11th July 2010
The original plan had been to dive the wreck of the Buka, but driving along the seafront at Beadnel it was all too obvious from 2222the extent of the whitecaps out in the distant bay, that the strong offshore wind had literally blown this plan away.
Assembling in the car park a collective decision was made to head up to St Abbs, where the combination of high cliffs and the close proximity of the dive sites to the shoreline promised good shelter from the strong winds.
Descending down the steep road that leads into St Abbs harbour it was soon evident from the view out across the bay that our plan with regard to the shelter offered by the surrounding cliffs was well founded. Below us, could be seen a steady shuttle stream of divers walking along the piers to the waiting charter boats.
Harbour and parking fees paid, the club RIB was quickly launched down the slip, and with dive kit secured we headed out to look for our first dive site. The spot chosen was a small cove just north of St Abbs head close to Cleadon Rock. Hubert and Andrew had an enjoyable dive dodging numerous jellyfish and exploring the underwater marine scape. For Hubert, this dive no doubt provided a welcome relief from diving on rust, and a great opportunity to put into practice some of the skills he has recently acquired on his recent seasearch course learning to record the local marine life.
For the next dive, we headed back towards the harbour and anchored up in the relative shelter behind Wuddy Rocks. Most of the group had not dived this particular dive site before.
Without exception, everyone enjoyed the experience of exploring the scenic narrow passage and the dramatic submarine arch that cuts through this rocky reef.
For the last dive of the day, Richard, Andy and Fiona had a quick exploration around Black Carrs reef. Unfortunately there was not time to descend down the gullies that extend seaward out from these rocks, as it is here that one tends to find the numerous wolfish that this particular site is noted for. That said, the immediate area around the protruding rocks still proves an excellent scenic dive.
So there we have it, St Abbs had saved the diving day.
