” 

But it’s not all about food and drink, it’s about food, drink and good craic. It would be easy to list different highlights of the evening, there were so many of them, whether it was Taffy falling overboard using his video camera, Big Steve chopping wood in THOSE shorts or the wig that got passed around but then stuck on Andy’s head….as the party went on the stories of underwater escapades became more and more elaborate, more daring and more death defying. But if there is one thing about divers, especially drunk ones, some of them can snore for Scotland and while some stragglers headed off for a few hours sleep after the sun rose again others didn’t get any sleep as the walls vibrated in time to what only could be described as a angry walrus! …I’ll never share a room with my RC again! 

On Sunday morning while Jim cooked a traditional healthy Glasgow breakfast of Lorne Sausage, fried eggs, black pudding and bacon swimming in oil the BBQ was fired up again and bacon rolls were passed around the rest of us. Some people were still sitting in the same chair they were last seen in the night before and others looked like they’d been sitting in the same chair all night. 

All too soon we were clearing up and getting ready to go back over to the mainland. And like all good things, it was over, back to the real world again, back to work as if nothing has happened. But don’t worry, it’s only 300 days to go until the next one.

Taken from Scottish Diver September/October 2006

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water...

Think again!

When we learn to dive we are taught a variety of signals to make diving easier, safer and more enjoyable. There is one signal however that's not exactly textbook, but takes no working out. There is no confusion between different training agencies, it cannot be mistaken for anything else....put your right hand on your forehead, palm facing left and  with your fingers pointing skyward...SHARK!!!!

Now it's not often that you get to use that signal underwater in Scotland, there are common sightings of Basking Sharks, that may warrant it's use and it's been known to be used to show a trainee a dogfish....but what do you do when your out by Priest Island on a sunny summers day in the rib and all of sudden a fin breaks the surface? Shout shark and stick your hand on your head (thank god it's fairly remote and nobody will see 5 of you standing there looking like your playing cowboys and Indians!) Or do you start trying to examine the fin...A fin that you recognise as not being a basking shark and rather than swimming away it swims directly towards you, it checks out the boat and slowly glides by, not unleashing the terror that Spielberg depicted in 1975 but just slowly checking you out and swimming away.....would you go in for a dive after that?

This potential sighting of a great white was part of a recent BBC documentary about sightings of Great white sharks around the UK shores asking the question could our waters provide the right environment for great whites to live in? and if it does, where have Great Whites been seen already around our shores?

There are copies of the programme kicking about if anybody wants to find out about the fish life at Priest and in the meantime I'll see if we can get permission to put the short segment of the programme on the site.

Seeing is believing

Just like seeing a Great white shark in UK waters can only really believed unless you actually see the beast yourself, catch it, or capture some kind of photographic or video proof of that event that casts all question of doubt away completely, nobody will believe you about it.

Well.....that is exactly what we have done. We have got credible witnesses, we have got photographic evidence and unlike Tommy Sheridan, our alleged perpetrators had no alibi (they certainly weren't in a swingers club...unless the Seaforth...no let's not go there, although I did hear there are some private back rooms), they had no reason to be elsewhere at the time of the alleged event....Stewart didn't even have a cold!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury let me present you  with the evidence. The first picture shows defendant 1 very much involved with her diving gear, it looks to be wet and she looks to be smiling...

Meanwhile, let me show you the second picture which will prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the alleged event took place...

This is Stewart. Obviously, he is getting changed, but let me focus your eyes on certain parts of the picture that will prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.

Firstly, there are clothes hanging on the boot of the car. Why would you hang clothes? because they are wet, and Stewart is always complaining about leaks in his suit. Secondly, look at his drysuit. He is turning it back the right way out again. You would only do this after you have been wearing it. Thirdly, the purple tub in the boot of the car. We all know this is where Stewart and Briony keep their diving kit. But the final bit of evidence is the most discreet....if you look closely in  the boot of the car you'll see a cylinder. YES, A CYLINDER!!!!!!!!!! When you look at all this, all the evidence, it can only mean one thing....there is finally no doubting it at all....

STEWART AND BRIONY HAVE BEEN DIVING!!!

A full write up of the day will be on here soon. It was a fantastic day, we had warm clear water out at Priest with very little swell and a good laugh too. Watch this space and there will be more about it soon - Dan

And everything else below here is last years stuff so remind yourself what fun we had last year!!

