elcome to the West Coast
In these pages I have chosen to omit all the usual information about position, launching, slack etc. necessary as everyone else seems to have written about them before. I have chosen to concentrate more on my experiences of these dives & give you a brief insight as what you might expect. I have given the best visibility & deepest that I have had on these dives but it is not necessary the maximum, all sites are in alphabetical order.

THE AKKA 26m
A superb wreck but visibility in the Clyde estuary is renowned for being poor, the best I’ve had is 6m & very dark. A Swedish motor vessel which ran aground in 1956 is lying upright on an even keel in 40m at the stern & 30m at the bow with the deck at 26 to16m. The bridge, galley & accommodation quarters make this a very interesting dive, the holds are open but as it was carrying iron ore I have not had the inclination to investigate them. Despite the visibility this is well worth diving as the wreck is covered in life & very impressive.

AM PLASTAIR….24m
This stac on the North side of Soay up St Kilda is only for a flat calm day. We did it when flat & what I thought was minimal swell but our skipper said it was marginal. On the North side we entered a huge funnel at 24m, which slopes gently up for about 50m to 6m. On reaching there my buddy popped of the protection of the walls & was sucked around the corner, looked pretty simple to me. My first attempt saw me dragged along then spat back, so I tried again with a more determined attitude, this time I got two thirds round the corner, was within six feet of my buddy and was spat back in a very confused state. The third time I tried another method of staying tighter to the wall, I came up to a small hole about 2 feet in diameter & the swell tried to suck me through and then spit me back down to 12m with my mask hanging off. I was watched by another pair of divers with whom I joined on my way back down to the entrance of the funnel & around the jewel anenome encrusted stac until I met my buddy again 20minutes later coming in the other direction round the pinnacle. Visibility here is easily in excess of 25m, seals are in abundance & very curious, altogether a super cool dive.

ARD NA CUILE….25m

Pleasant dive just South of Oban.

BEAGLE….30m

Lying in the Clyde the Beagle was a passenger Steamship,  it is pretty much just a shell now, not one I can excited about although there is plenty of life here. Visibility is usually pretty limited & very dark, one of the Clydes drawbacks.

BO FASCADALE….53m
A stunning wall dive that bottoms out at 60m in places but I have seen a boulder slope starting at around the 50m mark in other places. Situated a few miles north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula this is a very difficult place to get to due to its remoteness but well worth the effort. This is the best wall I’ve dived, with 15m visibility & lots of life you just pick your depth & enjoy the abundance of life, need I say more.

BO’NA UINNEAG....30m
This ridge runs across the entrance of Loch Resort in the island of Lewis it consists of a steep rocky slope, which runs from about 10m down to a sandy seabed at 30m. There are several large boulders scattered about the seabed but not too much life.

BOGHA-NA-FIONN-AIRD....31m                                                                                                           On the South side of Muck there are a couple of vertical walls which make a very nice dive, there is lots of life around here with nice visibility.

BO RUAG...38m
Situated in Loch Nevis near the Isle of Skye, this pinnacle with vertical walls ranges from 4m down to 105m & is about 30m in diamater. You can pick your depth here but there is nothing to see further down that you cannot see at 10m. Millions of sea squirts, brittle stars & soft corals to be seen here, but it does get a little boring after a while

BREDA….30m
A reasonably intact Dutch Steam Ship which sank due to a near miss by a bomb from a Heinkel bomber in 1940. She lies upright on a sloping seabed, which ranges from 30-24m in Ardmurcknish Bay near Oban. Due to its close proximity to Oban it is a popular dive so you might find other dive boats at the site. The holds are accessible & a few artefacts can easily turn up, the remains of a 4x4 vehicle lie on deck

CANNA WALL....65m                                                                                                                           Between Canna & Sandy the wall here goes down a lot deeper than I was, I found it to be more of a steep slope than the vertical wall I had heard about & thought it pretty boring & could not get excited about it.

