WEST SHAG ROCK
One sad, windy evening I was pouring over my local navigational charts (in this case Admiralty Chart 'Harbours on the South Coast of Devon' INT1724) looking for a new spot to explore when I came across the 'West Shag Rock'. Any lump of rock large enough to appear on the chart, and in about 10m of water is well worth a visit in my book... and boy was I right!
Situated to the west of Meadfoot Beach in Torquay it is quite a hike to get to, and in my book probably not worth attempting as a scuba dive (though I will give it a go & let you know :-) because of the entry/exit point. Getting to the site is initially very easy, just go to the end of the beach-huts and then over the rocks due west. From there you will see the rock sitting pretty about 100yards away. Then things get a little tricky because you have to negotiate some quite steep and sharp rock to get to the waters edge so please take care. I always head to the edge of the rocks nearest the site because there is a ledge that runs into the sea here which makes entry easy given calm conditions. At high tide a giant stride is possible with care.
There really is no point in descending immediately because the ground between you and the rock is nothing but sand, and I mean it! You will see cuttle fish and crabs here, but unless your navigation is very good the risk of loosing your target is not worth it for the sake of the surface swim. West Shag Rock is actually two rocks and I'm going to take you on a figure of eight around them... nice and easy left-shoulder/right shoulder.
Once you reach the inside edge of the first (and largest) of the two rocks, stop for a rest to get your breath back but watch for the current (never too strong) pushing you back from where you've just come. If you are lucky then you will be able to see the bottom here in about 10m of water. Descend down the face of the rock (on your left shoulder) onto a sandy patch to start the dive - please DO NOT drop onto the sea-bed here as there are a number of very delicate Dahlia Anemones that call this place home. They are stunning to look at but probably wouldn't take much of a bashing from your fins!
From here on in the navigation is over to you as there is plenty to see on the western side of Shag Rock with hoards of Dead Mens Fingers, beds of Muscles and droves of attacking Common Starfish feeding on them, all manner of anemones on the vertical rock faces and the chance to see Dogfish, Pipefish and Plaice. Between the rocks and in the overhangs there are plenty of colourful Wrasse, and in late spring they have eggs to defend and will get very close to you indeed - a real treat! Gradually make your way around the rock in an anti-clock-wise fashion, and you will get to the deeper water (max 15m) on the Southern section of the dive which then rises onto sand as you head round to the Eastern side of the rock (it's this part that has most of the Dahlia Anemones).
The first part of our figure-of-eight could be swam round in about 7 minutes if you really wanted to... but you would miss so much that it will probably take you about 25mins to half-an-hour. I would recommend the relaxed approach every time :-).
Once you are back to your starting point, head West until you pick up the second rock on your right after a short swim. This is the smaller and shallower of the pair and as such will not take too long to circumnavigate. This can be quite kelpy, but getting underneath it you are treated to many sponges and small anemones.
Having finished the route around this site it is time to head back to Meadfoot beach. If there is a current running towards the beach (East of your position) then my advice is to make use of it and swim back to the beach. Only on very calm days will you be able to exit over the rocks that you used to enter the water.