0TUE 25/7/2006 continued
We spent an amusing interval bettween dives whatching the abundant seabirds about their various trades. The Gannets circled and dived with break-neck speed, Terns, wheeled, swooped and darted about, Puffins flapped their cute stumps and bumbled around in a short arsed way, Skuas avoided the annoying mobbing by crows, Fulmars zapped energetically about playing chicken with our heads and the Herring Gulls staked out the Boats shit pipe, on the off chance of a late sitting.
Our Orcadian boatman, Angus landed and claimed Out Stack for Orkney. The chance of being able to do this is very rare, we were so lucky to have a settled spell plus sun.(about time really, I’ve had too many crap UK dives lately).
While the north side of Out Stack had calmed down a bit, our skipper Bob went in for a dip to see for himself. He emerged with a huge, gratuitous grin, (not something you see too often) so it must be good. Just as well as it was our next dive.
A free descent and almost immediately found ourselves in a rock gulley running parallel to the island. Headed West into a slight current which diminished in time. I was dumbstruck,(though I did utter a few Wows through my reg) I’d never seen such variety of colour on one dive in the UK. There were rainbow coloured jewel anenomes and dwarf plumose? shoulder to shoulder covering every mm of rock. Any crevices were occupied by drifts of Dahlia anenomies all giving the impression of a well made though somewhat garishly patterned persian carpet, gorgeous, I’ll take it if you can deliver, you take plastic?
On we went, heads swinging from side to side, beneath the baleful gaze of muscular edible crabs, perched at various points like bouncers outside seedy clubs. A few dogfish came sacheying past up the gulley, all the while, just at the limit of sight the shoal of pollack kept pace. Our time like the gulley ran out and it was time to leave. Got a bit of bouncey,bouncey trying to carry out a safety stop in the turbilance near the surface. The others who went East on entry got into a washing machine again before clawing their way to the surface.
WED 26/7/2006
After a quiet night moored at Balta Sound on Unst, we nosed our way through light fog to dive the E49, a British sub that went down with all hands after hitting a mine. We were split into two groups of four, to be more manageable and not to crowd her. She lies in about 35m on her starboard side. She became visible in her entirety from halfway down the shot. Good vis! Immediately obvious was a Royal Navy Ensign recently placed on her which helped set the slightly somber tone of our visit. The outer pressure hull seemed to have gone by the number of protruding valves and cocks. Either she’s collapsing or is very nearly burried in the sand/shingle bottom. Coy Ling peeped out at us from various holes and decorated spider crabs and tiny squat lobsters occupied the conning tower. By the sound of Halton manouvreing above she was dropping the next lot of divers, time to go.
As we reached the surface it was apparent that we were in the middle of a thunder storm crashing about us, sheet lightning flashing across the darkened sky and the surface of the sea fizzing in the torrential rain.
The afternoons dive was postponed for a while so we had time to look around Unst and stock up on treats and coffee at the local stores. We discovered that it was possible to tour the Valhalla brewery, who’s product we’d enjoyed the past two nights. After a wee walk and much misdirection we found it. It was a small privately run affair and we had an interesting interlude learning the ingredients, process and packageing, plus a bottle to go away with. We even jammily managed to get a lift back to the boat.
The evening dive was around Vere Rock trying to find a wreck. As my buddies wouldn’t follow me we spent an unproductive time milling aimlessly round the kelpy shallows making faces at the timid seals and each other, while the rest of the group stumbled across the wreckage and stored images of boilers, engines and propshaft etc to taunt us back on the boat later.
We motored down to Yell and anchored in a quiet inlet for the night. No shore party tonight.
THU 27/7/2006
We motored to a spot north of Fetlar for our first dive, the JANE a steamer lying on her port side in about 25m. Two groups again, the other pair went to the stern so we headed for the bows. Hull collapsing quite a bit though still interesting. Bows a funny shape a bit like a counter stern, I had to check for a prop just in case. Alot of Maerl(a twiggy, purple coral like plant) appearing to spill out of hull splits, untill Angus set me right later I thought it was coral ballast from the ship, imagination you see. Why I’m looking at the bottom and not the wreck was because we were heading to the stern along the ships bottom, not so interesting see. The shell/sand/shingle seabed was carpeted in Brittlestars with the odd Sunstar ploughing through, numerous largeish empty muscle shells, ah the stern arriveth. A lovely four bladed prop enhanced by a healthy growth of Dead Man’s Fingers (DMF’s)(found nowhere else on wreck, well not by me). A nice space to swim through forward of this. Followed propshaft to engine and boilers. Other group descending on us so we left them to it.
Got back into Lerwick in some nasty fog and rain, I didn’t think it was possible together but it was. Afternoon dive postponed so a bit of mooching around town to be done. Back at 17.00.
Cleared a bit and stopped raining, still very calm. Off to dive the Giants Knees/Legs, a headland off Bressay with some stacks/arches adorning it. The idea was to descend and swim through, easy. Went into the first gap and had to ascend to enter. Walls pasted with anenomes and lovely vis too. Came to a dead end, this is where it gets ticklish having to turn and get past those following without damaging the marine growth or kicking the others masks off. Into the next one, this is a bit more like it, wide and sheer. Furry DMF’s, Dahlia anenomes and dwarf plumose clinging on in the surge. I rolled onto my back occaisionally to watch the bubbles trickle up. Had a steep ascent to get out of this one onto a kelp plateau. Kept rock on left shoulder and came across some wreckage, one piece a mast like object led us to the entrance of the next one. This looked like the mother of them all, like a dark cavern waiting to dissapear us insignificant bubblers. This didn’t have any growth on the walls, a pebbly base, scattered with starfish. It was pitch black, though the water didn’t go all the way to the top so we guessed the was an airspace in crap happened. Hugely enjoyable time swimming through this kind of enviroment. After about 6 mins we saw some daylight ahead, getting very narrow so ascended to see if we could get through. It looked too narrow, though there may have been a bend ahead making it appear so, what with the surge and all it was decided to backtrack out. Outside we drifted along winding down untill we must have got to the end of the headland and the currant was waiting ahead judgeing by the bent over kelp. Heck of a dive.
FRI 28/7/06
We should have been enjoying our last dive today revisiting the GLEN ISLA by popular demand but we awoke to a real peasouper so that was that. We hopped in the minibus and trawled around the southern mainland visiting early settlements of archaiological inerest like CLICKIMIN BROCH and JARLSHOF. Needless to say after we’d packed our kit away hot sunshine appeared.
Thats all, all the Best, Simon Newman.
