View Full Version : Gortein Point
Gortein Point is a complex dive site, which I have often fumbled. There are three reefs and a pipe (diameter about 20cm) draped across them. Does anyone have a definitive route map for diving this site? Personally I tend to find the pipe and use it to find the reefs, swimming back and forth, but this feels a bit random, and sometimes I think I've missed a lot of the good bits ...
Gortein Point is a complex dive site, which I have often fumbled. There are three reefs and a pipe (diameter about 20cm) draped across them. Does anyone have a definitive route map for diving this site? Personally I tend to find the pipe and use it to find the reefs, swimming back and forth, but this feels a bit random, and sometimes I think I've missed a lot of the good bits ...
If 'Gortein' and 'Gorton' Point are just name variations of the same dive....
According to my book ('Dive West Scotland' by Lawson Wood) then here is the dive:
"The best entry point is to the right of the small headland where it is generally most sheltered. Entry is off the hard rock and then over some small submerged boulders; working down this slope to around 12m continue left, or south-west, and the wall extends into the next cove. There are literally hundreds of fissures and cracks in the wall, which are home to goldsinny, rock cook, ballan wrasse, squat lobsters, swmming crabs and top shells. This is a very good shore dive for the southern part of the sea loch and is high in marine life content."
And from a website:http://www.bsac21.freeserve.co.uk/lochfyne.htm
"Again theres a well worn path down to some large flat rocks. Entry is precarious in the winter when it's slippy, so take care. However there are some nice reefs at 25m - dogfish, conger etc. The initial swim out is a bit long as the slope is very gradual at first."
Cheers LA.
I think the problem is i tend to dive it like Anchor point ... i.e. going in on the left rather than the right of the headland. I'll try to remember to DIR next time ...
The 'pipe' is a disused electrical cable
http://www.freewebs.com/scubaportal/Copy%20of%20gorton%20point.jpg
Gorton, Gortan, Gortein point, or however you wish to spell it.
credit to "Big Jim" (our previous safety officer) for drawing this a few years ago.
note the compass references for direction (290-300-310).
& just to confirm, it is a cable, not a pipe.
Dived this quite a few times, always dog-fish laying around. :)
not sure if you can see the pic or not.
so here is the link.
http://www.freewebs.com/scubaportal/pics%20n%20gifs.htm
Stewart,
Brillliant sketch: thanks for uploading it. Funnily enough, our BDO was telling me today that he thought that our club should map some sites to prevent the knowledge being lost when people leave (we're a uni club, so there's a high turnover of members). Well, I have printed off your map & slotted it into my log book ready for our next trip to that part of L. Fyne.
Hope that you might share some other sketches in the future ;)
Stewart,
Brillliant sketch: thanks for uploading it. Funnily enough, our BDO was telling me today that he thought that our club should map some sites to prevent the knowledge being lost when people leave (we're a uni club, so there's a high turnover of members). Well, I have printed off your map & slotted it into my log book ready for our next trip to that part of L. Fyne.
Hope that you might share some other sketches in the future ;)
Its a good Idea I did it 15 years ago I still have some of them
When u do the PADI divemaster u have to map a divesite so I maped the
sites we dive regularly to show trainees maybe we could put some of these in a place on this site?;)
bubblemaker
15-04-06, 23:16
nooo.. you're...noo... for aminute there i thought you were volunteering for something.... i see now though... it's just a suggestion!!!!! :D :D :D
This is definitely something I want to have on this site. I'm thinking about how best to achieve it. Stewart's (Big Jim's) map of Gorton point is excellent, and obviously this is one way we can add maps to the boards: simply paste them into your posts. I will try to figure out the best way to create an archive of site maps, maybe on a separate web page that's accessed through the portal / site nav panel.
The other thing i want to investigate in this regard is some sort of online application which offers an easy CAD-like interface for pulling together site maps. E.g. you might pull together objects like "reef", "boulder", "superstructure", "rudder", "crevice", etc. and assign dimensions to them (depth, length, etc.) and the application would build the site map. Has anyone seen anything like this anywhere?
Stewart: Thanks very much for the sketch. Its great! I have printed it!
Gord: Good idea for the site - i think it would be fab to have a collection of 'site sketches'. If you could get a 'drag n drop' programme thing i think it could work really well!
:D
your welcome Urchin.
i think the idea would be good for the site, although i did not draw i'm sure Big Jim wont mind me posting this one sheet for now :rolleyes: