Guides
Boat dives around Dunstanburgh Castle
This isn't a popular area either for shore dives.....bloomin' long walks or indeed boat dives......'wrong way' in relation to the Farne Islands. However the wall at the Point is a nice dive and whilst the harbour is more of a shallow shore dive there may be the chance of spotting something under the rocks which now fill the site.
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Latest Photographs
Holes in the front of the fin, makes things much easy to put on and take off as the water isn't hydraulic'd and can squirt out when you put the fun in and enter when you are taking them off.
A general topographical shot, there are several large stone pinnacles on the site, the largest rising maybe 4m from the seabed and with a circumference of 50m. They do degrade over time as they are formed from a softish rock and do receive a battering every year from Southerly and Easterly storms.
A view of the sections of masts if you are heading away from the Hopper, they are in a section of sand filled gully at the base of the rock face
Part of the anchor assembly that is concreted into the sea-bed, you can see the anchor behind the main, round, rusty bit
Not the greatest but a Sea Comb, probably a Sea Gooseberry (Pleurobrachia plies) or at least that is what I have always called em when anyone asks! I like watching the little bits down the side change colour as they move, a very interesting little critter, I should take a bit of matt black plastic to try and get a photograph of one that is clearer.
A valve identification plate, interestingly this one has raised lettering rather than details stamped in. This means that it must have been cast, a rather strange and expensive way to make simple ID plates!
Part of the wreck is covered in a large net, which hanging over the window looks quite nice.
It was the perfect storm of North Easteries plus extreme cold, you don't tend to get much snow at Beadnell but we were cut off, even the road to Seahouses was shut with five feet deep drifts of snow
A pile of coins! From a modern 20p piece to some very old stuff it collects and stays there until such a time as the sand is moved by a storm
F - Getting it joined wasn't too difficult
As always on wrecks watch out for bits and pieces sticking up that look a bit 'kelpy' but are metal. They can be sharp and will damage you and your dive suit! Be warned!
And here is the business end, not really good as you cant get a sense of scale
A common starfish (Asterias rubens) attempting to open a small scallop, one of my mates Hud, is so bad at scalloping he looks for starfish feeding and then steals the scallop!
A general 'look' at the topography, in this case shallow troughs and loads of kelp
Not a good shot but one of the rebreather chaps next to the rudders, these stand about 6m proud of the bottom of the vessel and are intact despite the explosive forces used to remove the phosphor bronze propellors which were located very, very close.
Move a short distance from the wreck and the bottom is coated with brittle stars with arms 'waving' in the gentle current hoping to catch dinner.
George Jacob run by the Marine Quest at Eyemouth
Feedin' the wrasse!!
In this case Ballan Wrasse (Labrus bergylta) on a smashed edible sea urchin (Echinus esculentus), don't try this at home kids.
The reel/rod feet were a bit of a chew, I tried to machine the brass to take a couple of M3 cheesehead screws but that wasn't 'right' so ended up brazing on the feet and then 'back filling' the machined holes for that little bit extra strength
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