Mid Lancs Sub Aqua club provides opportunities for Scuba diving around the Wigan, Chorley, Standish and Horwich areas. A branch of BSAC.
With some favourable weather in September, Mid Lancs decided to run a day trip to Anglesey. As we head further into Autumn, the conditions don’t allow for diving in the sea so this was our last trip of the year.
We don’t stop diving during the Winter, we’ll be heading to some inland sites and have a few skill development courses planned.
In mid May, a group of divers headed to Anglesey to dive the wreck of the Kimya. As the morning mist started to clear, the group headed out into the bay to find the wreck teaming with life. One of our members with a talent for video editing captured the day.
Six of our intrepid explorers ventured up to Orkney for a week of diving in the incredible Scapa Flow.
After a long time coming, the trip to Scapa Flow finally came around in October 2023. It was a long drive, but what a week it was, battleships, cruisers, great food, great company and a storm! We were on the Valhalla which is based out of Stromness (https://mv-valhalla.co.uk/) which is a great boat to be living on for the week. The boat housed 11 of us in total which we dove from and slept on overnight. If you want to read more in depth (no pun intended!) about these wrecks why not visit https://www.scapaflowwrecks.com/.
We got straight into the High Seas Fleet with the SMS Karlsruhe, a cruiser laid down in 1915. This was a great dive to start to the week, not too deep that it pushed us too far to start, but a fantastic wreck to get us into the swing of things and a nice shakedown. It was also a great way to make sure all the kit was working perfectly.
The second dive took us to the F2 & Barge, this is a WW2 wreck and the barge that tried to salvage it, this sank next to it in a storm which provides a great dive on 2 nice wrecks. On the barge the anti-aircraft guns from the F2 can be seen in the hold pointing towards the sky. Really interesting dive.
On our second day we ventured to the SMS Brummer for our first dive, a mine laying cruiser of the High Seas Fleet. This is a firm favourite in the Scapa Flow wreck list, it’s largely still in tact at 35 meters.
The second wreck of the day was the SMS Dresden, a light cruiser that lies on an incline so a depth can be chosen to suit what is wanted. We got to 32 meters on this with lots to see.
Our first wreck we witnessed our fist of the battleships in Scapa Flow, the SMS König. You can’t describe the sheer size of these vast ships. You drop down the shot line and all you can see is this beast as far as the eye can see. The fact this ship fought at The Battle of Jutland is alone enough to make this an amazing dive.
SMS Cöln, that’s all that needs to be said. This (for me…) was possibly the best wreck dive that you can do, around Britain anyway. There is so much you can see that is still distinguishable, 150mm anti-aircraft guns, the last remaining torpedo tube above the high elevation guns. The armoured control tower can easily be made out with the gimbals still in tact which the sighting optics would have been located. This is a must do when up there, an incredible dive.
Well, its October in the UK, so obviously the weather took over and this blew us out for the day. We took the opportunity to explore Orkney and see some of the historical sights it has to offer. Speaking from experience, if you go to Orkney in October, make sure you take a coat!
On our final day of diving we first headed to the SMS Kronprinz. This is another battleship, the sister ship to the SMS König and an opportunity to see the massive 12″ guns that these massive ships had. We descended down to the wreck, and thankfully some good person has tied the shot very close to where these guns are as this again, is a massive ship which would be hard to find anything. You drop down under the ship which is upside down and see these barrels sat there looking so peaceful, but these enormous guns had also fired at Jutland which is just a surreal thought.
The last dive of the week we had a choice where we wanted to go and it was decided to go back to the Cöln, there was so much to see we just had to see it one last time and to get some more great footage on the GoPro.
Where will 2024 take us? Would you like to learn to dive? Already a diver and looking for a new diving home? Why not get in contact with us and come down to meet us.
And so 2023 begins, and what a fabulous year it will be for us here at Mid Lancs SAC. We held our yearly calendar meeting this Monday where we plan our scuba diving agenda for the year. Our plans this year include lots of day dashes upon Little Mo, trips away, and inland dive site day trips. Below is a sample of what is to come. If you like the sound of any of these adventures, get in touch and book yourself a try dive.
FEBRUARY
Stoney Cove for some deeper diving and potential for some depth progression for new Sports Divers.
