North Wall offers stunning wall diving and named after the steepest wall on the northeastern side of Skomer Island.
Name Dive Site: | North Wall |
Depth: | 32-147ft (10-45m) |
Inserted/Added by: | westwalesdivers |
Rated: | Rated 1.0, 2 votes |
Specifications: |
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The dive site North Wall runs from the eastern side of North Haven on Skomer Island, all the way along until you get to Garland Stone. Right on the North Haven tip, you find it the deepest, a shear cliff face type wall that runs down to 45m. As you head eastward, it does gradually get shallower, so depending on the level of experience of the divers depends on where you'll want to drop in. Deep gullies are etched into the rock, and if the current runs, these gullies provide a nice little sheltered spot. Can be one hell of a drift dive depending on the state of the tide, but some of you divers would be after that anyway! Seals, Gorgonians, crayfish and lots besides. Due to the frequent currents, you'll find a lot of dead man's fingers and other bryozoans hanging around. As you head eastward along the wall, it does get shallower, and there you'll come across lots of boulders that have fallen from the cliff faces. This makes for fantastic marine habitats, with congers, nudibranchs and a plentiful supply of fish. Essentially, select you depth profile and stick to it. Consult with the dive shop for Slack water, as the tidal stream makes the current split on Skomer in different areas, and it doesn't always follow the chart.
TIPS: Be careful of currents during spring tides, and have a look at the site to see where to drop the divers in based on which way the current is running. Depth is 45m max on the North Haven tip but the rest of the time is between 10m and 25m mid way along the wall. Always carry a delayed SMB with you as when your doing your safety stops you will have a habit of drifting, and this area has varying amounts of boat traffic. Be wary of continuing along to Garland Stone. You don't want to finish your dive there as the currents are not only fast, but there's several of them meeting in one place which makes things tricky for the boat pick up. Novice divers are better to be placed about 150 metres from the North Haven point so as not to get the same depth or currents. Again, better for them on a neap tide.
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