It's that time of year again....

Like the changing of the seasons, and the ticking of a clock, the end of October can only mean one thing........TRY DIVES!

Anybody who is interested in having a try dive then come along to the pool on Thursday 27th at about 1930. There you will be able to have a go using a set of SCUBA gear in the pool with one of the club instructors. Club members will be around and able to answer any questions you have about diving and joining the club.

The updated new members pack is available to download from the training page of the club website along with all the necessary forms to fill in to join the club and Scot SAC.

if you have dived before and want to join the club that is no problem, we offer a simple cross-over training schedule from all the other diving organisations....or if you have only just put the armbands on the side of the pool then why not carry on and learn to dive!

Tide turns against the Fairweather V

The Scottish Executive and Crown Estate Commission have given the go ahead for a fish farm in Loch Broom near the wreck of the Fairweather V. The decision appears to have ignored views of the local community and Highland Council who have both condemned the move. Members of the branch have campaigned long and hard to try save the wreck.

Highland Green MSP, Eleanor Scott said "Highland Council itself were quite clear they had a quite different vision for how this bit of water and coastline should be used…that they didn't want this development to go ahead"

Fairweather V is one of the best known and most dived wrecks on the north west mainland coast. The clear waters and relatively sheltered location in Annat Bay make the wreck a magnet for all kinds of marine life. Effluent from the fish farm could have a potentially disastrous environmental impact on the wreck and surrounding area.

A draft consultation of the Atlantic Coast (Wester Ross) Project emphasises the significance of the Fairweather V and scenic diving in Annat Bay and the negative impact that any aquaculture would have on the diving there.

The full paper is available on The highland Council Website  Click here to read draft paper

Attack of the Carlsberg Midges in the Sound of Mull

When we were on Isle Martin the midges were pretty bad. Up at the unit when we're filling cylinders they can be inconvenient. But despite headnets and plenty of skin-so-soft the Midges at the Fiunary campsite on the shores of the Sound of Mull can only be described as Carlsberg Midges - they bite parts other midges cannot reach. Certainly after a good weekend diving I have discovered bites in places that have never been bitten before. Despite this a small group of us had a great weekend camping and diving at Lochaline.

Arriving on Friday evening with the boat, trailer and cars still intact despite a couple of near misses and burnt fingers we slickly put the boat in the water and got it ready for the morning....in a vain attempt to cut down on all the time wasted hanging about waiting for everybody to get themselves sorted out.

Back on the campsite, Kevin, Andy H, Dan and the great silverback of the club - Darrell started pitching tents and cracking open cans as the evening sun dipped below the calm waters and green hills of Mull. Briony, Andy V and Stewart were delayed on the way down. This was only because Stewart wanted to eat and then had to pack, then eat again, then thought about packing something....by the time they arrived in Fort William it was feeding time again!!

After disturbing other people on the site with the van we all sat down for a couple of beers and few good laughs under a clear starry sky and Kevin got a text! We could clearly make out the lighthouse on Dearg Sgeir, just metres above the rudder of the Rondo.

He may have been known as "slacky" and often seems so laid back he's in danger of falling over, but after a few farts and snorts in the morning he was all set. Faster than you could say "cut some mushrooms" he was up and on the BBQ making bacon and egg rolls for everyone....and they were damn good too!

......if only Slacky could get himself sorted out and on the boat this fast!

The first dive was the Rondo, lying bow down on a steep cliff face below the Dearg Sgeir light we arrived just a few minutes before HW Oban to find a mild bit of surface current. But dropping down the shotline which was attached to the rudder of the ship the current had attracted huge shoals of fish on the downstream side. Further down the wreck the current soon disappeared and we penetrated into the gloom and darkness of the 6 - 7 m visibility - not what we were used to at all, but certainly not as bad as it could have been. Below about 30m the large shoals gave way to larger individual Haddock and Pollack gliding around the wrecked steamship.

Back into Lochaline for lunch, some of us ate pies, some ate rolls, Slacky and Briony had a salad that would look more at home in a west end restaurant rather than a Safeway bag! Meanwhile, Darrell had some quiet time to himself....

....unbeknown to him there was a toilet 50 yards away!

