ULLAPOOL TRIP 28th - 31st MAY 2005
After a staggered start, some Friday, some early Saturday, some not quite so early
Saturday, we all arrived at Mrs Ross's B & B to the same warm welcome we had last year.
Karen and Paul, first to arrive, had the intention of going to do a couple of
shore dives on Saturday afternoon.
Horizontal rain with a touch of hail and gale force winds put paid to that idea.
Chris, Steph, Bev, Charlie and Jon and Joan arrived within a couple of hours
and after settling in, we made our way to the pub for food and a couple of cheeky ones.
Food ordering was made fun by the waiters being Russian and speaking very little
English, so Joan request to know if the steak pie was made with shortcrust or
puff pastry was met with a blank stare !.
Further cheeky ones were had back at the B & B as we waited up for Tim to
arrive just after midnight. Wine, beer and chat flowed freely until the small hours.
Joan complained bitterly that we were ignoring her, but we were just trying to stop
her telling the bat joke again!
As smells of breakfast wafted round next morning, we all staggered out of bed, some
of us actually had breakfast, others were a little 'green' and declined.
Skipper Richard collected the gear from the B & B and we made our way past the
lambs to the boat.
First dive was a wall about 30mins away on the far side of the loch.
Skipper managed to get everybody in at a depth they liked, and a jolly nice wall
it was too. Lots of life, nice sandy areas and you could pick your depth
from 5m to 35m, 5 - 8m viz with a bit of plankton in it. Karen, Jon and Paul each
lost their snorkels getting in, but Karen found 2 and Bev the third, so all we
reunited happily.
Second dive was further out in mid loch, where the waves were getting a bit choppy
and the weather was closing in. Paul fed his lunch to the fishes and declined to dive,
but those that did said it was a nice rocky outcrop and again you could pick your
depth and your scallops. As the weather changed for the worse we made our back to
the B & B, for a warm shower, a cuppa and a kip. The small cafe opened up for us again,
but this time they were prepared and got a barrel of the local beer in!
Fewer cheeky ones were knocked back as we were all tired and sloped off to bed early.
Monday was a slightly better day, everybody managed breakfast and we made a longish
trip to Martin Island, way up in the actual Summer Isles, seeing seals and a porpoise
on the way. 75m wall dive, fairly sheer, plenty of choppy waves against the cliff but
good viz. Karen and Paul lost their snorkels again, but they were gone for good this
time. A short hop across the water, we tied up to the buoy of the Fairweather V and
had a spot of lunch in the sunshine.
Second dive on the Fairweather V - nemesis of Bev and Chris! Jon and Joan made sure
that both actually went from the boat, down the shot line to the wreck and saw what
they missed last year, Still totally covered in dead mens fingers and anemones from
top to toe and upright on the sea bed. Maybe now Bev and Chris will not get ribbed
so badly - but don't bet on it! Karen and Paul sat this one out as at 25m it was a
bit deep for Paul on his 8th OW dive.
Just so Paul and Kaz weren't left out we returned to Sunday's first dive site on
the loch wall and dived it again to about 12m, we were joined by most folk, gluttons
for punishment with a bit of air left, for a quick 5m dive in the kelp.
Back to the B & B and whilst everyone else cleaned their kit, Karen and Paul did
a shore dive in the bay, I Om but going deeper, nice sandy bottom, loads of crabs
and lobsters in the rocks, it would make a great night dive site next year.
Back to the cafe for roasted bambi and more beer! Most were flagging again by about
10.30pm and while the sensible folk retired to bed, certain nameless people were
downing vodka/Bacardi until the small hours. At breakfast the next morning a
disgruntled Jon was threatening divorce as he described how whilst trying to
get a drunken nude Joan into her bunk, she slipped, fell and broke the bed/table.
Oh dear!
Tim, Chris, Steph, Karen and Paul started to head home soon after breakfast,
while Jon, Joan, Charlie and Bev had some great ideas about spending the
rest of the week walking in the Glencoe/Ben Nevis region. When asked at the
meeting how they got on, the reply was that the furthest they walked was to
the bottle bank on the camp site and back!
Although it is a long way to go, it is well worth it, for the welcome,
the diving, the scenery, the food, the beer and because of the colder
weather this year we had few midgies!
One to book early for in 2006.
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