Simon Campbell

Expeditions

St Kilda: Chapter four September 2008

The majority of diving team alpha

This is chapter four in the series with the O-ring king still alive, more exceptional diving around St Kilda and the return home via rusty metal.

Day five (Wednesday)

O-ring was still alive; he woke me up. Which meant that I had managed to sleep through the night without disturbance. The weather was getting better, the sun shone and following breakfast we made our way out to Boreray.

Dive #1 Sgarbhstac (Borerey)

Buddy: Tony Bridge

This dive consists of an underwater arch through the rock outcrop known as Sgarbhstac. The top of the arch starts at around 32m with the seabed at around 50m. I have dived this twice before and when the visibility is good it is a world class dive. You can see the light streaming through the arch, with divers silhouetted above, as you sit, quietly narked at the bottom looking up. The roof and walls of the arch are encrusted in life.

Unfortunately this day was not great at between 5/6m. We were dropped to the North of the stack swimming on the surface to the wall. We descended to 31m keeping the wall to our right an moving along until we reached the top of the arch. Some people have missed it in the past as they can't believe the top is that deep. There was a healthy tide running through the arch flowing NW to SE which pushed us through a little too fast (we were on springs for the first week). There were a few seals around the arch and were buzzing Tony once we went though. Of course he didn't notice the seals as he was concentrating on making sure he looked good in the water perchance a photographer was around. At one point I was gesticulating wildly as there was a large seal about 0.5m from his head...

The skipper did tell us that once through the stac to keep it to the right and not go past the end (indicated by surge/tide) otherwise you could be washed off the rock. Of course we had some divers who didn't get it and ended up strewn out for a few hundred meters at the end of the dive. With the big swells it makes divers difficult to see; that's why I specified flags :-)

We returned to Village Bay to a lunch of individual Pizza's for lunch with potato salad, coleslaw and sweet chilli sauce.

Dive #2 An Fhaing Geo (Dun)

Buddy: Tony Bridge

This is a canyon which is open to surface all the time throughout the dive. The depth at entry is 30m rising to 12m as you enter the sheer walled canyon. The visibility was really breathtaking and we could see the other pairs of divers hanging around the walls. Gordon and Sandy were busily taking photographs. Tremendous dive. The breif was to turn right when out of the canyon. Paul and O-ring turned left and ended up in a surgey cave. Tony and I followed the brief for once and as we detected the surge at end of the wall, we retreated and deployed our Delayed SMB.

The winding up of the skipper did cause me problems as the week progressed. Every time I was swimming to the boat, Rob engaged the props in reverse at tick over. The resultant wash kept me very fit indeed.

Following the dive some left for the Island again and others commenced filling cylinders. After all the excitement we were treated to an excellent dinner of Thai Chicken curry with popadums, raita, mango chutney, aubergine and potato aloo, mini nan breads followed with fresh mango cheese cake with cream.

Day six (Thursday)

O-ring was not sure whether he was alive this morning and I had to poke him with a shoe to illicit a response.

Dive #1 'Sawcut' (Dun)

Buddies: Ed Howarth / Jim Donbavand

Classic Kilda dive which can only be done safely on the Ebb tide. If not divers can easily be swept away off the edge of Dun, which is really not very good!

We descended down the wall but were a bit too far to the south and found a cut that joined the main crevice. about 10m from the normal entrance which lies at about 30m. Ed had been working towards his First Class Diver exam which was happening in 10 days time. He was to be joined on the exam by another Ribble Valley member and Dive Manager for the second week, Mike Holroyd. I have to say Ed's buoyancy skills were very impressive, hovering around in the water like a bad smell.

The dive was great, the sheer walls plunging down to 30m from the surface. Seeing the divers clearly against the light streaming in from above is fantastic. It is better to have your buddy in front or behind you as some of the gaps are a little tight. As you move further in huge boulders lie on the bottom gradually reducing the depth. Large crayfish and lobsters are jammed in many of the nooks and crannies.

The cut is open to the surface and if you turn upside down you can see the bubbles expanding, elegantly wending their way to the surface between the rock faces. As you get closer to the end the depth reduces to around 6m and the surge starts to increase; the weather was OK and it was more than manageable. Once out of the cut to turn North with the wall to your left. Here large boulders are seen covered in baby kelp down to 20m with nudibranchs, octopus, and loads of fish - tremendous (I am running out of superlatives now).

