Vectis Expeditions St Kilda 2023 Expedition achieved its objectives and more!

Any expedition to St Kilda should be considered as an attempt to get to St Kilda. Our strategy was to book the UK’s premier expedition liveaboard for a longer period to maximise the chance of a weather window.  This time we were fortunate and that strategy paid off!

We were blessed with a weather window right at the start of the expedition and managed to dive six dive sites at St Kilda before a complex series of low-pressure weather systems chased us away from the island.

An eclectic group of divers from multiple BSAC branches worked as a team to complete 20 dives over ten days – a significant undertaking in UK waters.

The epic scenic dives at St Kilda were of course a highlight, as well as getting the opportunity to land and walk around village bay, the museum, church and school room and gather for what is probably going to become a standard expedition photograph – the team mustered around the gun overlooking the bay.

What became apparent on the trip to and from St Kilda is the amount of epic and hard to get to diving that is also available.  Some of this was new but some were also old
sites that were dived extensively decades ago but have been forgotten about.

A number of the group were working towards their BSAC Advanced Diver qualification and what a way to tick off modules AP1, AP2 and qualifying dives than on an expedition to St Kilda!  Congratulations to Laura who ticked all the remaining boxes she needed to tick to become a BSAC Advanced Diver.

It was also good to participate in the DNA Divers project by simply swimming around and collecting a  samples to send back to Erica at the lab at Liverpool University.

The expedition was planned before the death of the late Queen and so it was by chance that we found ourselves out at St Kilda the day of the King’s Coronation.  We celebrated
in our own way with some fabulous dives, discovery of a previously unknown underwater arch as well as walkabout on land in village bay.  Port and rum flowed in the form of the loyal toast in the evening as we headed east to escape the incoming weather with some great memories and a desire to return.

Thanks to Bob and the team for providing such wonderful expedition transport, accommodation and food.

Thanks to the eclectic group of BSAC divers working together in such a fabulous team: Fiona, Rob, Max, Peter, Jun-Ho, Ian, Chris, Nick, Andy K,, Laura, Matt, Robbie

Thanks for Erica Neave @ DNA Divers for letting us participate in their project.

God save the King!