Poseidon's Parlour: Caves 101

I dived The Caves, Loch Long for the first time last night with Avril's 'West Coast Divers'. As always there is some cross pollination between dive groups, so I knew all the divers present and they included Avril, Fast Ed, Big Alan and Laura - who has decided she wants a nickname, suggestions on a postcard.

I've wanted to dive the Caves for some time, but wanted to do the site first during the day to acquaint myself with the difficult entry before attempting it at night. However, with my usual Tuesday night football training cancelled and I was presented with the opportunity to dive the site at night with experienced divers. So I took it.

The site itself is not a series of Caves as the name would suggest, but rather a steep wall dive with rocky overhangs, presenting the impression that you are, on occasion, in a cavern.

So to the entry, it goes like this:

a 5m clamber down a 70-80 degree incline
a 5m clamber through a 1.5m high tunnel on a 20 degree incline with small river passing through
a 20m (at low tide) clamber down through seaweed covered rocks with flowing water with 45 degree incline

In short, it wasn't the worst entry I've ever encountered and, in fact, I enjoyed it. As a result, I was first in the water.

Once in the water, the site is a wee bit silty until you encounter the main sections of the wall. I know this as Laura and I went at the back for two reasons:

I knew Laura would be taking photographs (I'd left my camera at home)
We both had mild colds and if we were going to have equalising problems we didn't want to hold up the group. Fortunately, neither of us had to call in Edward Woodward.

Remaining about 5m behind the main group we descended to around 22m and man I wish I'd brought my camera. Huge common lobsters and edible crabs that would grace any plate, large wrasse (ballan, goldsinny, corkwing), cod, big scorpion fish, bloody henry starfish, horse anemone, devonshire cup corals. However, I was most impressed by the rock formations mohawked with plumose anemones.

With 100 bar left I was still having, as we say in Scotland, a rare tear! I eventually popped up at the entry point with 50 bar left.

This dive was epic and I'd go as far to say that in my 101 dives it was right up there with Cenotes Chac Mool in Mexico and it cost me nothing to dive and it's right here in Scotland. I cannot wait to go back - difficult entry or not.

I've scraped a few of Laura and Avril's picture off Facebook as it would be a shame if you didn't see any of it. Shhh!