PDA

View Full Version : Drishaig Reef, West Loch Fyne 10/12/06


alexmaclennan
10-12-06, 17:47
Went diving with Dumbarton Scot SAC. Dreadful weather with continual driving rain, rivers all gushing torrents and lots of surface water on the roads.

Drishaig reef is 2.7 miles past the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar at the third marked Parking place with room for 5/6 cars. Walk down a muddy track to waterside by the 'P' sign and enter easily on a shingle beach beside a big black flat rock.

The reef is made up of discontinuous groups of reddish boulders in muddy sand. It's easy to lose the reef and go onto the muddy slope. The reef curves round towards the head of the loch from the entry site from 6m and reaching max depth of 30/34m before curving back up to 6/8m.

Boulders have the usual sealoch life. Lots of sealoch anemones, dead mens fingers and sea squirts, crabs of various types, prawns, small fish and small congers. Saw one of each of dogfish, pipefish, dragonet and lobster. All the big edible crabs are berrying.

Lots of langoustine holes on mud, occasional firework anemones and lots of small seapens at 30m.

Viz about 3m. Temp 11 degrees below 10m but a chilly 7/8 degrees whilst doing stop at 5m.

On the first dive, there was enough current to drift us onto the exit whilst doing our 5m stop. I didn't think there would be any appreciable current that far up the loch.

alex

Gord
11-12-06, 14:29
I did this a few years ago and didn't rate it very much ... how deep did you go?

the tidal currents can be quite strong up there .. a few years ago I was diving stallion rock from the shore in winter ... a plate of ice which had been right up the top of the loch near the oyster bar drifted down on top of us during the 35 minute dive ... nearly kacked a brick when we "surfaced" to find a sheet of thick ice blocking the surface ...

alexmaclennan
11-12-06, 17:13
First dive to 30m and next to 16m both for about 45/ 50 minutes.

alex

Gord
11-12-06, 18:16
must have been a different place ... we struggled to find depth ...