Squattie.

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The weekend started with the decision to take the courtesy car to Skye, since mine is apparently working but not yet trustworthy... As an "S-line" model this car has big rims, low profile tyres, sports suspension and bucket seats. This means that it rides like a hammer drill, and the seat is narrower than my butt. It also has a sporty 6 speed gearbox which necessitates an average of 23 gear changes a minute. Given that it is a 2 litre diesel engine in a 2-ton family saloon, it is fair to say that the benefits of these sporty features were lost on me. I suppose having a couple of hundred kilos of dive gear in the back won't have helped. Nor did my navigational difficulties which somewhat extended the journey.

Still, on the bright side my spinal column has now been compressed two inches by all the bumps, so I have plenty of headroom.

This is a long-clawed squat lobster, snapped 20m underwater on the first day of diving. The visibility on this site was excellent (20m+) and there was plenty of life to enjoy. These squatties are one of my favourite underwater creatures because they are so bold. Most lobsters scuttle for cover when they see a diver, but squatties often come out and brandish their claws threateningly!

I have been most warned (on pain of death) not to post an account of my buddies difficulties on this dive. Suffice to say it was like diving with zebedee strapped to a helium baloon, and that we had some "rocky" moments together. Still, no puffins were harmed so it's not all bad!