That afternoon we headed down to the Thesis, again we had been spot on in getting the tides right and were able to swim freely all over the wreck. Weaving in and out of the bow ribs, it was the first time that I had swam the entire length of the wreck from within it. Popping out of the stern then up on the remains of the deck we headed forwards for the bow. A mild drift just came up behind us and aided our glide for the shotline. Back on the surface we saw a pair of Sea Eagles on the shore take off and head in our directions towards to luxury of the campsite, a wonderful dive.

The following morning the sea was still flat calm and back at the pier a group who had arrived from England found their bow tube had been slashed and deflated. Genuinely nothing to do with us we took off from the pier as fast as we could....with Stewart practiced from yesterday we weren't held that much! After a dive on the Shuna, which was much darker and siltier than both the Rondo and the Thesis we were back in Lochaline to find out that USAC were no longer prime suspects in the greatest crime to unfold in Lochaline since crime was invented!! They hadn't discovered the cause, but a large orange scuff on the pier gave most of it away!!

All the dives so far had been wrecks and while this was a novelty for us really we decided to try and find a drift for the afternoon. With tide tables, charts, calipers and a quick master diver lecture from Andy H about using charts we decided to head towards the Thesis. But this time we were going to dive with the current from Glas Ealeanan back up into the sound.

Though when we got there it was a bit too scary for Kevin, having got the tides right on the Thesis yesterday what would they be like if we got them wrong????

Well, there was only one way to find out...and that is exactly what Andy V and Dan did. What started off as a fast drift gliding along at 15m turned into a burach. "Look at this anchor" signalled Andy..."the wreck must be near here" thought Dan, who turned around to see the bow of the Thesis bearing down over him.....and the SMB line tangled in every bit off ribbed wreck there was. After both of us tugged at it, the only thing left was to ascend up the bow and free it. Both of us went up the side of the wreck like Batman and Robin used to when they walked up the side of a building!!! the tide pinned us hard against the wreck...and in between laughing and pulling we got it free...we were shot off the bow as fast as we got tangled up in it after that!

It was a great dive and as we motored back towards the pier the weather started turn and the sea pick...we had timed it just right - the diving, the tides and somehow the weather too!

The drive home from Lochaline after a weekend diving is always a long one, and just for once I was thank full that I had the least distance to travel.

Stewarts in a rush...

It's not often that the words "Stewart" and "rush" or "hurry" are found in the same sentence. But maybe a good holiday and Brionys nagging about children have caused him to not stand still for too long. This was exactly the case when USAC put in a team for the second Knockout event in the village. After coming second last year there was lots to live up to again. Sadly despite Stewarts team motivation we only came third, but at least we beat the fire service!

The Keyhole and Bottle Caves

Finally the weather that hampered the mid summer decided to abate. After nearly a month of very little or no diving it was superb to get a sunny Sunday where we could sit on a shore for lunch, and have a pair of great dives too!

With the usual Sunday morning weather text from Darrell the two Andy's, John and Dan headed out to Priest Island. With reports from some visiting divers of great viz and a flat calm sea.....John decided it was time for his initiation dive in the washing machine and the Keyhole.

John and Andy just heading into the Keyhole cave

It was about this time last year when Kevin had the same experience. A very weak NW breeze meant the Washing Machine and Keyhole this time were perfectly sheltered - not like last year when a few brave (some may say stupid) souls put themselves into a fast spin cycle. But the calm waters this year enabled us to get right to the very back of the surge bowl...looking back out towards the light was a spectacular sight that my camera certainly didn't do justice to.

Back out of the washing machine we headed towards to Kelyhole. The bright sun was streaking through the water lighting up the beautiful walls and gullies, all full of life and radiant colours. Finning though the kelp and the fish, we could have easily mistaken the dive for somewhere tropical, not on the North West coast at the end of July...but that is exactly what makes diving here so special.

After a terrific dive here we headed over towards Bottle Island for a dive that Andy used to regularly drop divers in on in years gone by. Fabled as a dive that will make grown men cry and reduce divers with big hairy chests to quivering nervous wrecks who are only thankful to be back on the boat - this was going to a dive done a break neck speed with depths that only Jules Vern could dream of.....or so we thought! Instead this was a 41 minute dive with a max depth of 6m...but what a dive it was.

