St Abbs, Wuddy Rocks

22nd August 2009

On arrival at Wuddy Rocks it was very clear that we were in for a good days diving on account of the exceptional underwater visibility that was all too evident from simply looking over the side of the boat.

Wuddy Rocks is a site situated not far from the entrance to St Abbs harbour. It is however sufficient distance from the shore to require the use of a boat to reach the site. The site benefits from a number of extremely scenic swim through that cut through the roc formations. The tidal current that streams through these archways and passages have ensured that the surfaces are covered in a rich mantel of marine growth.

There are also numerous friendly and inquisitive wrasse, and on an earlier dive one of the party had apparently also found a crawfish at this site, a species rarely seen in the North Sea.

For a second dive we dropped in close to Weasel Loch drifting along the cliff edge swept on by the strong spring tidal current.

Numerous small juvenile fish struggled alongside us, as the current picked up speed carrying everyone along the underwater cliff face and down through scenic gullies. Occasionally large rocks and overhangs provided some relief from the tide allowing us a brief moment to examine our surroundings and the marine life in more detail.

Eventually after nearly 40 minutes we headed to the upper surfaces of the reef and completed our three-minute safety stop, clinging to the kelp before heading for the surface in order to ensure that we were picked up by the boat long before we were swept into the busy shipping channel into Eyemouth harbour.

A great days diving in superb visibility.