Anglesey - 6th-8th May 2023
The boat was prepped and checked before we travelled to Anglesey on Friday evening. Due to the weather pattern in the week Phil chose to dive on the north of the island, launching from Bull Bay. We arrived at the slip just before 8am to load and launch Top Cat.
Saturday 6th – Wall Between Trwynbychan Headland and Bull Bay.
We were greeted by porpoise and gannets as we left Bull Bay.
Water temperature 11C . A heavy plankton bloom limited the viz to 1-2m, On the plus side there was lots to see. Sea hares, nudibranch , Spider Crabs, Velvet Swimmers , several lobster , Dahlia and White striped anemones , Club Sea squirts,, Oaten Pipe, a variety of sponges, hydroids, bryzoa and several Cat Shark. There was a back eddy which meant there was a slight intermittent current. A good shake down dive with no kit malfunctions.
The afternoon dive was Porth Wen Pinnacle. Similar dive conditions as the morning and similar marine life. Best find –Cuckoo Wrasse. Greater Pipefish and possibly a squid.
A fish and chip supper rounded off a good day.
Sunday 7th
We had planned to dive the wreck of the Kincorth on the midday slack water window, but the increasing wind speeds meant a change of plan and we were forced to come in towards the shore. We decided to dive Lamb Island in the morning and revisit Porth Wen Pinnacle in the afternoon.
Similar dive conditions and a variety of marine life as on Saturday. Anna and Mark, Rosy and Ken had a leisurely dive in and around the boulders. After 15 minutes Phil and I got caught up in a current which took us on a rather fast boulder hopping drift out into the bay. Good skippering meant that our DSMB was seen, and we were soon back on-board Top Cat.
A quick turnaround and back to Porth Wen. Phil put a shot in for Ken and Rosy to do a search and recovery to see if they could find Ken’s reel which had detached itself from his DSMB the previous day. —and yes, they found it. The Pinnacle is a worthwhile site to dive despite being silty.
We returned to Bull Bay to recover Top Cat.
Monday was completely blown out with heavy rain and 5 gusting 6 knots of wind. We towed Top Cat back to the club for a thorough jet wash.
A good weekend. Thanks to Phil for planning organising and towing, and to buddies Rosy and Ken Mark and Anna.
