REDS - The spirit of adventure dives on.

by Richard Booth

Tired of visiting the same old sites along with the rest of the crowd? Do you yearn to visit and dive unexplored and more adventurous adventurous sites?
It all sounds something of a pipe dream in this age of commercialised dive charter trips. That was until I attended a BSAC DIVEWISE event in Durham and heard about the local REDS scheme....
The Regional Expedition Diving Scheme was set up in the North East of England to offer experienced local BSAC divers the opportunity to further develop their skills through participating in more adventurous diving opportunities than perhaps they were likely to experience through their own clubs.
It sounded interesting so I decided to sign up for the planned Easter expedition upon a liveaboard out of Oban.
On assembling up at Oban harbour, the pile of 'rusty' twin sets, rebreathers and a side scan sonar unit immediately indicated that I was amongst a group of serious enthusiasts.

The following morning we gathered for a briefing and discussion regarding possible target sites, taking into account factors such as the weather and swell.
The aim of our expedition was to look for, and dive, new and relatively unexplored sites off the South side of the Isle of Mull, well away from the more crowded and popular dive sites of the Sound of Mull.
To achieve this aim we had chartered the Hjalmar Bjorge , a relatively new liveaboard vessel operating on the West Coast of Scotland, but with a very experienced skipper, Mark Henrys, whose local knowledge was to prove invaluable over the course of the expedition.
This 23 metre former Norwegian ice rescue vessel is an ocean going small ship; refitted out to a high standard and very much aimed at the luxury end of the UK charter business. It is equipped with bow thrusters as well as stabilisers to minimise discomfort in rougher seas.
Briefings complete, lines were cast off and the Hjalmer Bjorge set off down the Firth of Lorne.

The first day's diving focussed on a shake down drift dive followed by a visit to the SS Meldon, an old collier which sank during the First World War in Loch Buie, in 17 metres of water. This wreck is particularly notable for its very picturesque stern, complete with iron propeller and rudder still in place.
The following morning, with the weather ever improving and the swell dropping, we ventured out towards the South West tip of Mull, side scanning the sea bottom in the hope of picking up some interesting targets.
During the course of the next two days, we took the opportunity to explore some of these sites. Whilst most proved to be nothing more than 'ship shaped' rocky reefs, the upturned hull of a lost steam ship was located and successfully dived. However, the depth of its location combined with a strong running current, prevented anything but a cursory inspection of the wreckage and nothing was found which aided the identification of this long lost vessel.
Exploratory diving however was not just limited simply to a hunt for 'metal' targets. A number of dives were also carried out on sites of a more scenic nature. These included a dive on a u/w pinnacle of rock in the area of the Torran rocks, which dramatically rises from 60 metre plus depths, to within 10 metres of the surface.
The opportunity was also taken to complete a night dive on the wreck of the SS Ostende. This WII freighter lies in 10 metres of water in Loch na Lathaich, and whilst well broken up, makes for a fantastic night dive with a wealth of u/w life to be seen amongst its lost cargo of ammunition.
On the final day of the expedition diving took place to locate and dive wreck sites along the Southern shores of the Isle of Mull.
HMS Maine was a Royal Fleet Auxiliary hospital ship wrecked in 1914 after running aground in thick fog. Whilst featured in a number of dive guides to the area, none accurately pin point its actual location. The wreckage itself is scattered amongst kelp covered gulleys and the gleam of non ferrous metal indicates that this is a site that has not been heavily dived.
The final dive was on the wreck of the armed steam trawler Margaret Wetherly, lost on the 5/02/1943. Whilst well broken up in shallow water, the interest in this site is primarily in the fact that again it has not been heavily dived. Again the sight of non ferrous metal amongst the kelp and rusty steel plates serves as a reminder of times past, when divers first explored the shores around our coasts and found wrecks that were time capsules of history rather than simply 'stripped' piles of corroding metal.

Hjalmar Bjorge charter and for further information. Tel. 01680 814260
www.northernlight-uk.com

Further information regarding future REDS expeditions,
Contact Andy Hunt tel. 0191 2524905

Article and photographs by Richard Booth.
Contact details:
Home tel. 0191-4100307
Work tel. 0191-4552294
E-mail: richardbooth@stonefish.demon.co.uk


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