Our Best West Coast Dive Site

ST CATHERINES NO 3 REEF - SOUTH SIDE OF LOCH FYNE N56:12’:40” W05:03’:19”

St Catherines Village on the South side of Loch Fyne has at least 3 reefs, and the easiest way to remember them is by numbering them from the Village, East to West. The No1 Reef is at the Councils yard as you come into the Village, then you have St Catherines Pier, 2 miles further along the road turn right down a small side road and you are at No2 Reef, see other Site Guide, 600 metres further on from the No2 Reef along the same little road is this site.

You head along the road until you come to a large clipped Rhododendron Hedge on the Loch side, the path is down to the beach at the start of this Hedge. Please park with consideration on the verge leaving room for vehicle access to the houses which are 100m further on the left, (turning is possible past the cottages).

This Reef is triangular in shape with the narrowest part at a depth of about 10-12m and the widest part at a depth of 40m+, it is easy to miss as I can confirm, the best way to get on this reef is to swim out on a bearing of 310/320° from the point to a depth of 16-20m then turn right, 2-3 minutes and you will be on the reef.
It consists of large boulders on a slope, which drops away quite steeply at 30m to a depth of about 40m then seemingly gets shallower. As you work back up the reef it gets narrower and then becomes a sand/gravel seabed at about 8m. If you take a bearing of 180° you will end up back at the entry point, or stay at 6-8m and swim round the point to find an old bottle bank which will make a good deco stop rummage, a bit further round seals have been regularly seen.

There is a report of a Landing Craft at the base of this reef, but I cant find any firm position or confirmation of this although we did find a large odd looking anchor in about 16m just east of the reef which was once obviously attached to something. During the last war this area was used to practice for the D-day Landings, and there are lots of vehicles and equipment which have been lost or abandoned strewn up and down the Loch.

Pro's:- Good Parking. Easy Access, Lots of Life, Depths 8-48 metres, Superb Views and Wildlife
Con's:- Long Way from Edinburgh, Rocky Beach.