A Divetech autumn trip to Lochaline for a variety of wrecks and scenics aboard the very comfortable Sound Diver. Thanks to Sheila for organising - especially since these were her final UK dives!
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Our first dive was on the Shuna. Crap vis so no pictures until we headed into Tobermory for lunch.
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Sheila found a mask to try on in the chocolate shop. Long story.
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Tobermory harbour in glorious sunshine.
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Sound Diver at the pontoon.
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A Sand Mason worm
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Sea squirt.
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Tiny colonial sea-squirts.
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A little two-spot Goby.
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Painted Top Shells like this are pretty common - but you don't see many with Barnacles taking a ride.
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Sarah - Sensible Buddy
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Sarah - Silly Buddy
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Sarah - Silly Buddy
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Sarah - Sensible Buddy
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Sarah - Taking a photo of me being a silly buddy.
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Pert DSMB (Sarah's, not mine)
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Sound Diver (from a wet camera)
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The low evening sun catches the hills in layers.
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Making knots. This was just before the Port engine cooling intake got blocked with weed (cue 10 minute break)
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Colin also photographing.
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Equipment all neatly tied up.
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iPhone moment.
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Plenty of deck space for kitting up, and a lift for hauling lazy divers (all of us!) out of the water.
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The Clansman heads for Tobermory.
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Low evening sun.
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Loading at Lochaline Pier.
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A peacock worm on the Rondo. I may have been narked when taking this at 30m+, as there were about 500 out-of-focus ones before this on the memory card...
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These look like tiny aquatic flowers.
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A large sunstar grazes the life-encrusted wreckage.
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Alison tells me this is a "Grated Carrot Sponge". I don't think I've seen one before, but I love the name!
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A selection of tightly closed anemones.
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A gently unfurling Plumose Anemone.
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A variety of tiny sponges and sea-squirts.
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A starfish feels its way across the rusty iron.
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A tiny sponge, smaller than the nail on my little finger.
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The impressive rudder on the Rondo, with Sarah for scale.
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Still on the rudder.
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Sarah appears to be being attacked by kelp on the rudder.
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Escaping the kelp.
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The wreck of the John Preston. Only a few timbers and some of the slate cargo remain.
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Random slate.
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Colin hovers alongside one of the few substantial timbers.
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Timbers looming out the dark with archealogical markers on them. Diving this wreck reminds me of watching divers on the Mary Rose on Blue Peter when I was a kid.
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Scallop.
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A Devonshire Cup Coral. Devilishly tricky to photograph so that they look anything like what you see (I have failed again here).
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A burrowing anemone's mouth-parts.
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Sea squirt. Another childhood memory is stroboscopic photographs of milk splashing that my Grandfather cut out of National Geographic for me. The tops of these sea squirts remind me of those milk "crowns".
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At safety stop depth (stops completed), Colin has a wee dram to celebrate his 100th dive.
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Resealing the bottle...
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...to pass it to Sarah...
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...who also has a wee drop!
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Congratulations on your 100th dive Colin!
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