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In June 2006, a group of 10 from Sub ‘C’ Divers went to Scotland for the weekend, to dive some of the wrecks of The Clyde. We had booked on the MV Clutha, which is operated and superbly skippered by Elaine Watt. The boat is a 10m purpose built steel vessel, with plenty of covered areas, sun decks, toilet, and a compressor on board for air fills. |
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DAY 1
The Wallachia – Built in Southampton in 1883, went down with a valuable cargo of Whiskey, Gin, Beer and Acids, after a collision. She lies in 34 m, with an average of 30m to the decks. Several members had dived this before and remembered it was particularly dark with poor vis, and today was no different. We were told on good days you could still find acid jars and beer bottles but no such findings today. She lies in the middle of shipping lanes, and along with the poor vis, dark conditions and a bit of a swell, its no place for the faint hearted.
Little Cumbrae – Our second dive was a scenic one, off Little Cumbrae (the smaller of two islands). It has excellent drop offs to 50m and sandstone ledges that gently level out at 30m. Sea life is abundant, with lots of wrasse, edible crabs, lobsters etc. Visibility was quite good here, at least 8m, which made for a very relaxing and enjoyable dive.
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DAY 2
The Kintyre - Built in 1868, was a passenger / cargo steam ship and sank (like most of the wrecks here) after a collision with another vessel. She lies on a steep bank 38m – 50m bow to stern. This, for me, was the best dive of the trip. We dropped down the shot and followed the wreck to the bottom, which at 49.6m was pitch black, but excellent vis. There were hundreds of crabs lined up on the seabed, lit up in our torchlights, which looked amazing although a little bit spooky. We started our ascent and once you reach the bow, there is a rope to follow (about 20 feet) which takes you to a disused sewer pipe, and this can be followed right the way up to the shore. It's full of life and makes deco stops very interesting, rather than hanging on a line.
The Akka - The most popular, and the biggest diveable wreck of the Clyde. She was built in Sweden in 1942, and sank after a collision with Gantock Rocks. She lies in 30m at the bow to 40m at the stern, and is covered with orange and white anemones, and dead mans fingers. She is mostly intact, although wire swept because of the hazard to shipping. It is possible to swim along companionways, but any further penetration is hazardous due to poor vis and silty conditions. It’s a big wreck and impossible to see it all in one dive. We dropped onto the wheelhouse, made our way to the stern and back, and had already clocked up enough deco to have to start our ascent.
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SUMMARY
This was my first trip to the Clyde, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would strongly recommend it, but would suggest experienced Sport Divers and above, due to the dark, peaty conditions, and the depth of some of the wrecks. I would also highly recommend using Elaine and her boat, The MV Clutha, which is based at Inverkip, just a 10-min drive from Largs. You can find all the details at www.clyde-diving.co.uk |
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| Andy Morris |
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