2010 Report

"Lobsters, Lings and Wings"
by Kay Rainsley, October 2010
Over the years (more than I would care to mention) I have visited many dive sites around the U.K. Some of them were one-offs and some merited return visits. However, one site that I have never tired of visiting is St. Abbs.
St. Abbs lies just across the Scottish border in Berwickshire. It is situated on the east coast next to Coldingham. The double harbour (inside and outside) is picturesque and pleasant with dive and fishing boats bobbing cheek by jowl. The area is a haven for wildlife both above and below the water incorporating a voluntary marine reserve which is respected by fishermen and divers alike.
This October, yes October, Nick, Rose, Les and I decided to return to our old haunt, namely the caravan site at Scoutscroft and call on the local, friendly, skipper, Billy Aitchison. Billy is one of the nicest skippers I’ve ever come across being amiable, helpful and knows his stuff. He took us out for eight dives over a five day period and each one brought a new delight.
We started off exploring Petticowick, a popular site crammed with lobsters. Every rock, piece of seaweed and hole proved to be a hiding place for the stunning, navy blue, crustaceans. In addition to the pincered creatures we spotted an assortment of crabs, edible, swimming and hermits. These were accompanied by shoals of Pollack and wrasse passing over the rocky terrain. Bright orange scorpionfish populated one of the overhangs and leopard gobies peeped out of crevices. This, we agreed was a good start to our stay.
Further dives included Black Carr with its rocky gullies replete with squat lobsters in their distinctive orange and turquoise shells and the ubiquitous crabs. The seafloor was cloaked in writhing brittle stars, orange and blue urchins and multi-hued starfish. Large sunstars with their distinctive ‘sun rays’ of orange shone against the dark brittlestars.
On to Skelligs Hole, where we came across an octopus. The octopus took umbrage at our interest in it and just as I was positioning the camera it shot off at an alarming rate leaving me with a second rate photograph (no really it wasn’t me). Our disappointment was quickly allayed by the sighting of three wolf fish who refused to be enticed out of their hole even though Rose repeatedly annoyed us with tales of wolf fish rushing out to greet her on every dive. The soft corals and dead mans’ fingers gave the impression of an underwater wonderland.
Our next sojourn into the North Sea incorporated a return to Black Carr with more wolf fish and a visit to the wreck of the Glanmire. Ling were seen lurking around the wreck together with a large conger and the amazing lobster population obviously feeling smug that they were in a reserve.
Brander Point turned up vast shoals of young fish, some of the largest shoals that I have ever seen in British waters plus one very large ling and an assortment of crustaceans. This was followed by an immersion in Ebb Carr another lobster city with a gallery of crevices and cracks for us to swim through. This was a truly fantastic dive decorated with multi-coloured anemones.
By now we were on sensory overload and the cold water was completely forgotten as we clocked up dives of over 40 and even over 50 minutes in our eagerness to explore the sites. Our final dive near Skelly Hole took us through a gap where a myriad of crabs were hiding in a sizeable cave with a giant lobster guarding the entrance. Two wolf fish completed what had been an amazing succession of dives.
It’s hard to write about St. Abbs without mentioning the sea birds. At nesting time the cliffs are covered with anxious parents feeding their young. The noise, and smell, is overpowering if you venture too close. It’s possible to see the birds swooping below the waves too when you’re diving. Of course it’s not the nesting season in October but there are still some seagulls in evidence. They hover around hoping for the odd sandwich or fish scraps depending on whether it’s a dive boat or a fishing boat. Certainly it wouldn’t seem like the seaside without them. St. Abbs is host to the largest nesting colonies on the mainland of the British Isles.

2003 Report

"The Stars of St. Abbs"
by Kay Rainsley, June 2003

Think about a heaven crowded with stars: pink stars, blue stars, orange stars, yellow stars, slim black stars with button middles, large sun stars with brilliant jewels shining, waving, just being. Now come down to earth.

St. Abbs, voluntary national marine reserve, home to millions of brittle stars, starfish, anemones and urchins. Some of the largest anemones in the British Isles can be seen there, shine your torch and you will be rewarded with a dazzling brilliance of colour in hues of pink, red, purple and orange.

Cathedral Rock certainly lives up to its name with chambers and walls festooned with anemones and dead mans fingers. Tiny squat lobsters peeped out from holes and crevices, swimming crabs, urchins, hermit crabs and star fish vied for space on the crowded rocks bedecked with soft corals and sponges. Every now and again a large wrasse would glide by hoping for a meal of urchin cracked open by a sympathetic diver.

Every ascent was accompanied by a multitude of jellies, comb jellies, common jellies and transparent, luminescent, floating fronds in hues of blue and purple. The water was clear and underwater routes were studded with splashes of colour and life ranging from the tiny butterfish through a range of ‘flatties’, brill, turbot and tiny lemon sole to the curious looking ling which hangs around in an eel-like fashion until it decides to retreat to a hole. Lobsters and crabs punctuated the endless supply of starfish and sunstars for those who shone their torches into their lairs. Some divers were lucky enough to see sea birds flying past them underwater in their search for fish.

We searched in vain for the wolf fish that hangs around in holes and caves in between munching crustaceans. Added to that disappointment Ian Strath was the only one to sight octopus apart from a dead one which Simon found – ah well, at least we know we were in with a chance. However the glorious technicolour underwater tableau that is St. Abbs more than made up for the missing inhabitants.

Picture the scene, a glistening sea, swooping sea birds, underwater caves, the boats, Julie, Tina, Clare, Les, Simon, Andy, Martin, Nigel, Ian and Mike, caravans, sunshine and stars, but I’ve already mentioned the stars, well most of them.

The biggest star of the trip has to be Andy. Much as we tried to persuade him not to ride the fire engine (which after all was for little children) he would insist on getting into the tiny vehicle claiming that he was missing his job. The rest of us had completely forgotten about work but there you go – it takes all sorts.