Inverness Sub Aqua Club (ISAC)

https://youtu.be/eurycZhQFN8

A very dark dive at Conservation Bay on Sunday. Although weather was bright, there was a good 4m of brackish, fresh water sitting on top, from all the rain we've had this past week (no heatwave in the Highlands this year).

We had a number of Inverness Sub Aqua Club divers, including a couple of last minute guest divers, so it was a pleasantly busy site, and lots to see down there.

For me, the highlight was seeing the bog old conger in its lair in the crack in the wall. Its a big one!

We also saw a couple of common lobsters, as well as a lovely dogfish.

All went well for most divers, with the exception of Doug losing a new lift bag (if anyone finds one there, please get in tough on the ISAC page), and I burst one of my dry gloves, and had an eye injury, which means I won't be diving for quite a few weeks:-(

Anyway, hope you enjoy this video.

2026 #40 Dive 415 Conservation Bay 09 08 26 https://youtu.be/eurycZhQFN8A very dark dive at Conservation Bay ...

https://youtu.be/hXLxL1VMEOU

First dive at North Strome Slip with new ISAC member Mark.

A low water slack tide dive in very calm weather.

Really chilled dive, with a gentle drift along the reef, where we were greeted by a shiver of three dogfish.

It had been a really busy week for me, work-wise, so this was the perfect antidote.

2026 #37 Dive 412 North Strome Slip 26 07 26 https://youtu.be/hXLxL1VMEOUFirst dive at North Strome Slip with ...

https://youtu.be/bIXMiuqMegU

An early evening dive at North Strome, just me, Valerie Storey, Doug Cowie and David Cowie.

A very dark dive for this site, having had a lot of rain during the week, but very relaxing.

Not a lot of things to report, however on the way back, Valerie spotted a huge crawfish out and about. A thing none of us have seen before at this site! And what a size it was! I'd guess at about 40cm in length.

A really nice dive indeed.

2026 #34 Dive 409 North Strome The Crawfish 10 07 26 https://youtu.be/bIXMiuqMegUAn early evening dive at North Strome...

https://youtu.be/f1gNLw0SrDo

Six ISAC divers at Mellon Charles on a grey, windy and slightly moist day.

We started with a high water dive among the gullies to the left of the beach, however the visibility was not the best.

The second dive was among the pylons of the old WWII pier, which then lead to a bit of OD training, followed by a short dive along the pipeline to the right of the bay.

2026 #32 & 33 Dives 407 & 408 Mellon Charles 04 07 26 https://youtu.be/f1gNLw0SrDoSix ISAC divers at Mellon Charles on ...

https://youtu.be/mU8EG_pP9rw

After yesterday's disappointing call off at Rosemarkie Beach yesterday, due to the weather, Doug suggested a cheeky dive at Conservation Bay today.

There was a lot of murky fresh water on the surface, and it was rather choppy, but once beneath the waves, the visibility greatly improved.

Doug Cowie and David Cowie buddied each other, whilst I dived with Scott James Issitt. We also met a couple of far travelled divers, one coming from as far afield as New Zealand.

When we reached 'The Crack', we were not disappointed. The conger was at home, and it was looking rather grumpy. In fact, (as you will see), it had a snap at one of the little fishes surrounding it.

We also found, what I thought to be another smaller conger, a couple of metres father up the crack, but I'm not convinced, as it had a small barbel on its chin. Any suggestions, anyone?

A really nice dive at my favourite site, it's been a while since I've been back to see the eel.

2026 - #31 - Dive 405 - Conservation Bay - Loch Carron - 02/07/26 https://youtu.be/mU8EG_pP9rwAfter yesterday's disappointing call ...

https://youtu.be/OnULB6kXNRM

30th dive of 2026 - This was a family dive with my sons, Lachlan & Rory.

Lachlan was home for the weekend, so we decided to try a dive at Rosemarkie Beach to see what it was like. I was very pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable a site it is.

The site is a bright, sandy one, with a large seagrass bed at around 5m depth at high tide. We took a bearing perpendicular to the shore, and soon found the seagrass, which was teeming with nudibranchs and their eggs.

We also came across a ball of sea hares doing what sea hares do, as well as a couple of flounders.

It's not exactly the most dramatic dive site I've visited, but it is very enjoyable, and incredibly convenient, being only 35 minutes drive from home, and with a café right there on the beach.

Thanks again boys for another great family dive.

2026 #30 First Dive at Rosemarkie Beach with Lachlan & Rory 27 06 26 https://youtu.be/OnULB6kXNRM30th dive of 2026 - This was a family...

https://youtu.be/nuEKisbypXI

We had a great day at Loch Duich instructing some of our club's Ocean Diver and Sports Diver trainees.

In between the training sessions, we managed to have a couple of fun dives. What a difference in water colour, visibility and temperature from my holiday last week in Croatia! However, I still love diving in the Scottish Highlands.

2026 #26 29 Dives 401 404 Dives between Training Dives Loch Duich 20 06 26 https://youtu.be/nuEKisbypXIWe had a great day at Loch Duich inst...

https://youtu.be/m52qHC0YY-I

First of three dives whilst on holiday with Jen on the beautiful Croatian island of Vis.

This was a basic check-out dive, which all divers, new to Vis Nautica, have, to iron out any equipment, weighting, or skills issues, prior to continuing diving.

I must mention Vis Nautica, with whom I was diving. It is a Polish Dive Centre based at the Issa Hotel near the old port of Vis. A very well run SSI Centre, with lovely staff and two dive boats at their disposal. As I, (along with my dive buddy for the day, Andreas, from Colombia) were the only non Polish speaking divers, we had our own interpreter for the dive brief.

Although this was a simple, and not remarkable shore dive adjacent to the dive centre, it was very enjoyable. Not a huge amount to see, however I did spot an octopus, which is always a highlight for any dive, as far as I'm concerned.

We also visited a pile of 2,00 year old amphorae, not 5m from our entry point, still lying there completely unmolested.

The diver in the thumbnail image, is pretending to be me, as he noticed I was using my Subnado scooter on my arm.

Very pleasant indeed.

2026 #23 Dive 398 Vis Nautica Vis, Croatia Checkout Dive 14 06 26 https://youtu.be/m52qHC0YY-IFirst of three dives whilst on holida...

https://youtu.be/F-pJOAqm4q4

A very pleasant early morning dive with Marg Baldwin yesterday.

Just the two of us, so we had the whole sea loch to ourselves.

A really, sunny spring morning, so the dive was nice and bright, although the vis wasn't great.

Nice to get back in the water again, after missing diving last weekend.

Paul Stariski 2026 #13 Dive 388 North Strome 25 04 26