DUBH SGIER….22m

Very pleasant dive a short distance SW of Kerrera in the Firth of Lorne

FAIRWEATHER V....29m                                                                                                                        This is a superp dive on an intact trawler which I think sank in 1991. It is absolutely covered in life making it a photographers dream, all areas are accessable with a bit of a squeeze, in the bridge & skippers quarters all the instruments & radio equiptment are there to be seen & in very good condition. Visibility is very good here with little or no silt to speak of making this a very nice pleasant dive

THE GARVELLACHS ….47m
There are several excellent dive sites with superb visibility round this group of islands with drifts along some very nice walls with visibility of 15m+. I have been asked to keep quiet about the positions of these dive sites by the skipper of The Porpoise, Dave Ainsley. These sites have been found by years of hard work by him, so if you want to dive the best sites around here then I suggest you book yourself on his charter boat, you will not be disappointed.

GEO RUADH….46m
This dive is one of the pinnacles on the North side of Soay, one of the groups of islands that make up St Kilda. Dropping down into the crystal clear waters you come to a huge archway about 20m in diameter through the pinnacle at around 42m. As you enter, it darkens for about 50m then opens out into an absolutely breathtaking sight. Every inch of this pinnacle is covered in jewel anenomies, Devonshire cup corals etc. The visibility is so enormous here, 25m+ & the water so blue you get the feeling you are in the Red Sea.

GREENOCK….30m

HISPANIA….30m
It's a toss up between this & the San Tiburcio as my favourite Scottish dive; I cannot understand why it was only rated 24 in Diver magazines top 100 British wreck dives. A Swedish steam ship which went down in 1954, it lies upright with a 30degrees list to starboard it is simply an outstanding dive with lots of life. There is access to cabins, bridge & down into the engine room. You can swim below the bridge between no2 hold & no3 hold on the starboard side & from no2 hold on the port side along a passage through a door on your left hand side then up through a hatch into the bridge. Towards the stern a spare propeller is stored, around the rudder is an impressive sight although the propeller has been salvaged, it is worthwhile coming off the wreck to have look back at the ship as it is an awesome sight. I cannot really begin to do it justice telling you about it here, you just have to dive it yourself to really appreciate it. I've never had less than 8m visibility; usually it's been between 10 & 15m.

INNESJURA....37m                                                                                                                                      A intact puffer lies on an even keel with damage to the Starboard bow, it is pretty small so you end up going round it a couple of times to fill in time, it lies not far from the Fairweather V but it has not nearly as much life on it .

ISLE MARTIN....32m                                                                                                                                    I think we dived the wrong part here as the vertical wall which we were told about was nothing more than a boulder slope which was nothing to get excited over.

N.E. POINT OF KEARSTAY….30m
Kearstay is a small island off the North side of Scarp in the Hebrides. This wall is very nice with good visibility in the 12m ranges as it is in a tidal area. It therefore attracts all the filter feeders & lots of other life for you to see as you drift by.

KYLE RHEA….18m
This 6-knot drift dive will blow your socks off & get your pulse racing. A narrow strip of water between the Isle of Skye & the mainland leading into Loch Alsh it comes from 30m up to around 10m & then down again. There is nothing to see here but a rocky bottom but it is so exhilarating you should not miss it, but beware you can get knocked around a little.

LADY ISABELLA….15m

Well broken up wreck lying off Little Cumbrae in the Clyde, reasonable enough dive though.

LONGWY….27m
This French steamship was torpedoed in 1917 & now lies on an even keel in the Lower Clyde area. I have only it once & in very poor visibility of only 3m. It is pretty well flattened but has still retained its shape; it would be a very nice dive in better conditions as it is covered in marine life.

MADAM ALICE….42m
Just off Oban, this wreck which sank in February 1918 due to a collision with a steam yacht is very silty & has lots of fishing nets lying around so great care needs to be taken during the dive. On the one occasion I dived her I was in the fourth pair in so visibility was only 2m & I found it difficult to get the full picture. It is not one I would hurry back to but if I do, I will try to ensure I am in the first pair on the wreck.

