A Quick Day Trip to Loch Linnhe, in February

Two very nice dives were had in Loch Linnhe on Sunday. For a change, it was just a fleeting single day's visit (which meant getting up way too early on a day off... ).

Marion wanted something special to mark her 500th dive (since she missed out so memorably a couple of weeks ago at Sunart...) so we (Chris P and I) took her to Loch Linnhe.
Ha! That's not special I can hear you all saying!

Well, it is when you consider it was her first time diving this particular site AND she got to see and snap Flameshells for the very first time too. 

A gentle entry into the water afforded by the rock cleared "slipway" and down into 3-4m before descending into deeper and quicker current (which wanted to take us to Fort William) til around about 15-18m when the current naturally eased off (isn't topography wonderful for creating these "anomallies"?) and down over the Flameshell bed and all those associated Brittlestars.

 M got a cracking shot of a small dogfish, then on our return from 31m we came across a large Dragonet in all it's resplendant iridescence, shining like a "Why dontcha come up and see me sometime..." beacon with his mating colours.

Ooh, there was one further wee surprise on our ascent, a small simply carved wooden box was lying on the seabed with it's screwed down lid split open. Do you need to ask what it was?
Someone's dear departed's ashes... the poly bag inside had been cut open by the little critturs and was now allowing these ashes to gently release into the waters of the Linnhe. Touching!
31m for 35min or so, 7 degree water temp.
A surface interval "marred" only by the sound of the compressor re-filling our tanks in the glorious sunshine and virtually nil wind as we brewed up the teas and coffees, then it was off down the loch to the next site.

Another first for Marion, tho' Chris had done it only once and I had done it a few times. This one has a bit of a clamber to get down to the rocks below but it's easy really, once you put a rope around one of the trees.

A nice step off into crystal clear water (at the surface) and we're now faced with getting Marion under the water in her brand new Buddy Commando (swapped kit round during lunch). We had added weights already to the harness but found we needed to add a few (4.3kg) granite rocks to the huge pockets Commandos sport, just to ensure there were no free ascents when on our return.
This was a shallower bimble to 15m or so along the lochside for about a quarter of a mile then the return journey in the 7-8m range on the way back using the surface water eddy currents to bring us to the entry point again and so that M could grab hold of the boulders should she feel light as the air went down. No such troubles were encountered even as she got to 55bar in the 7m shallows as the 60min mark came up...

Some really huge Archidoris Pseudoargus (Sea Lemons) are kicking about here in the shallows, getting ready for the spawning season no doubt.Lots of Decorator Crabs, a solitary, tiny Angular Crab

Archidoris pseudoargus (nudibranch)

and loads of Edible crabs and the usual other stuff were seen in the sometimes milky 4-5m viz (at 15m) but the viz was easily 8-10 in the shallows.

Goneplax rhomboides

Strangely, my two companions said they felt warmer on the second dive than the first, but then that could be down to the fact neither of them had been diving since Loch Sunart in the first week of January.
15m for 60min, 6-7 degrees water temp. Beautiful Winter's Day in the sun!
A nice day out in great weather and great company.