Dive #2: Dun - 57 47.665N 008 33.403W

Buddy: Ed Howarth

This is a new dive to the skipper and the final dive of the first week. He deployed us in between the large pinnacle and a sheer wall, and sheer it was, plummeting down to around 40m in places. The visibility was astounding and could see the divers at all levels.

The walls were encrusted in life and the wall carried on and on. With canyons opening up looking like a scene out of Lord of the Rings where Frodo is making his way over the mountains to the depths of Mordor. Again the skipper asked us not to go around the end of the wall as it would be out of his line of site. It was pretty obvious as you approached the end as you felt the tide/surge starting the move you. I never cease to be amazed how ineffective divers are in the water against even the most modest currents, tidal streams or surge. After an amazing dive we steamed away with a following sea and fantastic memories.

Dinner was on the hoof with Strawberry & mozzarella salad to start followed by Camembert with onion marmalade, Roast lamb, roast potatoes, new potatos, mustard mash, cauliflower cheese, trifle and MORE CHEESE.

As the weather was so good we decided to steam direct to the Sound of Barra then on past Coll and into Tobermorey. We arrived at about 0045. Helen and myself assisted the skipper tie to his mooring buoy.

Day six (Friday)

We set off from Tomermorey at 0730 before breakfast. This was due to the tide being right for our final dive of week one.

Dive #1 The Hispania (Sound of Mull)

Buddy: Jim Donbavand

On the way back the Hispania was the obvious choice with the tide on the flood and slack water was at 0835, one hour before high water. Being a totally wreckhead, Jim took the lead and we penetrated deep in to the engine room trying a couple of different routes. Its a silty wreck at the best of times but the spaces we jammed our way in were very tight indeed and at times it was pretty nasty. Compared with the visibility we had in Kilda it was a disappointment, but for the Sound of Mull, it was pretty good the wreck being quite predictable. The tide was moving when we left and we were strung out like a washing line in a high wind. Gordon and Sandy couldn't bear sullying their memories of the trip so they remained on board and packed up.

Changing over

We arrived back and were able to tie up right next to the quay and being a little after high water it wasn't so far to lift the kit. O-ring and I luxuriated in the fact we didn't have to pack up and helped everyone get there kit off. Photographs taken and good-byes exchanged group one left us in peace with the crew.

Rather than hang around, we started to help the skipper and crew with the preparations for week two. O-ring dropped Helen at home to do her washing and pick up Chis' van and as they left our new cook Karen arrived and we had a cup of tea. Whilst they were away Rob and I hauled up the spent 02 cylinders up the quay wall (very heavy) and just as we had the last one up, O-ring appeared: what timing, almost as good as when he has to buy a round. We loaded the cylinders in the van and went off to exchange them whilst Karen went out shopping.

Surprisingly, Oban is not well served with gas suppliers, and its expensive but we ended up unloading and reloading the X47S (Air Products new designation for the J size cylinder) into the van. We called at Tesco to pick up Karen and her the five trolly loads of shopping and made our way back to the boat. Karen wasn't finished, she had to go to the butchers (yes, buying real meat) and the cash and carry for the booze. O-ring and I decided to go to the Oban Arms for liquid refreshment and then on to the hotel with our overnight bags to greet group two (team delta).

We originally were going back to the excellent fish restaurant we visited last week but changed our minds. Curry was required!!! Following a quick but very stiff Gin & Tonic on the boat with Rob, Helen and Karen, we set forth to the restaurant accompanied by Kirsty, one of Robs former crew but now an employee on a research vessel in the port.

Team Delta arrived at the Taj Mahal between 2000 and 2030 and an excellent evening of Curry and Cobra was had by all. Following the food, O-ring and I went back to the boat for a quick nightcap, then back to the hotel. I was still swaying when I took to my bed. O-ring was snoring, I hit him with a shoe, nothing changes...

Right! Enough for today, go to bed and start chapter five tomorrow where I journal the first part of the second weeks activities... Night, night.