Tony Makin has just returned from a trip with members of Darwen Sub Aqua Club. Here is his report:

Go West

The title for those old enough to remember is a song. Now whilst I have no connection with the Gay Icon imagery it represents, I would still advise all who are interested in beautiful diving to follow that advice. Previously, my favorite sites were all off the West Coast of Ireland and would be at Kilkee and Doolin. However in line with the Buddhist concept of Impermanence things change, because nothing lasts forever.

St Kilda is my highest current recommendation. It is the western most point of the British Isles and is 45 miles west of the sound of Harris, out in the Atlantic. At the outset I will say that only four out of ten diving journeys make it there. It is very weather dependent as I found out, more of that later but, it is still worth the effort. Like my visit to Scapa Flow I must admit that I got more pleasure from what was out of the water than what was under but I would still say that the diving experience to be found there is second to none.

The journey begins at Uig on Skye where the road becomes sea and our destination was Tarbet on Harris to meet our skipper, whose live-aboard was based at Leverburgh. We spent the night at in the Inn at Rhodal. And all I'll say is that even Accrington cemetery has more life. The pub shuts at 10.30 every day but Friday when it shuts at 11.00. It doesn't open on Sunday at all and the people dress up in an archaic style of clothing to spend time in the Kirk.

The wind was blowing from the east, which ruled out St Kilda, and so we dived on a wreck called the SS. Stassa off Harris. There was a lot to see and we did a second dive after lunch when we explored the holds and the engine room. By this time all my buddies, who had taken on the concept of technical diving, impressed me and all had either two independent 12L tanks or large ponies. My equipment was primitive by comparison. Computers that could be switched from air to nitrox and trimix were the order of the day. Mine is an original Aladdin. Would Bowie with his wordplay refer to me as Aladinsane to dive with such primitive equipment?

The following day we did a dive at a scarp on the NW Sound of Scerstay, which was pretty. Then after lunch we dived in Loch Tealascavay. Initially I collected scallops and once my stab jacket pockets were full, explored a tunnel that turned into a cave with light at the end, which lead to a beautiful wall. On surfacing and relating the tale of scallops, John and Dave did a really good hunter/gather dive and Andy can be seen preparing what our chef was to turn into an excellent starter, before our main meal.

After breakfast and with a good two day forecast, our skipper sailed west. This is the first view of the St Kilda archipelago, still four miles away.

The Islands are visible from the Hebrides and must have appeared to be a safe settlement for early man. Neolithic underground chambers, Bronze Age Cairns and Iron Age hut circles have all been found on the islands, Interestingly there is a principle figure in St Kilda mythology of an Amazon who loved hunting. In her day there was dry land between St Kilda and the Outer Hebrides and she chased deer across to Harris and Lewis. There are antlers that have been found under the peat and also in the traditions of Harris there are legends of an Amazon who hunted from Long Island to St Kilda. There is also a fort on Dun, which is said to have been built by the Fir Bolg, a Celtic Warrior tribe from pre-Christian Ireland. There is a book about St Kilda called 'Island on the edge of the world.' This is worth reading if you are interested in what is known about the history of the area. In 1697 there were 180 people living in the village. In the first half of the 19th century it dwindled to around 100. Over the years it stayed at the level of around the mid 70's until 1928 when it fell to 37 and in 1931 the islands became uninhabited.

After about five hours of sailing with St Kilda in view from a long way away, you become conscious of the bird life. I was amazed to see the gannets circling and then plunging from a great height into the sea hunting food. Large schools of puffins could be seen floating, diving and eating. This is a bird watcher's heaven. 

This is a view of Boreray and some of the Stacs. 

When the Islands were inhabited the women chose a queen from among the unmarried ladies of the island. She was the leader of the women's puffin snaring expeditions to Boreray where they would stay for two to three weeks in their hunt. There was also a flock of sheep living there. 

19th century sepia print  showing some of the women.

The landscape of St Kilda was created about 60,00,000 years ago by volcanic action. A rift in the Northern Continental plate cause the land between Hirta and Boreray to collapse inwards and the cliffs and sea stacs where thrown up. The result has created the best sea caves and tunnel dives in Europe. With the usual gin clear visibility, it has become one of the places that most divers should aspire to go.

T. S. Elliot in "Sweeny Erect"  epitomizes the St Kilda archipelago:

Paint me a cavernous waste shore
Cast in the unstilled Cyclades,
Paint me the bold anfractuous rocks
Faced by the snarled and yelping seas.

There is only one landing site and it is called Village bay. This is where the inhabitants lived and where the army set up its base and it's missile detection mast. Now even though the army has left they still keep open the Puff Inn. They also sell souvenirs and bric a bracs and have a postal stamp unique to St Kilda.

This is a view of village bay taken from the top of the hill behind the village. Behind are enormous cliffs dropping to the sea and home to thousands of birds. To the right of the bay are cliffs containing the Saw Cut and a gash which leads to the open sea. The bay makes a good night dive with octopus, flatfish and cuttlefish emerging. However be careful of the Weaver Fish with their poisonous tip to their dorsal fin.
A short inflatable ride brings you to the shore where there are interesting buildings to be seen, one of which is a museum. There are no full time residents only people who pay to work there for
the Scottish equivalent of the National Trust. The majority of the people I saw were from the boat full of bird watchers. Most importantly for me, there was a pub called The Puff Inn. There was also a museum in one of the houses which was good for Fizzing off after a mornings dive.

The most interesting one I did there was called the Saw Cut. This is a big gash in the rock and forms a cave. The swell carries you in till you hit a wall where you hold on till the next swell comes and lifts you over the next wall. After I did this up three walls, I was looking into the eyes of an enormous seal, which swam away in a graceful manner. On leaving the cave I waited for my buddies and got them confused with another pair one of them were also wearing two independent 12l tanks.

This is the cliff in village bay, which holds the Saw Cut!

The following day the wind was changing to an easterly so after another cave and cliff dive we had to leave. Returning to Harris we dived in Loch Telasavey again on a beautiful wall and after a final night in the Inn at Rhodal we left for an excellent night at the Royal Hotel at Portree, The Postmaster and Mistress were playing excellent Gallic music. She played the fiddle and him on the guitar and singing. The evening ended with them performing one of my old favourites, Robbie Burns 'Will Ye Go Lassie Go.'

We had a boat booked on Skye to dive the Napier, which I'd dived before but had never been inside. One of my buddies stirred up a lot of mud and we became separated but we all found other buddies because all the party was under the water. An excellent trip came to an end in the pub that evening.

There is a cost factor to take into consideration for a trip to St Kilda. To dive in the Red Sea is nearly a third of the cost but it is not a World Heritage Site. One drop of water is the same anywhere but experiences are not the same. A truly unforgettable diving experience is guaranteed as well as a spiritual one. Once again like the setting of the sun, I'll say: GO WEST! 

Tony Makin.

o0o

Letter from America

Our club web site has recently received an Email from a Diver in the USA :

Campbellsport Wisconsin is near to Lake Winnebago and Milwaukee on lake Michigan.

This was our reply:

We received the following response: