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Scuba Diving Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK, Europe
Dive Site: South Haven Caves
Location: Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire
Description: Kelp forest and caves
Depth: 0 - 13 metres (0 - 43 feet)
Visibility: 5 - 10 metres (15 - 30 feet)
Rating: ***
The member of crew that was on our charter boat had been interested in diving the caves around South Haven on Skomer Island for some time but with the prevailing wind direction generally causing the waves to be rough in this area he had never got the chance to do it. We decided to give it a go as a shallow second dive as the idea of going into some caves was exciting.
We began the dive by exploring the kelp forest that surrounds the base of the cliff in this area. It has to be said that there was very little in the way of life in the area except for a few spider crabs and the odd juvenile wrasse. After about 20 minutes I suggested to my buddy that we went to the cliff edge and tried going into some of the caves. We managed to find the entrance to one by a patch of shingle seabed that had excellent visibility but nothing in the way of seaweed cover. We found an edible crab sitting by a rock at this point and the clear vis and shallow depth allowed me to effortlessly take a photo of it without having to consider any lighting.
We then made our way up to the cave entrance, getting slightly caught in the swell caused by the wave motion, but it wasn't too much to fin against. To enter the cave you had to swim under an archway made from rock that was the only access point. The water here was a beautiful blue colour and looking back through the archway was very picturesque. We surfaced in the cave entrance briefly to get our bearings then tried to head further into the cave. It only went less than 10 metres into the cliff before petering out, so was more of a cavern than a cave. As we headed back out under the archway to finish the dive we saw a seal briefly and a compass jellyfish that had a very small silver fish living amongst its tentacles.
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