Diving the small isles

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Charles Erb - 27 May 2004 12:35 GMT

I am planning a trip to the Small Isles (Rhum, Eigg, Muck, Canna,
Sanday) and wonder if anyone has experience of diving in this area?
Good/bad sites, GPS positions? Anyone dived Oberon Bank? I have lots
of GPS positions for places around Sound of Mull, Bo Fascadale and
wreck sites around Coll, but now want to try further North.

TIA

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Ben Panter - 27 May 2004 13:57 GMT

> I am planning a trip to the Small Isles (Rhum, Eigg, Muck, Canna,
> Sanday) and wonder if anyone has experience of diving in this area?
> Good/bad sites, GPS positions? Anyone dived Oberon Bank? I have lots
> of GPS positions for places around Sound of Mull, Bo Fascadale and
> wreck sites around Coll, but now want to try further North.

I've spent a bit of time around that area, diving and sailing. We've
used Inflatables and charter live aboards - far and away the best has
been Poplar Diver, operated by Northern Light Charters.

You can get exceptional vis and beautiful dives, but I'm afraid I don't
really keep marks, more a case of letting the skipper drop us where he
thinks it's going to be good. You have a strong chance at any time of
the year of heavy weather, although usually you can find a dive somewhere.

Dives that stick in my mind - Bo Fasc is wonderful, very exciting in
anything other than slack. Perhaps too exciting actually. There is a
lovely little dive out and the left of the harbour on Canna. Off the
west coast of Skye is the only time I've ever swum with Dolphins -
pretty magic. Minke Whale sigtings (or at least we thought that was what
they were...).

Oberon Bank supposedly has some unique flora / fauna - look out for fan
shells, foot long musselly type thingimes. MCS / Seasearch were running
an expedition out there not so long ago, maybe have a look on their site.

If you'd like to take your own boats, there is rumoured to be a
compressor on eigg, but you will probably have to ship your kit over
there in your own rib and accomodation is very limited. Last I knew you
were not allowed to bring cars onto the island, but they were in the
middle of building a roro pier so that may have changed. It's pretty
much destroyed the beauty of the natural harbour at Eitean Chatbastait,
but it may have given something to the islanders.

Canna is lovely, although AFAIK there is only a shop, no accomodation or
compressor. If you walk away from the pier there is a little church
which looks like rocket and a jail/castle on a cliff.

Rhum, Muck and Sanday I've never landed on, but there is a National
Trust place on either Rhum or Muck (probably Muck) which is a house full
of bits and bobs untouched since 1900 or something like that...

I've got a feeling I've dived off Hyskeir, and that there was an amazing
amphithetre type thing underwater on the Eastern side. Could be wrong.
Looking at the charts I think I could be confusing it with Lunga, W of
Mull in the Treshnish Isles.

HTH

Ben

Links...

www.isleofeigg.org
www.mcsuk.org

Signature

Ben Panter, Edinburgh
My name (no spaces)@bigfoot which is a com.

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Steve Barlow - 28 May 2004 06:28 GMT

>> I am planning a trip to the Small Isles (Rhum, Eigg, Muck, Canna,
>> Sanday) and wonder if anyone has experience of diving in this area?

snip

>I've spent a bit of time around that area, diving and sailing. We've
>used Inflatables and charter live aboards - far and away the best has
>been Poplar Diver, operated by Northern Light Charters.

Poplar Diver has now been sold but has been replaced with the Elizabeth G.
This is more spacious and eventually will be converted as is its sister ship
Hjalmar Bjorge, I think they are both great, but then the owner of the Elizabeth
G is my brother.

>Dives that stick in my mind - Bo Fasc is wonderful, very exciting in
>anything other than slack. Perhaps too exciting actually. There is a
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>shells, foot long musselly type thingimes. MCS / Seasearch were running
>an expedition out there not so long ago, maybe have a look on their site.

snip

>Rhum, Muck and Sanday I've never landed on, but there is a National
>Trust place on either Rhum or Muck (probably Muck) which is a house full
>of bits and bobs untouched since 1900 or something like that...

Is actually Rhum, the house is very impressive.

>I've got a feeling I've dived off Hyskeir, and that there was an amazing
>amphithetre type thing underwater on the Eastern side.

There are some great dives around Hyskier last year we swam with basking sharks
there. We even found the remains of a wreck.
I got some really good footage of Crayfish (spiny lobster), I saw 5 in one dive.

>Could be wrong.
>Looking at the charts I think I could be confusing it with Lunga, W of
>Mull in the Treshnish Isles.

There are some good dives around the Treshnish Isles the place you are talking
about is at the South west end of Lunga (I think)
Most dives West of Mull are good because the vis is usually very good.
HTH
--
Steve Barlow.

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Clive W - 28 May 2004 09:32 GMT

> > I am planning a trip to the Small Isles (Rhum, Eigg, Muck, Canna,
> > Sanday) and wonder if anyone has experience of diving in this area?
[quoted text clipped - 51 lines]
> www.isleofeigg.org
> www.mcsuk.org

One of Graeme Bruce's wet weekends in Dive magazine covered the small
isles with marks for some of the walls. Can echo Bo Fascadale being a
fantastic dive - had 20m+ viz on it. There is a compressor at the
Glenuig Inn in Glenuig!
hth
Clive

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