Skelly Hole, St Abbs - Scotland

First boat dive at St Abbs with PSAC.... and what did I do? Leave my camera and torch on the couch at home! Thanks to Iain for lending me his spare torch.  No pictures :(

I was surprised to see Grant here.  He was a member of Kelvin Divers, my previous club when lving in Glasgow last year.  Grant had also moved through to Edinburgh and this was his first dive with PSAC.

Really nice dive entry site. The boat has to manoeuvre in to an enclosed bay amongst rocks and cliff where loads of gullemots reside.  There wasn't much swell and the weather was nice.

Visibility wasn't great so we didn't venture too far out.  It was a really nice scenic dive. There are lovely walls covered with soft corals, sponges, anemones and sea kelp.

During the safety stop we watched the guillemots dive bombing down into the water mistaking our bubbles for something more edible.

Dive with Roberta and Grant.

Entry:  7:27pm

Dive time:  56min

Depth:  21m

Temp: 11degrees C 

Weights: 12kg

PSAC#3

Greenends Gully and Nest Ends Reef, Eyemouth - Scotland (Post-lockdown diving!)

First dive with Pentland Sub-Aqua Club (PSAC) after the lockdowns.  I'd contacted Roberta on relocating to Edinburgh but restrictions meant diving was not permitted.  It was great to finally get in the water.  The weather was lovely - nice and sunny.

Highlight was undoubtedy the seal which crept up on us while we were playing with a lobster (See video clip!).

 

Dive 1 Greenends Gully

Entry: 11:18am

Dive time: 50min

Depth: 13.1m

Temp: 10 degrees C 

Weights: 12kg

PSAC#1

Dive 2 Nest Ends Reef

Entry: 2:39pm

Dive time: 43min

Depth: 14.6m

Temp: 10 degrees C 

Weights: 12kg

PSAC#2 

 

 

 

S1 Science Project - Sea Life Adaptations

Thought I'd post these are there the only sea creatures that I'm able to see while on lockdown!

We've been looking at adaptations for survival in the first year science course. An adaptation is a characteristic that makes an animal or plant more suited to its environment, so improving its chance for survival and reproduction.

A project my students took part in was to design their own sea creatures and explain the adaptaions that they possess.

The student really enjoyed it and their work was really creative:

 https://www.bioexplorer.net/ocean-animal-adaptations.html/

 

 

 

Sea slug adaptations - body regeneration

 

Elysia marginata

 

Two species of sea slug from the order Sacoglossa, Elysia atroviridis and Elysia marginata, are able to completely regenerate their bodies - including heart, kidney, intestine and reproductive organs.

The head can survive for up to a month, surviving autonomously thanks to its ability to photosynthesize like plants.

Pretty amazing!

https://www.livescience.com/decapitated-sea-slugs-regrow-entire-body.html

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/08/keep-your-head-the-self-decapitating-sea-slugs-that-regrow-their-bodies-hearts-and-all

Diving postponed due to SARS-CoV-2 :(

 

A Frames, Loch Long - Scotland

First dive of 2020 and a nice Valentine's/Birthday dive (",)
A little chilly..

Entry: 17:25
Dive time: 50 mins

Depth: 19.2m

Temp: 7 degrees C 

Weights: 12k

KD#3

A Frames, Loch Long - Scotland

It had been a year since I dived in Scotland at St Abbs last September so it was great to do a night dive again at Loch Long.  This site was one of the first places I did with my dry suit so it was good to return.  It's a very popular dive site for dive training and not too far from Glasgow.

A Frames, Loch Long - Google Maps

Plenty of underwater life here.  On the first dive (minus the camera) we saw pleny of shrimp.  There were loads of starfish, velvet swimming crabs, hermit crabs, squat lobsters, and long-legged spider crabs.  There were peacock fan worms along the frames which look nice when lit up.

Highlight of the second dive was a juvenile squid, first thought to be cuttlefish (?), which I managed to follow for a bit.

Dive 1
Entry: 18:39
Dive time: 46 mins

Depth: 20.1m

Temp: 10 degrees C 

KD#1

Dive 2
Entry: 20:10
Dive time: 31 mins

Depth: 18.9 m

Temp: 10 degrees C

Weights: 13kg 

KD#2