Weaving in and out of long thin caves and fissures in the side of Bottle island in crystal clear water on a calm day is one thing, to do it on a day with swell and wind would make even the hardiest think twice. Squeezing through narrow surge gaps in the rock with vertical walls on either side of you, smoothed by the constant battering of the North Atlantic it was walking though a maze, turning left then right at junctions in the fissures. We eventually emerged at the southern tip of bottle island where the gullies break back into the open sea.

Again, like so many other weekends we were spoilt by the beauty of the diving we have on our doorstep.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

The first 2 trainees of the 2005 stock have completed their sports diver training. Robbie and John T have both become very competent and confident divers. The only thing that lies ahead for them now is to fill out their logbook completely before it gets signed off!! They've both progressed rapidly and incredibly well through all their training - Well done both of you.

For those trainees who still have some things to complete don't go missing now...remember to keep nagging the instructors to take you diving.

USAC moves house

Despite not getting the compound we are still soon going to be moving the compressor out of Darrells unit and hopefully get rid of that old container which has become about as watertight as a teabag.

While our very own Del Boy and Rodney (aka Malcolm and Lachie - you decided which is which!) managed to get us a container we still had to find a new home for it, which we have managed to do, just next to where we are now.

But like all things in USAC nothing happens with any sense of urgency or importance. But, I think somebody must have put a lightening bolt into Stewart. Sitting at work one day I got a text asking what the deal with moving the container was because it had to be done by Monday. How the f*** do I know? was my first thought. I didn't even know moving it was so urgent.

Now, not being a builder I hadn't come to appreciate that it would take 4 people to dig a post hole, 3 to drop the concrete while 1 holds the post and finally everybody sit and watch the concrete go off before we could do any thing else - like start cleaning the site where it is going to sit, lift the container over a fence, cutting a gate in another bit of fence and giving it good clean out. 

But despite all this the container has now been re-housed and soon we'll be filling it rusty old junk and dilapidated dive kit no doubt

Camping and Diving in the Sound of Mull

One thing for sure you won't hear is "Sorry not me Dan, I'm installing the heating that weekend"

Now,  the more cynical among you will say that is because the heating installation has ground to a halt, and you'll never normally hear that being said anyway…..anyway, this isn't because Stewart is taking George Dubya's place at the Kyoto table and doing his bit for global climate change by not installing any central heating, far from it.  

Believe it or not the heating is back on course and getting installed at you read this…..maybe not exactly as you read this, he's either in the T-store, or sitting in the van, but suffice to say the heating saga will soon be drawing to a close! And maybe, just maybe by September, Briony and Cudubh won't have to snuggle up to each other in front of the fire night after night through the winter.

So we can probably count Stewart and Briony in for a trip down to Lochaline. What I want to know is how many more of you want to come.

Here's the plan!

Friday evening travel down to Lochaline. Last Corran Ferry is at 2100 hrs. I have spoken to the campsite in Lochaline, for a group of us it is £4.50 per person per night. The only time we can get accommodation at the Lochaline dive centre is on Saturday 18th, Sunday 19th and Monday 20th, that's £12 per person per night.  

There are moorings in Lochaline we can use free of charge and there is the Cal Mac slip to launch from. We can eat at the Lochaline Hotel in the evenings, although  we  will have to sort breakfasts and lunches out ourselves. ...Mishnish does good lunches... 

Saturday & Sunday: Dive in the sound of Mull…when we know who is coming we can decide on where exactly we are going to dive…it is all also tide dependant. But there are some excellent scenic dives as well as the wrecks  for any seaweed huggers. 

Sunday late afternoon/evening: drive home

AIR: Lifted directly from the Lochaline dive centre website ….. "Our air station is located adjacent to the accommodation building, and a short distance from our launching and mooring area. We have a large air bank and a twin compressor set-up (35 cfm, and 28 cfm),providing an efficient air filling service to 300Bar (open 8.00am-8.00pm).

We supply nitrox and trimix but we ask that groups notify us first so that we can order in the gas as required. All our air is oxygen compatible and the cost of an air fill is £3.50 (10,12, or 15ltr). Oxygen for nitrox is based on 1.25p per litre of oxygen used plus the cost of an air fill. Helium for trimix is based on 2p per litre. We are happy to keep a tab of air used for each group to be settled at the end of the group's stay.

