So this dive was part of our monthly St Abbs dives, off Oceanic, but Derek had been called out to do some offshore work, so we jumped on board with the mad Geordie – Paul and is lovely shirts! The only problem was that as we headed up the A1 from Newcastle, the fog was starting to get more dense. So much so, we couldn’t see the sea from the A1 on that bit between Berwick and the border….. Oh dear, no one likes diving in the fog; so much so it is generally cancelled. But on we drove, hopes high that it would move off shore.
On parking up at St Abbs the fog was still thick, but we did get the odd glimpse of blue sky above. Divers were kitting up and skippers were preparing their boats. A good sign. Laura was doing the dive managing for the day, part of her Dive Leader award, but where was she??
The boat was loaded with kit, but still missing a couple of divers, when Paul decided that we had to move away from the mooring point, to make space for divers getting on other boats…. Tiago didn’t get the message and as he saw us moving off, thought we were going to leave him behind. In a fit of enthusiasm he climbed down the ladder on the harbour wall…. my ever lasting image is of Tiago waving forlornly as we motored away…. We then actually tied up again just 10 metres further down, and everyone was able to reassemble on the boat. The fog then cleared -YAY!
For the first dive we did West Hurcar, where we saw lots of marine life, including dead mans fingers, nudibranches, small fish and even an octopus. It was just so nice to be in the water, as we had been thinking that the dive might have been cancelled due to the fog.
Back on board the boat we ate some of Paul’s magic cake, which is quite a spicy ginger cake. Always hits the spot. A cup of coffee to wash it down too. We all had a good catch up on the boat as there were a few people that we knew, but not in the club. The surface interval flew by, before we knew it we were kitting up again for the second dive. This one on Black Carr End. Will we find wolf fish?
What we hadn’t realised was that Mike Clarke was running a wolf fish work shop on the same day. As we were dropped in at Black Carr End, Laura and I finned down and along to the “wolf fish hotel” to find about 6 divers all with cameras taking photos. I recognised Mike and waved (he had no idea who I was). Just thought I was an odd diver trying to photograph Wolf fish with a macro lens! Ah well, needs must. I don’t think it came out too badly in the end. 🙂
Aegires punctilucens is so camouflaged, it is incredibly difficult to see, but this one was scooting across a bare rock, so as I waved my torch around, the blue dots caught my eye. They tend to feed on a particular type of sponge, but from time to time have to move location to find more food. A happy spot for me, not sure my buddy appreciated all of the squeaking that was coming out of my, and the number of photographs I took.
We all really enjoyed the dive, with everyone having gone a slightly different direction. Looking at the dive logs, I can see that all four of us did an hour long dive. Black Carr is an excellent dive, following the wall is easy, and it is always covered with life. We then surfaced in the sunshine, ready for a final cup of coffee, before heading back to St Abbs to try out Paul’s new trolly. A lovely day and four happy club divers!
