I had been to try and dive by the
suspension bridge in the Menai Strait before with little success. I went at low
water but the current was extremely strong and the area I was in composed of
thousands of tennis ball sized rocks covered in barnacles with little else.
This video shows that dive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3At4Eq6CH1s).
However during Friday lunch break I went
there again with Ryan Mowat with much more success. Part of that success was
working out when slack water was, which is not the same as time of high or low
water in the Menai Strait. To over simplify it the time of lowest current
velocity is roughly 2 – 1 ½ hours before the time of High or Low water. This video shows some clips from that trip.
Going
at slack water is important for a safe dive where you’re not drifting away, visability
is likely to be better and it means less fining against the current potentially
giving longer dive times. Ryan suggested diving down a subtidal cliff on the
South side of the bridge and it was a great spot. The vis was about 3 m but we
had lots of amazing sessile epifaunal to look including incrusting and
branching sponges, large and abundant Dahlia anemones and deadman’s finger
colonies. Motile organisms included lots of common starfish, edible crabs,
velvet swimming crabs and small spider crabs amongst the sponges. There were no
doubt many other species which I did not observe. I always regret not staying
in one post and looking for smaller organisms, I so often pass over areas
looking more generally at what is there.
It was 5 – 6 degrees C probably and I reached a max depth of 7 metres
during my dives but depth was not the objective of the dives.
Dahlia anemones in the Menai Strait
Common starfish foraging among breadcrumb sponge in the Menai Strait
Common starfish, sponges and an edible crab in the Menai Strait
Dahlia anemones in the Menai Strait
Common starfish feeding amongst breadcrumb sponge with a velvet swimming crab at the bottom. Menai Strait
The finger like structure is either the sponge Haliclona oculata or the bryozoan Alcyonidium diaphanum.
My tank is ticking over nicely. The two cuttlefish have been entertaining lots of guests over Christmas. However I am concerned about one of them. The eyelids are tightly closed and its movement does not appear to be under full control. There is a slight bulge to the rear of the mantle and it seems to be slightly positively buoyant. Not sure if I will remove to form the tank yet for quarantine but is still seems to be feeding which is encouraging. Apart from that the cushion stars, sea urchin, anemones, top shells, periwinkles and netted whelk all seem to be doing well. The odd periwinkle falls prey to the cushion stars but that is not a problem. Here are some pictures and videos below.
Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) in British native marine aquarium.
Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) in British native marine aquarium.
Small brittlestar in native marine aqurium
'Baby' Asterina gibbosa cushion star in native marine aquarium
Snakelocks Anemone viridis in British native marine aquarium. Sea urchin Psammechinus miliariscan be seen in the background.
A collection of recent highlights from my snorkelling and freediving around Anglesey in North Wales. Seeing the plumose anemones at St. George's pier was a real highlight for me. All the dives had very poor vis, maybe 1 - 2 metres. You can still see amazing marine life in poor vis if you are willing to give it a go, and go down into the murk.
Trying out my new mask at a small cove in Trearddur Bay, Anglesey. It was high tide so there was no that much life to see apart form plenty of Fucus. It was still a fun session. Here is a little video from it. I'll add some more but the editing takes ages on my laptop.
Here are some clips of the only real
glimpses I got of some fish whilst snorkelling off Anglesey last Sunday in some
rough weather. I saw mainly wrasse but also a few Pollock, and a school of sprat
and adult sandeels.
Some footage of from my GoPro Hero HD 2 with the dive housing. I used the head strap which felt secure and seemed to work well. I may think about holding it next time as I move my head all the time which makes the footage vomit inducing to watch. I went off the West Coast of Anglesey but cut it short as the wind, waves and swell was picking up.
This is great little starfish that is commonly seen under rocks along the Menai Strait. It is perfect for keeping in native marine aquarium as it is very hardy and eats rotting algae and films of cyanobacteria which can be a real pest in many aquariums.
Aboral side of Asterina gibbosa
Asterina gibbosa showing the tube feet (podia) and mouth with cardiac stomach visible.
I have a new guest in my fish tank. It is a common blenny (Lipophrys pholis) and is by far the largest fish I have had in my tank so far. It looks pretty cool. It has really nice patterning. Most fish take a while to settle in but he has settled in straight away and is pretty active and coming up to the glass etc. I think I will feed it on Corophium and the odd polychaete worm.
Blenny (Lipophrys pholis) smile
Blenny (Lipophrys pholis), Cushion star (Asterias gibbosa) and Beadlet anemone (Actina equina)
This is a great bike! It was my first proper refurbishment project. It belonged to a keen cyclist who took this bike round the world on the ships he worked on, and used it when in port. It was i n good condition but needed general cleaning, some new parts and I stripped down the Sturmey Archer AW 3-speed hub gear.
Bickerton portable partly stripped down
Serial number of the Bickerton portable
Stripping down the SA AW 3-speed. I bit of rust and old blobs of grease, otherwise in good condition.
Sturmey Archer AW 3-speed rebuilt cleaned, oiled and ready to go back in the hub shell.
Bickerton Wheels ready for tyres and tubes. Front is 14" rear is 16", very cool.
Folded by the door ready to go.
Bickerton Portable at Tregarth slate quarry on the Lon Las Ogwen.
This is a picture of the white edible crab I had in my British native marine fish tank. Never seen a white one before or heard of anyone who has. It was great, until it grew really big and started eating everything and rearranging all the rocks in the tank every night. It is now living free in the Menai Strait. It turned brown again after a moult just before I put it back in the sea.
