17th June 2008
We arrived at Seahouses having past a steady stream of towed RIBs heading south down the A1, no doubt on their way home after a great days diving at the Farnes.
Boarding the MV Glad Tidings VII for some evening diving, we headed out to the Farnes in the smug knowledge that we would have these islands to ourselves.
First dive was on the site of the wreck of the St Andre. This small French owned steam ship was wrecked on the 28th October 1908. Her shattered remains now lie quite close to the cliffs of Staple Island.
Billy dropped the shot close to the wrecks boiler. We descended through the clear green water in the face of a gentle tidal current. On the bottom the underwater visibility was still a respectable 10 metres. The current had the advantage of quickly removing any silt kicked up by a careless fin.
Whilst the wreck is well broken up, it still provides an interesting rummage dive. Once back on board, the Glad Tidings headed up to the lee of the Harcars, here we anchored in the shelter of a small bay.
This particular site promised the potential of some good seal encounters. Certainly a lot of seals could be observed basking on the nearby rocks.
Dropping into the water however it was clear however that the underwater visibility was a lot poorer than on the St Andre site. We pressed on, exploring through gullies and around large boulders. Occasionally the odd seal glided past before quickly vanishing back into the gloom.
On the way back to the boat we suddenly came across a young seal that was not so shy. As I moved forward this seal remained motionless on the seabed staring up at us with its large soulful eyes. Eventually with a quick flick of its fins this playful seal gracefully swam away into the gloom. A magic end to the days diving.