The air station is also open for non-residents. We provide a free landrover shuttle service on request (telephone us on 01967 421627) between the piers and the air station for any boats who stop in Lochaline on route up or down the Sound of Mull."

Depending on how many of us want to go, will depend on how many boats we take. These are the weekends in September, please let me know  A: if you want to come and  B: which weekend is best for you.

Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th
Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th
Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th - although this is the weekend of Roberts Loopallu festival so probably counts it out immediately.

When I know who wants to come then we can work out the weekend that suits the majority and go that weekend….if it means only 3 of us go fine, but if 10 want to great!  

Don't be afraid, tell your friends, even tell your physio if you want, she can come too. Sadly, I am afraid this isn't for trainees though...so if your nearly there maybe its encouragement to get it all finished??

Let me know which weekend is best for you.... Email Dan or call me

Happy bubble blowing or plumbing....

Dan

Plenty of diving happening now...

The weather has improved now and although the midges are still rampant - you'd think they would have eaten enough of us by now - the club is getting more and more diving done as the summer progresses. This isn't the only summer progression, make sure your sitting down, Stewart has started to install the under floor heating!!

Thursday evening training evenings have proved to be very successful. Both Robbie and John T have completed their training and Ben and Dan are very close to completing it too.

For various reasons Sunday diving has not been as prolific as it was last year. Sunday diving has been going on, things like British Superbikes at Knockhill, gatherings, heating installation and girly weekends in Glasgow have all got in the way.

But Tuesday evenings have seen a new branch of last years breakaway branch heading out. While Kevin has been at sea earning a living and coming home around 8pm I'm sure the last thing he wanted to see on several consecutive Tuesday evening s was RHIB Tickler heading out of the loch full of divers.

After a couple of quick phones from work..."what you doing tonight?.....nothing....i'm bored at work.....fancy a dive?.....see you at the unit in 3 hours"

Having heard from some visiting divers that the vis was good, the two Andys, Dan and Malcolm - who was on day release from babysitting duties,  cut through the fields of jellies and headed off towards the Fairweather.

Descending down the wreck seemed further away this time, soon I realised this was because the shotline was attached to the starboard stern stanchion rather the mast where it usually is. But the vis was good, about 15m and certainly no need for a torch on the deck and around the hull. As the summer draws on more and more fish life is returning to shallower waters and this dive if nothing else proved that. Huge shoals wrasse, a couple large cod and thousands upon thousands of what would technically describe as "little, shiny fish" but tucked in underneath the wreck looking directly up the stern into the evening sunlight 29m above me and seeing the fish, anemones and wreck all silhouetted together was a beautiful sight. Like all those times when you wish you had checked the camera before you went in and didn't i soon found the batteries were dead!

But it was the first time in a while that Malcolm had been back out diving and having told Andy H he was all that keen on heading into the wheelhouse...it wasn't long until the euphoria of the dive led him not only into the wheel house but through the fish factory deck!

Meanwhile the other Andy and Dan went off the stern onto the steep reef that lies at the stern of her to look back at the whole wreck....sadly it wasn't long before computers started beeping then screaming, then just simply wasting battery power....how many times does the bloody have to tell me I'm going to incur stops??

Anyway turning round at 36m the wreck was just still in sight so we headed back up. Seeing the full glory of the Fairweather lying fully upright and intact perched on a sand bank was a memorable sight indeed. But it also made me realise just how close she was to landing on a steep rocky reef when she sank, which would have certainly led to different fate that of today.

Back on the deck Andy V and Dan found Malcolm and Andy H just leaving the wheelhouse. After a fin forwards and quick look down into the forward hatches and power plant in the bow we all headed back to shotline. Andy V and I looked at each pointed at the computers and headed up. Up at 3m there was a solid layer of 88's that we were going to have to go through...not until that fecking computer had cleared! With a couple of waves goodbye and various new signals that could have meant a variety of things - from expletive to concerning Andy V and Dan were left looking at jellies for 10 mins.

Despite a long stop, the dive was superb and worth every single second of the bladder bursting agony that was almost tear inducing and at times led to the big dilemma nearly having to be answered for both us....do I piss inside my drysuit or not?

Back on the surface the extent of the jellies became apparent. All of Annat Bay and most of the loch shores were carpeted by them, breaking the surface adding a ripple effect to the otherwise tranquil waters that night.    