MARCH
Trip to Capenwray and a day out on the boat. We usually get to Anglesey on the boat, depending on the attendees will decide where we go, but rest assured we aren’t short of amazing wrecks and reefs around Anglesey.
APRIL
Wast Water is on the cards, this is another great trip to build experiences for people and get some depth in for the Sports Divers and Dive Leaders. We have a shore dive planned in Anglesey and to finish off we have another boat day dash planned in.
MAY
Annual trip to Largs for a weekend. This is a fabulous trip that can cater for most levels, from scenic reefs teeming in life to deep wrecks full of history. Another boat dash is also planned for those not wanting a full weekend.
JUNE
Practical Rescue Management course, which is a great way to build experience of what to do when things don’t go as planned, this also helps for Dive Leaders looking to get a few modules signed off.
JULY
Trip to Puffin Island where there is a chance to see some seals and some interesting marine life, and another day trip on the boat.
AUGUST
Possible trip to Weymouth, which is an incredible area for diving, lots of wrecks to be seen. (This is TBC due to bank holiday weekend)
SEPTEMBER
Plan is two day dashes on the boat throughout the month.
OCTOBER
Training course, this time Search and Recovery which is another great course to help with the what happens if?
NOVEMBER & DECEMBER
No plans up to now, throughout the year we have another two calendar reviews where we can book in things for these months. We always accommodate what members want and are happy to assist if someone wants to plan a trip for the club.
Is 2023 the year you start diving and come to all these amazing places with us?
For the final Club trip of the season (except local dives), fifteen of the Mid Lancs divers headed up to the Farne Islands, Northumberland for a full weekend of diving with the amazing seals, and what a weekend it was!
Friday
Everyone arrived throughout Friday afternoon/evening and checked into our accommodation at Farne Lodge. Some of our group made their way to the local pub for dinner and a drink. Most then headed to bed early ready for a jam packed weekend ahead.
Saturday & Sunday
6:30am alarms were ringing and we made our way to the morning brief. Once everyone was happy, we headed down to the harbour where breakfast was served from 7:30am. We found a pub local to the harbour called The Bamburgh Castle Inn, the staff here couldn’t have been nicer considering we were a large group of 15, but we all had an incredible start to the day. From here we started to unload all our kit ready for the boats arrival due at around 8:30am. The guys from Billy Sheil Boats helped us load all the kit on board and then we made our way out to the Farne Islands.
You will be able to see from the YouTube video below, we all had a tremendous day of diving. We were joined by some very playful seals, some of which were very funny and friendly, some a little bit too playful! But these are wild animals which we were very grateful to have been in the water with. We did roughly 2 dives each day which allowed everyone in the group to have varied experiences as well as the opportunity to dive with different people.
In 2023, we aim to run a similar trip again. If you like the look of this and would like to give it a go, please get in touch with us direct at https://divemidlancs.co.uk/contact-us/ for a Try Dive.
On the 7th August 2022, six of the Midlancs divers headed down to Anglesey for a day of diving from our RIB Little Mo. What a day we chose to dive! The weather was incredible and the sea was like a millpond. The calm weather was great for us, it was that nice we had the pleasure of seeing pod after pod of dolphins jumping. We planned on diving the wreck of the MV Segontium first as it would be the deepest dive of the day, we would then move onto a second wreck of the Kimya close by.
This is an excellent dive for the newer Sports Divers on the trip, allowing some depth progression. Its a great wreck, with plenty of life, on the video you can see dead man’s fingers, crabs, lobsters and lots of fish. The wreck has been taken over by this sea life which makes for an incredible experience when diving on it. Due to this abundancy of life, it has been the location of quite a few lost fishing nets and crab pots which can pose an entanglement danger (don’t worry, we planned for this in our dive plans!).
We all had a fantastic dive here, great experience for some and a lovely revisit for the veterans who have seen this wreck many times, but remains a welcome wreck to dive.
Like the look of this? Get in touch with us, book a try dive and this could be you!
6 Go Wild on Mull
In late July 6 intrepid divers (and one spouse) from Mid Lancs Sub Aqua Club headed off to Mull for and expedition. We set off early on Saturday 20th and by late afternoon we were all settled in to the cottages we had rented and the boat (Little Mo) was sitting in the marina ready for the adventures to come.
Sunday morning started far earlier than any Sunday should. The weather was the type of weather that Scotland does so well – grey and drizzling!
