6th – 8th June 2014 by Richard Booth One of the great things about being part of a large club such as the BSAC is the opportunity to dive with other branches and share ones knowledge and experience of local dive sites. In this case, Putney BSAC who had some spare spaces on Paul Crowes […]

26th May 2014 by Richard Booth  After the club’s previous venture out to the wreck of the Britannia and the apparent missing cargo of giant millstones (see report 4/5/14) we were inevitably drawn back to revisit the wreck to see if the missing millstones could be found. Richard Booth and Dave Mitchell were dropped off

10th-12th May 2014 by David Mitchell A trip to Seil Island is becoming an annual event on Tyneside’s calendar. May 2014 saw us making our third visit to this area and the diving was some of the best we have experienced. Seil Island lies about 12 miles South West of Oban. It’s a true island with

4th – 5th May 2014 by Richard Booth  With fine weather forecast the first site selected was the Northern Hares, a scenic dive on the North East side of the Farnes. After locating this submerged reef on the sounder the shotline was dropped and the first wave of divers entered the water. Swimming forwards the wall

1st February 2014 by Richard Booth The brown tinged water lapping the outer edge of the lake was perhaps the biggest clue as to why we appeared to be the only divers entering the water; that and the biting cold wind and the 5-centigrade water. Still we had travelled over a hundred miles down the A1

8th – 10th November 2013 by Richard Booth One of the great things about being a member of the larger BSAC family is the opportunity that often arises to dive with other club’s.  In this instance Tiago and Richard managed to secure places upon an Oban dive trip organized by South Bay Scuba, a BSAC

28th September 2013 by Richard Booth The weekend offered some of the best neap tides to fall on a weekend this year, so expectations were high with plans set to dive the wreck of the SS Nideleven, which lays off the fishing village of Craster. By Friday evening however it was all too clear that

22nd September 2013 by Richard Booth Launching from Seahouses, the RIB Seahawk punched her way through the chop thrown up by the brisk NW breeze. The combination of big tides and this strong wind greatly limited the range of sites that would be available to dive. The gully’s that cut into the hard stone along

25th – 26th August 2013 by Richard Booth On the Sunday of the bank holiday weekend five club members made the journey up to Seahouses only to be met with thick fog drifting in from the sea. We patiently waited and the fog started to lift, however after speaking to a party of Derby divers

20th August 2013 by Richard Booth Whilst the nights are starting to draw in, the recent spell of fine weather has continued, so expectations of a good dive were high as the MV Spellbinder II headed out of the river Tyne. Our target for the evening dive was a wreck known locally as the ‘55’

18th August 2013 by Richard Booth The original plan was to dive the wreck of the SS. Nidelven off Craster, a 42 metre dive out in exposed water. The strong wind forecast however soon put paid to this plan. Instead, after a few calls to Paul and Graham Crowe, a new plan was devised to

10th August 2013 written by Richard Booth photography by Richard Booth & Kevin Thompson A few years ago Andy and Fiona Hunt, on a dive on the outer edge of Whirl Rocks, had noted a profusion of jewel anemones, Corynactis viridis, a species usually only found in the warmer waters off the west coasts of

3rd August 2013 by Richard Booth Timings were going to be a bit ‘tight’ requiring an efficient team effort to prepare the club rib Seawitch for a fast launch from Beadnel beach if all of the party were going to enjoy a reasonable dive on the wreck of the Somali during the slack water period.

27th July 2013 by Richard Booth The request to assist Seahouses RNLI with a yacht in difficulties with a line caught around its propeller was received whilst preparing the club rib Seawitch for launching from Beadnel beach. With an increased sense of urgency Seawitch was quickly launched and we headed across the bay to the

21st July 2013 by Richard Booth Four intrepid club members assembled at the South Shields slip early on Sunday morning to launch Seaflea. At low water this task can prove quite testing due to the rocky seabed at the end of the slipway. Seaflea’s relatively small size and light weight however comes into its own

20th July 2013 by Richard Booth A mixed team from Durham, Stoke Divers and Tyneside 114 assembled at 7:30am in Beadnel car park. Our mission, to locate, shot and dive the wreck of the MV Buka.  This small coaster rests in 40 metres of water some 4 miles South East of Dunstanborough Castle. With a

16th July 2013 by Richard Booth With several days of light offshore winds and no rain, things were looking very promising for a great Tyne wreck dive. Furthermore even the sun was shining bright offering the possibility of lots of ambient light on the wreck. Our optimisism was rewarded as we entered the water and

14th July 2013 by Richard Booth When the settled weather forecast materialized, plans to dive this site came to fruition but with slack water in the early afternoon the first dive was planned on the Crumstone. With a strong ebb tide running, Dave and Hubert explored the northern side of the reef, coming across scattered

6th July 2013 by Richard Booth With the last week of settled weather and only a few light rain showers, things were looking up for a dive off the Tyne particularly with a forecast of sunshine and light winds.  So it was that a party of 7 divers from Durham Divers and Tyneside 114 assembled

22nd June 2013 by Richard Booth Rather than risk the mud at the bottom of the Seahouses slip at low water we opted for the ‘safer’ option of a tractor launch from Beadnel. The down side to this plan however was a longer journey out to the Farnes in a choppy sea pushed up by

15th June 2013 by Richard Booth Launching the Club’s RIB Seawitch from Seahouses we headed out to the Farnes.  Outside the harbour we encountered something of a lumpy sea, a forerunner of the strong breeze that was clearly heading our way. Along with Dave Taylor’s RIB, Sea Hawk , we headed over to the Hopper

9th June 2013 by Richard Booth With glowing reports of the Saturday dive out at the Farnes from Gordon Lambert, it was with a great sense of expectation that seven club members assembled at Beadnell car park. Whilst we did not have the bright blue skies of the day before, the sea remained glass like

30th June 2013 by Richard Booth In the end four club members made it up to St Abbs harbour with the aim of diving from Peter Gibson charter boat, the MV Selkie. Whilst this particular craft may be starting to show her age a little and lacks a fancy diver lift at her stern, you