Divers pinpointing other wreck sites
For the past two days the SAMPHIRE team has been diving in Loch Laxford, south of Kinlochbervie. We are diving alongside local divers to search for the remains of two unrecorded shipwrecks. We first heard of these wrecks during our community outreach trip earlier this summer. We have also had the opportunity to spend more time with the divers going over maps to pinpoint other wreck sites for future survey.
Today the SAMPHIRE team were conducting dive surveys from Kinlochbervie Harbour, from the local boat the MV Nimrod, skippered by Jimmy MacIntosh. We have been joined for the next few days by Bruce Greig, a volunteer dive whose years of scallop diving in the area have given him a comprehensive knowledge of local diving conditions and sites. We had a great first day of diving south of Elphin and were escorted back to the harbour by another local with extensive diving experience!
SAMPHIRE team's new escort
The SAMPHIRE team are in Shieldaig today, following up on a possible wreck site at Murchadh Breac reported to us by a local creel fisherman. We are working with Torridon Sea Tours and mobilised our dive team today from the pontoon at Shieldaig. We were fortunate to have local historian Robert Gordon joining us on the trip and to be able to compare notes with boat operators Kenny and Gemma Livingstone, whose family have lived and fished in the area for generations. We sent two divers down on the west side of Murchadh Breac, at the mouth of Loch Torridon. The area was found to be heavily covered in kelp and no wreck material was encountered today but chatting with locals we now have more info on wreck sites in the area and will be following up on these leads.
