Loch Fyne at Easter - 70 years young!

Wendy Northway

VRSAC usually kick start the dive season with their annual expedition up to Loch Fyne and this year was no exception.  But as we rolled into the car park on Good Friday morning, the numbers started to dwindle straight away.  Stella had laringytis and could barely croak directives.  Ron felt a shade under the weather and stepped down.  Me,  Ariel and Andy bravely battled on after a night in the caravan without heating – the Calor had run out leaving us without warmth, but more crucially, no gas to cook breakfast!  As I pulled the neck seal down on my dry suit, a flurry of talcum powder hit me and I looked across the Loch to the snow in the hills.  How cold was it going to be I wondered?

First dive was Pennymore Point – a particular favourite of mine and I was not disappointed.  I was buddied with Andy and as we rolled off the back of the RIB, the cool water hit us.  We descended to about 15m and drifted with the gentle current taking us back towards Inveraray.  Squat lobsters were out doing that menacing quick jerk of their large claws.   Leopard spotted gobies darted back under the shelter of their fluted seasquirts and Sea Loch Anemones erupted out of the shadows.  Temperature dictated us to go up.  After a night without heating, my core was lowered and could only manage 25 minutes.  Back on the boat Steve swore he heard whale song, John A was drenched as a finger sized hole manifested in his cuff and Mark, well Mark had put his computer on his wrong arm and was a tad disorientated.  Banter was jolly and he was given the nick-name Sergei which stuck for the rest of the trip.

An early start and a dedicated cox’n meant we were back at base for 11.30 – a quick bite to eat, the obligatory 40 winks and then we were out again in good time.  This time we ventured a little further down the loch to Furness Point.  Last year on their way home, the lads had popped into the Loch Fyne Whisky Shop and got chatting to the manager.  He mentioned a mooring he had which he wanted checking out.  With the promise of a bottle of his finest malt on offer, Steve and DaveG were up for the challenge.  They located the mooring from a vague description (an orange buoy in front of the house flying the Scottish flag – how hard can that be!) and descended.  A quick visual for wear and tear coupled with dislodging (or was that releasing) a few squatties from their cave undernerath, they ascended.  Steve pealed with laughter as he surfaced!  He could clearly see bubbles emerging from Dave’s wrist seal.  No not the hand end, the sleeve end.  Poor Dave.  His seal had gone the way of John’s this morning.  He wouldn’t be doing another dive today!  We headed in towards Furness Point for the remaining divers.  I again dived with Andy and we had spectacular scenery.  We were quite close into the wall which was tumbling boulders splattered with sea loch anemones, then amidst the flock, a rather inaptly named deeplet sea anemone.  It had been named by a biologist who had only gathered specimens from the deep.  We were at about 15m – hardly the abyss!  This was the first time I’d seen one of these magnificent creatures and it was truly amazing.  A large white cnidarian with long fat tentacles.  Mark had put his computer on his usual wrist and had a better dive with Ariel going down to 35m where the boulders petered out giving way to soft substrate with Dublin bay prawns, spiny starfish and gobies.

Back on the boat we headed home.  The new engines did a fine job and almost fully laden with 6 divers and kit, they were able to get us up on the plane.  The boat handled quite differently with these new babies.  Putting the engine into gear gave a sharp forward thrust.  The pointy end lifted considerably before reaching the plane and the vehicle was still sensitive to weight distribution.  Or was that just Ariel and Steve mucking about!

Saturday morning dawned with the crew improving.  Stella’s voice was returning, Ron felt well enough to dive, Dave had replaced his wrist seals and John had dried out and warmed up.  We were almost a full complement again.  Ariel had requested Loch Shira as a morning dive.  The spectacular Fireworks anemones that inhabit this end of the Loch are found most profusely beyond 25m thus a candidate for the first dive of the day.  I was buddied with my husband and eagerly looked forward to this.  We descended through the amber coloured water to 20m where the light had gone.  Torches, or in my case, video strobes, were a must.  We quickly caught a glimpse of our first, then another and another as the garden of fireworks exploded into bloom!  Large balls of fine white tentacles burst before our eyes providing a dizzying array of entertainment on the soft substrate.  All too soon no stop time curtailed our enjoyment and we ascended.  What of the other divers?  Mark and Steve had opted to go round the corner and ended up on scallop beds – starters for the evening supper!  Chris, who had joined us for the day whilst visiting his uncle, enjoyed his first boat dive with DaveG.