We are still diving....believe it or not!

It might seem if you come to the USAC website to find out what is happening in the branch that you  might think we have all gone on holiday....sadly not...lots has still been happening within the club...in fact so much nobody has had any time to write any of it up for the site! so if anybody else wants to write something for the site feel free and email it to me.....address above!

Training weekends part 2

We've had 2 training weekends, one of which was abandoned partly through not many people taking part, but more so due to Ben having problems with his ears and Kyles suit leaking. this left only Dan W and with pretty pish poor weather it was decided to re-arrange this weekend for later in the summer.

The second training weekend turned out to be really successful. With 5 trainees all taking part for the weekend almost all open water assessments were completed and now several of them are embarking on their open water rescue. For those trainees who are still in the middle of their open water training, don't forget that we are diving every Thursday evening. These evenings are specifically set aside for you to  learn to dive, so don't be shy and come along.

Overall, club training has progressed along well and all of the trainees are very quickly becoming very competent and confident divers.

Other than training divers the club is still heading out on Sundays to explore around the Summer Isles.  It's only now that the weather seems to actually becoming half decent. So far this year the diving has almost weekly been determined by the inclement weather, which has meant only one trip to Priest Island so far, but a chance to explore other sites that we would not normally dive.

Maria beds Mustafa

Like all clubs there is often a small group of divers who dive regularly, though gaining a couple of trainees who are venturing out on Sundays, we seem to have lost Maria!! Since she packed up the house in Morefield and moved to North Kessock, seeing Maria in her dry suit has been about as common as seeing Stewart in a hurry. However after a drunken weekend with Mustafa in Barcelona she did make it out to dive once, after explaining her drunken exploits to the NDO....I'm sure she'll be back out diving once she has become Mrs. Murray....congratulations to both you.

Pretty poor vis so far

To date the visibility has not been great around the village and the Summer Isles, both a mixture of poor weather and plankton have meant that the best seen has been about 10 - 12 m. but, it seems that all this has changed now and the plankton has finally dropped away and the vis has picked up to about 15 - 16 m around the mouth of the Loch.

Isle Martin part 3

On a social scene, the club has been entertaining divers from around the country....but far more importantly we all managed to survive the midges on Isle Martin for the annual BBQ.....all except Briony who ended up with a ring of bites on her, though she can describe to you where it was!

As in previous years, the London arm of USAC came up to visit the brethren here. Along with the gallons of midge cream, tents and fake Chanel sunglasses came new recruits and even unborn recruits. Every year this BBQ seems to get better and better and bigger and bigger. After months of salivating over the idea of a suckling pig, Stewart built a spit and Malcolm managed to get a pig to put on it...though he nearly lost it at the last minute!!!! What good would a dead suckling pig be to Stornoway on the sabbath?

Like previous years it seemed there were dozens of bags, boxes and bottles to be ferried over from Admair, and with a pig that was going to take several hours to cook Justine and her small army of helper elves went over to start the food early on. The weather was superb, albeit maybe too calm. With no breeze the midges were as hungry as the 45 people who came over to the island for the night....and nearly got as good a feed as we did too!

As the night went on, a couple of heavy rain storms drove people temporarily inside for shelter, while a loud clap of thunder resulted in a big cheer of similar volume. Inevitably, there were drink casualties, there were pranks and there were some gaps in memories on Sunday morning...as the pair of Andys had to find the empty bottles to discover how much they drank....though everybody could tell that it was not as much as Caroline! Early to bed and early to rise for some who had to catch early flights back south, but not for Justine, who discovered her flight left in 25 minutes...while she was lying on a pile of sleeping bags at the top of the jetty.

Relaxing by the fire.......

Speedy eyes up his dinner...

Anybody who has any more pictures from the weekend, either email them to me or give them to me and they can go on the website too.....I know there are some pretty incriminating ones out there somewhere, so send them my way!

OPEN WATER TRAINING WEEKENDS

Following on from the success of last years training weekend we are going to be holding a couple more this year. Because we've got more trainees this year there will be 2 weekends devoted to this.

The first will be on weekend of the 16th and 17th April and second will be held at the start of May. If you can get hold of dry suits for the weekends you  will certainly be more comfortable and any of last years trainees can vouch for the discomfort of diving in a wet suit up here!.

