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Lough
Due to the long tradition of shipping in the Lough it is not surprising
that its bed is carpeted with wrecks. It has been referred to
as the Scapa Flow of Northern Ireland, with wrecks of all shapes
and sizes spanning the last one hundred years. Wreck divers may
be interested to learn that the bell from the Tiberia, a major
liner, was located only a few years ago.
The visibility in Belfast Lough ranges from 3-10m. Some 20 wrecks
can be dived in Belfast Lough. These wreck dives vary in difficulty,
with something for all abilities. Dive depths are from 10m to
over 60m.
For divers keen to look for new wrecks there are some four hundred
named wrecks off the Northern Ireland coast, many of these in
the Irish Sea.
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Strangford
Lough
Strangford is the largest sea inlet in the British Isles with
a meandering shoreline of 15O miles. This gigantic inland sea,
has about 120 small islands and is surrounded almost entirely
by land. This means there is an enormous diversity of easily accessible
diving sites. Quite simply, Strangford Lough is unique, a marine
biologist's paradise. Strangford boasts some 15 divable wrecks.
The Lough is connected to the sea by a long narrows where the
sea is usually flat and calm. This belies the fierce currents
of up to 8 knots and depths of 80 metres which can make this as
adventurous a dive as anyone could wish for. Sheer cliffs are
covered by luxurious growths of dead men's fingers and big sponges
which, even at slack water, makes the dive exciting.
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The appeal of the Lough to marine biologists
is its very wide range of seabed conditions, influenced by water
movements and the enormous diversity of species which are found.
The life on the seabed and around the many wrecks is varied and
prolific with urchins, anemones, sea squirts, scallops, crabs,
prawns and even octopus. The scampi prawn is common in the Lough
and can often be seen on the mud or outside its burrows. |
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There is one species of
large sponge which was described to science from specimens collected
in Strangford. Undoubtedly though, one of the richest marine life
communities is based around the big horse mussels. Its colonies
provide a stable attachment for many other species including scallops.
Many people believe these beds to have been in place undamaged for
hundreds of years.
The variety of marine life and good visibility, 4-l0 m plus, make
Strangford Lough an excellent site for underwater photography.
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