St Catherines 2 Reef, Loch Fyne
Alternative name(s): St Catherines North reef; Main Reef (MUSAC); Seal reef
Type of Dive: Reef
Experience suggested: Trainees to Sport diver.
Travel directions: Take the A82 up Loch Lomondside. At Tarbet take the LH fork onto the A83. Continue through Arrochar, up the Rest and be Thankful. Turn left onto the A815 in Glen Kinglas (34.5 miles from Little Chef, Milton) and drive through St Catherines. About half a mile past St Catherines, take a turnoff to right down a dirt track beside the loch. The parking spot is about 50m down this track where a right hand switchback junction with another track takes you closer to the shore. The parking spot for St Catherines 3 reef is about 600m further on.
Parking directions: Anywhere to either side of road that does not obstruct vehicular access to the houses. Cars usually park on the lochside or if several cars all together, down switchback track. Parking for 8+ cars.
From Little Chef, Milton: 40 miles, 1 hour
OS Map & Grid Ref: OS Map 56; 11100, 06550
Lat & Long: 56:12:624N; 005:03:339W
1:200 000 Map:
1:25 000 Map: The divesite is at the beginning of the shore track
Site entry/exit: Easy dirt path leads onto a shingle beach with a line of rocks.
Underwater directions: Follow line of rocks straight out. Initially, a gentle slope and then it steepens. As soon as it steepens turn right and fin for a couple of minutes keeping the steepening slope on your RHS. The reef is a strip of boulders averaging 6 to 8m wide from 8 to 34m. Aiming off as suggested is safer than trying to swim straight onto the top of the reef as you may miss it! The reef is made up of small boulders covered with sea loch anemones, sponges, and seasquirts. Conger eels and octopus have been seen here as well as usual small loch sealife.
Divesite map/sketch: A Maclennan map
Divesite map/sketch: GraemeG map
This map thanks to Graeme G. his description is : ‘I'd say the main site is wider than it is deep ..but stops around 22m.. then there is a muddy gap and the reef continues at about 26m to 50m... There's one nice big rock at 30m.’
Divesite map/sketch: This is a third map. Thanks to Stewart Russell and CUSAC
http://www.freewebs.com/scubaportal/ssac/dive%20site%20drawings/ST.%20CATHERINES%20LOCH%20FYNE.pdf
Site Hazards: Depth and viz
Nearest Public phone: 1 mile away opposite St Catherines Old Ferry Inn
Mobile Network service: Vodaphone
Other comments The wood opposite the shore is used for calls of nature.
There are wilted flowers and a plaque attached to the tree to the right of the steep dirt track that leads to the shore. The tree is seen in the centre of the photo of the path. These commemorate a diver called Iain Hathaway who died in 1995.
Links:
http://www.boness-sac.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/st_caths.htm
http://www.musac.co.uk/musac/Loch_Fyne_Sites/St%20Catherines.pdf
Thanks to: Allan Woods of Academy of Diving for details of UW topography and the diveplan. Charlie McG for photos. GraemeG and Stewart Russell/CUSAC for further UW maps.
Version: 1.0 alex maclennan November 2006
1.1 January 2007
1.2 April 2007
Photos: Parking down switchback (with rain on lens)
Path and stone jetty (with rain on lens)
Divesite photos by Charlie McGurk
Looking back to stone jetty and parking