The first day of the weekend will based on Admair beach while the second day will be diving from the boat depending on the weather.

If anybody has any questions about the weekends then please ask and if you know which weekend you  would prefer to take part in please let Dan know....either at the pool or by email here

Recent Club Events

The weekly updates on our dives have moved. Regular updates on dives and events will still be found here, but to read about previous dives go to the dive archive page

WINDY, WINDY, WINDY....

One hours less sleep and there were not many folk bleary eyed this morning. Kevin looked sober, which was the first time in a long time he was at the unit on a Sunday morning in this state. The sea was calm and forecast was alright so we headed out for some of the caves on the back of Bottle Island.

As we got further out of the loch the wind swirled round and picked up. Hugging the coastline this was one of the few times when there were few sites to choose from to dive. With a following Easterly west black rock should have been in shelter, though as we turned the corner past Conservation cave the sight ahead was white rollers crashing over the rocks.

One of the few places nearby that was suitable was conservation cave which had very little swell running into it.

Maria and Kevin went in first and soon disappeared into the back of the cave and back round to find the resident lobster, who wasn't there today...hoping to meet up with Dan H and Ben they waited, waited and waited but gave up and went off round the corner into the depths.

Mean while Ben and Dan headed into the cave having got Ben's ears sorted and an extra weight in his pocket through the mild swell and in to the back of the cave we could see the water crashing above us and the anemones curled up in crevasses protecting themselves from the seas battering. Round by the seaward side of Tanera beag we twisted and turned our way through the gullies full of urchins, crabs and dead kelp.

Pulling our way through the kelp forest we came across a boulder as big as my flat perched on top of a couple of small rocks. It would be a great swim through up underneath then squeezing out at the other end through a small gap.....though that was saved for next time.

Back on the surface the wind was continuing to swirl round in circles. The 2 Andy's and Dan W got themselves kitted up just as we got invaded by swarm of attacking canoeists who were struggling headlong into the wind and swell round the corner of the cave.

Watching their bubbles we soon realised that Andy's recent operation on his leg was no impingement on his speed under water and while the experienced Andy's swam in a straight line the Labrador puppy with them swam about 4 times the distance darting all over the place.

While they were chasing Dan W about on the surface the canoeists decided that they should turn round and head back towards their beach camp....this was much easier than it sounded for some and we ended picking one of them up and towing her back towards their camp. Turning round the dog walking party broke the surface.

Lunch was the highlight of the day.....being Easter Sunday Maria had bought everybody an Easter egg to have with our sandwiches, the craic was just great....and made the day and the bumpy ride back to the village a little more pleasing despite being very cold.

HE WAS A VERY NICE MAN, A VERY VERY NICE MAN....

What could go wrong......? It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning, Ben and Dan W were going to do their first open water dive. Maria found her passport and made it back from North Kessock and while Stewart was away drinking the warm pish the Americans call beer at the South by South West Festival Briony decided to drag herself away from installing the heating and raising the door beams to come diving at Badentarbet Pier.

But disaster was to strike as Dan was starting his descent from cruising speed and altitude on the landing approach to the village...first the battery light came on, then the temperature gauge pinned itself to the red.....something's not right here....the fan belt was shredded to the point that an Italian could have mistaken it for burnt spaghetti!

Jeremy Clarkson may have made poached salmon with a dill sauce under the bonnet of a Jaguar, but neither BMW nor Delia Smith recommend using an E34 to make pasta!

However, an hour and a half later it was fixed and the AA man was on his way back down to Beauly...

Cars fixed, cylinders filled and what remained of breakfast being rapidly consumed we headed for Achiltibuie to meet the Waltons, who channel 4 had allowed off the Sunday morning schedule to make a special appearance to dive.

Despite last time I dived at the pier the fish farm felt that they owned it...this time there was no dispute about it...we had made more mess than they do!!

The diving itself was great despite poor viz because of the large amounts of freshwater run off and snow melt. Heading up towards Dornie from the pier the was little fish life, but a lot of other small crustaceans and junk to look at. Both Ben and Dan seemed to take to the water well, and soon were in control of their own buoyancy.

After 45 minutes we arrived back at the pier, the halocline was so thick that an orange rusty coloured murk sat like a layer of city smog a metre above the seabed. Although we knew this is where the pier should be we ended just shooting past it.....despite onlookers on the pier saying that we passed within 1 metre of the wall!

