|
I
first dived the Fames about ten years ago and, for the next
few years, I made them an annual trip before other commitments
stopped me. So, when fellow BSoUP member Hilary Driscoll and
Potters Bar Branch of the BSAC offered me a place to dive
there again last October I welcomed the opportunity to revisit
them.
The
journey north from Hertfordshire to Seahouses, the launch
site for the islands, takes about six hours, including a short
meal break.
Good
viz
The
Fames is all boat diving. There is no good shore diving available.
As the site is offshore the viz is generally good. The water
temperature is cooler than the south coast so a dry suit is
advisable.
Accommodation
for our weekend had been arranged in a small hotel on a bed
and breakfast basis at local prices by the dive operator,
Ian Douglas, As with most diving arrangements, we met in the
pub to plan the following day's diving.
The
consensus of the group was to dive with seals. As long as
the group saw or swam with them that would be fine.
No
problem
That
request would be no problem because the Fames is the best
site to swim with seals.
The
skipper, Andrew who is Ian's son, also wanted us to enjoy
our diving and experience the best that the Fames could offer
in the way of underwater topography and marine life.
Over
the weekend, he found us four excellent sites all with slack
water for our dives.
The
dive boat was Sovereign III, an Aquastar 38ft vessel with
twin engines, 210 sq. ft of deck space, a small cabin plus
bow storage space which was excellent for safely storing dry
camera gear.
On
the Saturday morning we dived Blue Caps. This site was selected
for its resident seal population. The seals rest on the rocky
outcrops that make up this site. Below water a clilT face
is present with step-like ledges on which you can sit to wait
for the seals to arrive.
On
this dive I used my 24-50min lens on a Nikon F801 in a Subal
housing without flash. This would allow me to take a variety
of shots from wide-angle to head and shoulders shots.
The
most productive part of the dive was spent in about 6m of
water, sitting on a ledge with my feet outstretched in front
of me.
Interesting
fins
Seals
have always taken an interest in divers' fins so sitting with
fins in front allows you to photogrpah them. On many occasions
they would rub their chins on my fins, behaving like a pup
resting its head on your lap.
My
only regret on this dive was leaving my flashgun behind. The
seals are much tamer than five years ago, staying close for
head and shoulder shots.
We
returned to Seahouses for lunch before diving the Pinnacles
area, towards the eastern side of Staple Island, in the afternoon.
This
is another site with a vertical rock face down to about 20m.
Over the years, divers have been encouraged to feed the Ballan
wrasse here by breaking open sea urchins. The sea urchin population
doesn't seem to suffer too greatly from this activity. However,
it is not necessary to do this any more as the wrasse appear
the moment you pick up an urchin.
This
dive gives you an excellent opportunity to photograph these
fish at close range, for which I favour my 60mm lens.
Other
subjects
The
site is also a good one for photographing cod and, if you
are lucky, octopus. The wreck of St Andre lies in this area
and offers reasonable photographic opportunities of small
pieces of wreckage covered in marine life. I would, however,
concentrate on macro work as the sea?bed is covered in brittle
stars in an array of colours.
Staple
Island is home to many thousands of sea birds from May to
July and it is at this time of year that you can watch them
swimming underwater in the Pinnacles area. I've watched them
swim all around me in open water while others rest on the
surface. As yet I've not been able to photograph them
On
Sunday morning we dived The Hopper, which is on the east side
of Longstone. It is a good morning dive because the sun illuminates
the rock face in this area.
There
are many gullies, some of which lead into Longstone's central
lagoon.
Wide-angle
site
The
rock face and gullies are covered in places with anemones
and dead man's fingers. The site offers good wide-angle shots
- the scenery is good and seals are often seen here.
On
this dive one of our party tried an experiment with the ballen
wrasse. It is well-known that Napoleon wrasse like boiled
eggs but do their relatives in British waters favour such
delicacies? In one hand a boiled egg was held aloft, in the
other a sea urchin. These were then offiered to any passing
wrasse. The boiled egg was totally ignored. This is obviously
bad news for the sea urchin population as there seems no substitute
for them.
Northern
Hares was the site for the afternoon dive. 1 have dived this
site many times and found it excellent for macro work. We
dropped of some distance from the site and followed a reef
towards the area. The sea-bed was completely barren with the
exception of a few urchins and starfish and a marked contrast
to the actual Northern Hares on other sites in the Farnes
that I know.
Powerful
forces
The
rocks were smooth as though they had been polished and, as
I swam along the reef, my thoughts were on the forces needed
to create such scenery.
The
area would be ideal for experimenting with diver shots. The
Northern Hares themselves are an excellent site with larger
gullies harbouring an array of crustacean life and fish.
The
weekend was excellent with the Douglas' ensuring our group
had a good time aboard Sovereign III. The tidal flow through
the islands is complex so good local knowledge is essential.
Combined with a hard boat, this is the best way for underwater
photographers to pursue their hobby.
lan
Douglas can be contacted at: Southfield House, Main Street,
Seahouses (01665 720059).
Diving
the Farnes will be the subject of a talk by Peter Tatton and
Peter Ladell at the Society's monthly meeting on August 20.
|
