Dive sites: Thrummy Carr, West Hurker, The Skelly, Black Carrs, Tye’s Tunnel and Wuddy Rocks
Keeping up with tradition, a group of 10 DSAC divers and three partners headed up to the east cost of Scotland to dive the Berwickshire Marine Reserve located around Eyemouth and St Abbs.
We stayed as usual at the welcoming Home Arms in Eyemouth, but this time our charter Wavedancer was moored at St Abbs Harbour. Although this involved a short drive at each end of the day, it meant that we we closer to the various dive sites, typically heading out only 10 minutes from the harbour.
Loading and unloading the boat involved using the winch at the end of the quay, but the group soon mastered that, with particular thanks to Bob and Andy, and we got into an efficient routine.
The diving was relaxed, being typically in the 15-20m depth range and with an abundance of sea life, with the photographers in the group having a field day.
Much of the marine life was at the small end of the scale comprising a range of psychedelically-coloured nudibranchs, but we also saw a vast variety of other life including sunstars, various anemones, urchins and the expectant Ballan Wrasse. We were also treated to a pod of dolphins as we were kitting up on one dive. Kristina and Maggie managed to find and photograph the elusive atlantic wolf fish, but they eluded the rest of us despite thorough searching in every crevice.
The Tye’s Tunnel dive proved to be an interesting experience for some, and was welcomed by those in the group more accustomed to confined diving experiences. We can safely say that it’s possible to navigate the passageways with a re-breather and camera with extended lighting arms.
The final dive for some at Wuddy Rocks turned into a drift, with the seabed once again carpeted in Brittle Stars as it had been several years ago.
The weather wasn’t suitable for diving on a couple of the days owing to wind and fog respectively, but it was pleasant enough for those in the group to do other things, including a clifftop walk from Eyemouth to St Abbs, and visits to Edinburgh, Holy Island, Bamburgh Castle, the Royal Yacht Britannnia and the National Museum of Flight at East Fortune.
We got together in the evenings and frequented regular haunts including The Ship Inn, the Contented Sole, the Golf Course restaurant and Giacopazzis.
All in all a very successful trip and no doubt an area that the club will visit again in future.
Thanks to our skipper Billy and Jade at the Home Arms for making it possible.
Check out the full gallery of photos from this trip
