Kate Mills and Hughesey’s Farne Islands (Dive Leader) Expedition September 2025
Thursday the 4th all parties travelled up to the accommodation, SpringHill farm, Seahouses, Northumberland, where we were split between two luscious lodges and a cosy cottage.
That evening a choice of home cooked meals were provided with a few tipples for divers and none divers in attendance. A detailed dive brief was provided by Kate and Paul outlining the plan for the weekend.
Kate then provided an overview for diving the Somali running from the stern using visual of wreck courtesy of divernet. As well as talking through the planned scenic dive for the second dive that day.
Somali
Location: 55° 33.90N 001° 36.40W
Depth: 28m
The reason for this was because the bow was destroyed when the ship was bombed in 1941and therefore after the boilers the wreck peters out to the seabed. This allowed divers to orient themselves and familiarise themselves with the key points to look out for.
Emergency and first aid details were also walked through and were to find the appropriate kit and contract details together with how the emergency gas procedure was to be delivered should it be required. Key personnel in relation to this where also identified and ran through the operation deployment procedure.
Dive 1 and 2 Friday the 5th of September
Upon waking up it was clear that the weather gods where shining down on us that day and the harbour/sea was as flat as a millpond
Kit was loaded onto our boat “Glad Tidings 7”, (we dived with Billy Shields who provided a dedicated boat that out kit could remain on for the duration of our trip).
First being Somali, second being “the Hopper” for a hopeful seal encounter. The Hopper site is dominated by the presence of a seal colony and encounters are somewhat commonplace. This site is also known for the clarity of the water.
8 divers participated in first dive and 7 on the second dive. Weather conditions for both dives reported together with time times etc recorded on the dive plan and log sheets.
We were also joined in the boat by 2 divers from East Midlands SAC and it was great to share information on the local diving and national quarries used by the wider dive community.
As can be seen, both dives did not disappoint, visibility was 10-15 meters with an abundance of life, scenery and wreckage to explore.
All divers retrieved safely from both dives without incident all surfacing using individual DSMBs in accordance with both DM and Skipper instructions.
The evening it was off to “the Potted Lobster” for a delicious evening meal with local freshly caught seafood that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Dive 3 and 4 Saturday the 6th day of September
Hughesey’s turn as D.M today and an Early ropes off at 8am was needed to get ahead of the incoming changing weather due to a wind shift now coming in from the south west.
Dive 3 was back to the Hopper for scenic wall and reef dive, we were also joined by a large number of York S.A.C. divers. Several of our party were fortunate to experience encounters with the local seal population. 7 divers from our club participated in this dive and were all safely retrieved without incident
Dive 4 we were offered the north side of the bluecaps or an area called “The Crumstone and Callers” which lie to the South of Longstone Ends. After a brief review and discussion with the skipper and local/regular divers that where aboard it was decided that we would dive “the Crumstone” as it offered the best chance for quality diving. The Crumstone proved to be the right choice, it was another scenic wall dive along the outer wall and gullies chosen for its sheltered location on the inner Farnes. 5 divers participated in this dive, all had seal encounters, and the dive was visually stunning, all were safely retrieved without incident.
Both dives conducted in accordance with both Dive manager and Skipper’s instructions using the deployment of individual DSMBs as a safeguard in the event of diver separation.
That evening it was off to “the middle inn” for a few drinks, excellent food and one of our team consumed an obscene amount of custard.
Diving for the following (and last planned) day Sunday the 7th of September, was called off by the skipper due to 40MPH+ winds developing. So, this rounded off a fantastic weekend enjoyed by all.
