SHEEPHAVEN SUB AQUA CLUB NOTES.
Club members from Sheephaven Sub Aqua Club had some fine diving last weekend, despite the poor sea state that was in part due to the big Spring tides but mainly a persistent north easterly breeze that pushed the swell all the way down Mulroy Bay.
However it was the predicted extreme low water at Downings Pier on Saturday that was the deciding factor in launching from Mevagh and after checking out the conditions at Melmore Head the dive party travelled the length of Mulroy Bay to Campbells Bed.
This dive site consists of a 500m long reef that runs in a generally north-south direction on the eastern side of the bay, where depths range from as shallow as 2m to greater than 25 metres on its southern most edge.
Marine life on site takes full advantage of these variations in depth, with a wide range of species on the shallower reaches of the water column, including seaweeds, kelps, anemones and if a diver is very fortunate they will see a pipefish, while deeper down there are various crab species, Dog Whelks, Sea Lemons and the occasional Thornback Ray.
As always the rapid change in water temperature in Broadwater Bay is remarkable, having made a welcome return to 10 degrees Celsius for the first time in many months. However the increased water temperatures had the expected consequence of a Plankton bloom in the bay there-by reducing the in-water visibility to no greater than three metres horizontally.
Nonetheless the warmer water temperatures on Saturday morning allowed for longer dive times of over 40 minutes, which was also helped by the dive being conducted in one stick, thanks to Simon Henderson who provided dry coxswain duties.
On Sunday morning Sheephaven SAC had a dive party big enough to justify putting three boats in the water for the first time this year and again they were fortunate to have dry coxswains who allowed the morning trainee dive to be conducted in one stick.
Once again the midday tidal condition at Downings would have prohibited the recovery of the club dive boats so the decision was to go back to Mevagh where low water conditions were more favourable. Sea conditions out to sea we sufficiently good enough to allow for the dive to be conducted in the lee of Ravendy Island, near to Melmore Head.
Water temperature at 9 degrees Celsius was just a little cooler than Broadwater Bay on Saturday morning, while in-water visibility was better at nearly 5 metres horizontally, with maximum depths of over 15 metres for the more experienced divers.
Maximum dive times of 30 minutes were recorded as the new trainees got another 10 metre dive under their belt, as they continue on the process of completing the series of qualifying dives for their 2 Star dive grade.
Overall it was a lovely weekend of diving with at last a welcome rise in water temperatures, giving the promise of even better diving conditions in the near future.
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