We quickly whizzed back to the caravan park in glorious sunshine.  Such was the weather; we could easily see the park from Loch Shira, just 5 minutes away.  After lunch, the party split into 2 halves.  I opted to take Andy in the bay on a shore dive for compass navigation, whilst the boat guys went off to Stallion Rock.  Dave and Steve went to the bottom, some 35m I think, which was haven to the long papery tubes of peacock worms.  Ariel took Chris in for his second boat dive – he was getting used to the drill now and it was rewarding to see his confidence increase.  Andy successfully completed his orientation of the bay and we surfaced pretty much the same time as the RIB returned from its trek up the Loch.  We waved goodbye to Chris and returned to the vans for some warm tea and tiffin!

Sunday morning arrived as did the Easter Bunny and the rain.   Another trip to Stallion Rock.  This time I dived with Ron.  I’d not dived with him for a few years so relished the chance to buddy him.  As we kitted up, Mark kept himself busy by feeding the fish.  Taking a Stugeron in the car park might have been cutting it a bit fine!  For a smooth run, Ariel opted to stand down and man the boat whilst Steve and Andy dived together.  Ariel had already prep’d Andy in the use of a permanent SMB for his Sport’s Diver lesson, so Steve handsomely observed.   Andy coped expertly – even managing a full mask removal and refit as a poor seal was leaving him with no other choice! 

Returning to base for hearty soup for those whose cockles needed warming then we were out heading south again, this time between Stallion and Kenmore.  I buddied up with Ron for a second time, and had a very pretty dive on a tumbling wall – the usual suspects were out - squatties, squirts and tube worms, then we meandered over loose scree, finding brittle stars, nomadic hermits and dragonets.  Andy and Ariel had a lovely dive – lumpsucker (still on my wish list – not seen one yet) and found an abandoned mooring chain positively teeming with life.  This was very reminiscent of several years ago when Ariel found the ropes to the abandoned fish farm, before they were removed.  Scallops, elegant anemones, mussels, feathery hydroids tightly packed on every inch (2.5cm in new money).  We sped back to the vans as The George had been booked for 7.30.  Scrumptious food and fine wine were had, but no puddings – we’d organised a surprise for John back at the caravans.  We’d opted to give John a lift there and back and with Ariel’s notorious navigational skills, there was no suspecting anything untoward as we overshot the junction for the caravan park.  We even managed to role play a slight domestic to add flavour as those back at base gathered to celebrate John’s milestone birthday.  70 years young and still diving!  We quaffed fizzy wine, ate delicious cake and played balloon fights with little Mia!  The whisky earned from the mooring inspection was cracked open and a glass was raised in memory of absent friends.  We all knew how special a place Loch Fyne was to those always present in our thoughts.

Monday morning came round with the intention of going down beyond Kenmore for our last dive; however a quick change of plan as Ariel was determined to show those who had not seen the fireworks anemones just how stunning they were.  So with me and Ariel acting as guides for Steve and Dave respectively, we headed once more Loch Shira bound.  Although I had offered to guide Steve on this dive, I felt pressure on me to succeed.  What would happen if I didn’t find them – my name would be deeper than the mud in which they were found!  I felt nervous anticipation as I so much wanted to do good by Steve.  My heart was pounding louder than Little Vince’s bass drum as we descended the dark waters.  The previous night’s rain had washed much peat down from the surrounding Bens.  We hit the bottom in pitch blackness, not even the whites of our eyes could illuminate the murkiness.  Steve flashed his torch and there we saw our first one – curled up in tight corkscrew curls – the eagle had landed!  Houston, we have NO problem!  After that we encountered more and more, each one more resplendent than the last.  A perfect little garden then just as it couldn’t get any better, a long spined scorpion fish hiding under the last!  A very pretty end to an extended diving break.  Steve admitted that these creatures were worth the dive and that he hadn’t seen them before – it was more likely the deeplet sea anemone he’s spied in Loch Long.  The mud is not everyone’s cup of tea but I believe it to be worth one dive in order to see these very rare and beautiful critters – as an endangered species it could be your last chance!