ANGLESEY & ANCHORS

A quick trip out to Anglesey on Scott's boat (http://www.questdiving.co.uk) to dive the Mona and Puffin Island.
The last time we went out with Scott the visibility was fairly poor and it was slightly disappointing as we dived a lovely wreck (The Mermaid) so initially we looked at a repeat to see a bit more. Heading out Scott suggested the Mona and it sounded interesting so a change in plan took place.

Julian preparing for the dive

The sea was good an calm as we entered but it was also full of jellyfish. There were the usual swarms of Moon jellies, but over the last few days other jellies had benefited from the good weather, which meant we descended through a selection of the stunning blood red Lion's Mane and Compass jellies, and these can sting. The Compass jellies were less in number but none the less still beautiful to look at. They can be identified by the yellow/brown colour that has V shaped brown stripes running out from the centre. The edge of the head has a brown skirt and the tendrils stream out like a rumpled brown lined ribbon. The Lion's Mane has a relatively plain head but underneath there is a stunning  red or purple plume reminiscent of the frills on the front of a 70's dress shirt. The down side of these is that they have fine tendrils of up to 3m in length and these are the stingers, not deadly, but painful.

After about six meters the sea cleared and we continued our descent to the Mona.

The Mona is a small wreck and has partially settled beneath the sand with the stern section protruding out at an angle, the mid section dips below the sea bed with the very tip of the bow and the winch mechanism poking out. Between the two sections a rope has been laid so that divers can easily find the bow as it is only a small section. The down side is that the rope settles below the sand and as it is pulled up a cloud arises obscuring the visibility.
The wreck is covered in Plumose anemones and Dead Mans Fingers, Tucked into all the nooks and crannies were edible, velvet and spider crabs and a few large lobsters. The wreck also had Blennies, Butter fish and Wrasse but most impressively was the huge school of Bib surrounding the stern section.
We began our ascent with Julian leading and all was ok until we hit five meters and our safety stop. Lion's Mane tentacles had wrapped themselves around the shot line and one trailed across Julian's face stinging him. The line was also being dragged down by the buddy pair below so we had to release the SMB to surface, which delayed our exit.

The second dive was at Puffin Island. The island is situated about half a mile South West of Anglesey and is home to an abundance of wildlife - Guillemots, Razorbills, Terns, Shags, Gannets, Puffins and seals.
We jumped in and descended to the sea bed swimming away from the shore to about 13 meters and then turning North to explore the rocks and ravines. This dive took a different turn when we found a rope. Julian followed is and found a brand new anchor. Only half an hour into the dive and I was looking into the eyes of a twelve year old. It was obvious that the dive was over and we had to recover the bounty he had found. We surfaced and pulled the anchor on board. It now has pride of place in his office.

Julian and his anchor, still grinning like a twelve year old

Just as we were waiting for the other divers Scott received a phone call asking for help from a fishing boat with a tangled propeller. We re-suited and dived under the fishing boat to inspect the propeller, which by now had cleared itself so they could get under way again. A bit of fun to end a good days diving.

A passenger joining us for the return journey