After lunch on the pier we sat trying to decide if we had enough time left for a 2nd dive later on.

This idea was hastily rejected on the grounds that the Summer Isles was open and we could sit in the sun with a cold beer for the first time in over 6 months....

It was a tough decision, but with a view like that and cold Guinness or crap viz which will be better later in the year....which you would choose?

DARRELL JOINS THE NAVY.....

Not content with getting into a rubber suit day after day, year after year, Darrell finally found his life calling and got into a nice sailors uniform and wore a pretty hat!

Although not quite as it sounds he was more of an escort boy than a member of the village people as he took on board a commando and took part in a joint Army, Navy and Air Force exercise in the North Minch, while the rest of us ventured out for the first club dive of the year around Priest Island.

Despite being cold it was very calm and the visibility was great, we dived on the inside of Priest island just over a shelf that dropped down to 30m.

As three divers were beneath the surface, Darrell slowly came round the corner in stealth mode trying to avoid detection by the frigate, landing crafts, boarding parties, marines and helicopters that were all in the area buzzing about.

As the Frigate headed back to Ullapool to pick up a kidnapped bunch of Marines we were heading back to the wee pier, with bags of scallops and turbans on our heads...RHIB Tickler was not much of a match for the Navy, but as we turned to make a direct assault on her stern we were all faced with the sight of a warship turning bow onto us and starting to bear down on us! Diplomatic relations are not a strong point of anybody in the club, but it was about now that we thought we should turn back towards to the village. None of knew Morse code so when they started flashing lights at us the only way to respond was with a camera flash and out torches....so three torches all popped up and one camera flashed away at the Navy......

....as it turned out the flashing from the bridge turned out to be them firing missiles at us thinking we were the terrorists, not Darrell who at this point was happily munching on Bacon and Scallop sandwiches back at priest Island!!!

If only we'd sunk them.....it was only a mile or so away from the Fairweather V

CLUB AGM AND IMPORTANT CLUB MEETING

The club AGM was held on Monday 14th at 7.30 in the committee room of the village hall. Despite a pretty low turnout of club members we were able to scoot through the agenda with little hassle and with little pain!!

Among other things discussed at the meeting was club fees, and because several members of the club were unable to attend the AGM the new club committee will be having a meeting on Monday 28th February in the committee room of the village hall.

The main point of discussion at this meeting will be whether or not to increase the subscription fees to the club, so all club members are encouraged (and asked) to come along to put your own views across so we as a club can decide on this.

CONGRATULATIONS!

....to Rachel and Angus on the birth of their first child Ivan....and also to former club member, Fiona and Angus on the birth of their first child Calum Ruaraidh. (This isn't by the way the same Angus going round all the female club members siring children)  Many congratulations to you all, and we look forward to a couple of new trainees in about 16 years time!

THE DREADED LECTURE WEEKEND

Trying to pin everybody down to one weekend when they were available for both a Saturday and Sunday proved to be nearly as hard as trying to find peace in the Middle East. But we, unlike the politicians managed it and the weekend following the big storms in January all the new trainees and instructors gathered for what was going to be a mind and backside numbing weekend of theory lessons.

Trying to cover all the theory material over one weekend was always going to be a hard task, but everybody had come prepared and had read up on the material beforehand....which made life easier for everybody.

By the end of the first day everybody, BI's included, were pretty brain dead. But the real treat still lay ahead....Bulhmann tables. Sunday proved to a bit more of an adventure than Saturday in the Leisure centre.

Because of the big storms the power was going down for most of Sunday, which we only found out on Saturday evening. With the Leisure centre closing for the day we managed to all squeeze into the dining room of the hostel. While pans of water were put on the stove for tea and coffee, the generator banged away outside to provide power for the OHP and a couple of (clean) bed sheets stuck on the wall provided the white board.

Despite all this, the Bulhmann tables came out and jaws dropped, but very shortly the "oh my god" look disappeared from peoples faces as they realised it was much easier than it looked. Before long, everybody was conceiving the most complex dive profiles imaginable and working out the stops required.

Given the length of the two days, everybody had a choice to make on Sunday evening....do the test now, or go home, do some revision and then do it in a couple of days time. Everybody chose the latter, so watch this space to find out how they all got on.