Hatt Rock
Photo: Charles Hood
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On a visit to one of the most scenic dives in Cornwall, would the late arrival of plankton spoil Charles Hood's day?
Along the Cornish coast the plankton arrived late this year. Most years, its
arrival and departure is as predictable as a Swiss train timetable. It usually
arrives the second week in May and disappears mid-June. However, this year,
rather than a bloom that quickly reduces the visibility to just a few metres,
it slowly drifted in at the beginning of summer and was still present by mid-August.
This didn't bode well. We were off to dive Hatt Rock, a spectacular pinnacle
11 miles south of Looe in Cornwall. I had dived Hatt Rock many years ago and
the one thing that I remembered about it was the superb visibility. Was this
drifty plankton going to spoil my fond memories?
The skipper deployed the shot and everyone's faces looked a bit glum. The
water was a green-grey colour rather than dark blue. At 10m the visibility was
more reminiscent of the Falmouth Estuary than an offshore site. However, at
18m the water cleared. At 24m - the top of Hatt Rock - the visibility
must have been in excess of 15m. All the divers cheered up instantly. The plan
was for me to drop down to a maximum depth of 40m to get some photographs of
divers descending, so I quickly descended to my target depth. I could clearly
make out all of the group members at the top of the rock some 16m above. Horizontally,
you could see as far as my torch beam would allow. The clarity of the water
would have made any gin distiller jealous. Before me was a huge rock, rising
up from around 70m to 24m, covered with jewel anemones. Some rock faces were
completely covered in a firework-like display of pinks, yellows, reds, purples
and greens. The rock faces that don't get any tidal current provide homes
for sea squirts, dead men's fingers and a whole host of sponges. Unfortunately,
time passes quickly on such a dive, so we ascended to the top of the 'Hat'
- Hatt Rock is so named as it appears like a top hat sitting on the sea
bed when viewed on an echosounder - where hundreds of mackerel darted above
us. Shoals often confuse the appearance of bubbles with their prey.
Once the mackerel realised that all they were chasing was air and not sprats,
they went on their way. The top of the pinnacle is at a depth just shallow enough
to support the hardiest of kelp. Strands of kelp formed random clumps in the
lee of scattered ledges, providing shelter for breeding, ballan, corkwing and
cuckoo wrasse. This was the Hatt Rock I remembered.
The essentials
Diving Hatt Rock is adventurous but not out of the realms of most club divers.
It is deep - you need to be comfortable descending to at least 30m. However,
to really appreciate the pinnacle, prepare for a 40m dive. On neap tides Hatt
Rock can be dived at any state of the tide. On springs, slack water is plus
and minus two and a half to three hours either side of high-water Devonport.
As this is an offshore site it is strongly advisable to descend and ascend using
a shot-line. It is essential to carry a delayed surface marker buoy and surface
signalling device should you miss the shot. There is no alternative dive site
nearby so it is advisable not to bring any trainee divers.
This dive and others are featured in the guidebook 100 Best Dives in Cornwall
by Charles Hood. It is available from the BSAC bookshop and all good dive retailers.
Need to know
N 50° 10.45-60'
W 004° 29.18-98'
Launching: West Looe. Three slips, one with a tractor service. Slip dries
one and a half hours either side of low water.
Parking: pay and display next to the slip.
Fuel, shops, café and bars: East Looe.
Hardboat: Morning Glory, Looe Harbour, tel: 01503 262727.
Air, nitrox, diving equipment, RIB charter: www.looedivers.com.
