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GB Dives: Eddystone, Cornwall
If, like me, you suffer from the seasonal malady known as SAD (Sofa-bound Anxious Diver), then you’ll know the symptoms of agitation, listlessness and shivering brought about by the onset of those cold, dark winter months and subsequent loss of diving.  All photos: Neil Hope    |
Cold air temperatures apart, the pros far outweigh the cons – no overheating in the summer sun, fewer divers on site, no plankton blooms to reduce visibility and the thick kelp beds in the shallows fall prey to winter storms, leaving whole swathes of rocky gullies free to explore.
Lying some 12 miles south of Plymouth Sound, the Eddystone lighthouse is perhaps not everyone’s ideal winter dive, but while the weather always remains a factor, the option of a fast RIB or a slower but more spacious hardboat (with heated cabin and hot drinks) makes it an attractive proposition when conditions allow.
The remoteness of the Eddystone also provides the opportunity to see cetaceans – common dolphins are a regular sight – and other marine life is noticeably more prominent than elsewhere at this time of the year, with the schools of pollack and bib that congregate in the area being classic examples.
While the colourful cuckoo wrasse patrol the shallower reefs, the area’s seaward side offers depths from 25m, drop-offs to 40m and the opportunity to encounter dogfish, cotton spinners and sea urchins on the sandy sea bed.
The site is dived best after a couple of days of slight sea state and at slack water which is two and a half hours after high/low-water Devonport.
To find a local dive centre/boat, go to page 98 of DIVE’s Classified section