We headed off to dive Auliston point and then Calve Island. Both were great scenic dives and the wall on the North West corner of Calve Island was particularly impressive.
Upon arriving back we had a training session on blending and using the compressors, which meant it was a very long day, made somewhat better by the excellent fish and chip from the award winning van at the end of the pier!
Monday was always going to be ambitious. We planned to motor all the way over to Coll and dive the Tapti and the General Consul. These were both high on our list of priorities for the week as our research had shown them to be extremely highly recommended as dive site. We cast off at 7:30 and were soon motoring out of the Sound of Mull and across to Coll. The weather was definitely in our favour and the crossing took a lot less time than we had thought. We refuelled in the bay near the ferry slipway and then headed south to the Tapti.
The dive on the Tapti was where the word of the week became awesome! It is a great wreck, remarkably still very much in tact considering where it is and some of the storms that must batter that stretch of coast. There was a lot of marine life to see and all the time we were watched by the local seals. After our last buddy pair had surfaced and just before we set off north to the General Consul, a minke whale surfaced within 10 metres of Little Mo.
We motored up to the General Consul, spotting dolphins on the way. The wreck was far more fragmented than the Tapti with the boilers being the main part still remaining, but even they are obscured by all the kelp. The journey back to Tobermory was even smoother than the outward journey. We arrived back after a round trip of about 56 miles. This long range outing went so well, we are now thinking how much further we could actually go. Cylinders were filled and a great meal enjoyed before a well – deserved early night.
Tuesday was to be a very different day. We planned to dive a wreck called the Aurania and then visit Langamull beach.
The trip out to the Aurania was far shorter than the epic journey of the previous day. The wreck was more a wreckage field rather than anything recognisable as once being a ship. The most striking feature is the twin boilers that sit on the seabed at about 18 meters. They are covered in marine life and also provide an opportunity for a swim through.
Langamull beach is one of the most picturesque in Britain. It is often in lists of places people do not think are in Britain! It is absolutely stunning and as the weather was in our favour, we anchored and had lunch there. The water is crystal clear and looking north we could see past the Small Isles to Skye with the Cuillin Ridge almost out of cloud!
Wednesday saw the weather start to change and this lead to a change of plans. We motored down the Sound to the Hispania, but very soon decided the conditions were not favourable and were looking as though they would get worse. We reverted to our back up plan, which involved heading into Loch Sunart.
We were looking to dive a pinnacle called Risga and after some searching we found it. There was a fairly strong current running, but if you kept in the lee of the pinnacle, it was not a problem. However, the dive itself was very disappointing. Risga had been quoted as a must do dive when we were researching our dive sites, but we found it covered in brittle stars and little else.
After the Risga, we headed west across the Sound to a cliff we had spotted the previous day with the hope it would continue underwater and make for a great cliff dive. It was not particularly a cliff, but it was a very pleasant scenic dive. We named the site Eagle Cliff as we spotted a White-Tailed Eagle. The forecast for Thursday was such that diving was not going to be possible. The weather was fine, but the wind had strengthened and was blowing straight up the Sound! This meant we had an evening off from blending and filling, so we enjoyed a great meal out.
Thursday was a non-diving day, but we used the time to investigate more of the Isle of Mull with a view to future visits. We wanted to see what other slipways were available. We had to return our O2 cylinder to the BOC depot and continued around the island to Fionnphort from where the ferry to Iona sails. This was again a stunning drive with a stunning destination.
Having seen that this was a distinct possibility, we continued round to the Ulva ferry. All the way round we were treated to some absolutely stunning scenery.
Friday was always planned as a one dive day to allow for retrieving Little Mo and packing up of all the kit. The weather had improved a little, but we limited our excursion to the wall on the North West side of Calve Island. Again a very pleasant dive. Whilst on the surface we saw seals, otters and dolphins.
The week was a great success and as I said before, the word of the week was awesome!
Awesome Company, awesome scenery, awesome diving
In 2015 Mid Lancs ventured to the Red Sea again, it’s the closest tropical waters to the UK and a fantastic destination for diving with a large selection of wrecks and reefs to visit.
We were lucky enough to stay on the Emperor Elite liveaboard and were well looked after by the crew and dive guides. More info on Emperor Divers can be found in this link
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