MIDDLE CRACK….47m
On the South East side of Boreray, one of the group of islands that make up St Kilda. There is a huge cave, which does not extend very far back but has an immensely impressive entrance, which can be accessed from 35m. The bottom must be 60m as we were at 47m & could see it all so clearly in the huge visibility of 25m+. There are friendly seals all over the place here that come over to check you out & keep an eye on you & wall-to-wall jewel anemones, Devonshire cup corals, various sponges & soft corals.

OIGH-SGEIR….22m
This rocky outcrop is situated approximately 10miles West of Rhum. Its rock formations are very similar to Giants Causeway & has some very nice diving in whatever depth you choose. I have dived there twice & had 10-12m visibility with loads of life & some scattered wreckage.

RUBHA-CAMAS A MHAORAICH....35m                                                                                                 In Loch Broom opposite Ullapool there are a couple of nice walls with scallop beds on top.

SGEIR a’PHUIRT….28m
Nestled almost between the islands of Canna & Sanday this wall is very nice but very silty, you need to stay off the bottom to avoid kicking it up but otherwise is a very pleasant dive with lots of life to be found. Expect visibility in the 3-4m range

SHUNA….32m
This intact wreck in the Sound of Mull is a very popular dive with visiting divers. I've seen visibility from 2m to 15m+, it can be very gloomy in low visibility, but when you get it good it is an absolutely stunning dive, with the decks at 16m sloping to 20m. The real problem here is being protected by a headland it is divable at any state of the tide making it so popular it is often very crowded with divers kicking up silt reducing visibility to zero. Sunk in 1913 she sits upright, is well intact & is teeming with life, it is right up there in my estimation of favourite wreck dives

TAPTI….25m
This wreck on the South side of Coll, which ran aground in the January storms of 1951, is an excellent dive. She is rather broken up, but it is broken into large sections which provides lots of spaces to get into to investigate, it ranges from 10m at the stern to 25m at the bows which rise up about 15m from the seabed. There is an abundance of life to be found here which adds to a very pleasurable dive. It is not the easiest place to get to, I tried a couple of times before finally making it, so if you get favourable weather conditions go for it, you will not be disappointed.

TARAN MOR….21m
Situated near the entrance on the South side of Loch Resort in the island of Lewis, I found this to be of little interest, it consists of a boulder slope down to 20m to a sandy bottom with visibility in the 5m regions.

LOCH TEALASAVAY….26m
The wall on the South side of the entrance to this sea loch in the Isle of Lewis, is near vertical with visibility in the 10m regions. There is a tunnel here at about 20m, which extends back about 50m gently sloping upwards to open out at 15m to a stunning archway. The top of the archway is at about 12m & extends down to a sandy seabed at 20m, nice dive.

THESIS….33m
A very scenic wreck dive, this steam ship lies in the Sound of Mull on a steep slope. The seabed is 19m to 35m with the deck at 14m to 35m, the panels on one side of the hull have been removed for salvage purposes leaving the ribs & therefore you can safely swim from one end to the other inside the hull. Expect visibility to range from 8m to 12m with lots of life present.

UN-NAMED PINACLE 5 MILE W OF CANNA….55m
This is a fairly large pinnacle which comes within 17m of the surface, with the a vertical wall on the South side which starts at 30m & extends down to 50m where it changes to a boulder slope down to a sandy bottom at 55m. The dive itself I found to be uneventful with lots of kelp down to 25m & a pretty barren wall below.

SS WALLACHIA….34m
A cracking dive despite the usual poor visibility associated with diving the Clyde. This virtually intact wreck sank after a collision in 1895 with a cargo of whisky & beer. The holds still contain bottles; my buddy & I found 3 corked bottles in July 1999. We carefully placed them in his bag & admired them while decompressing, on surfacing other divers were hanging onto the shot line in a strong current & in the commotion he dropped them. If you happen to find our “carry out” please mail me.