Plymouth Wrecks and Reefs
Plymouth Wrecks & Reefs Diving Weekend
Non-member price: £195
Club member price: £175
30-31st MAY 2015
This dive weekend offers some truly spectacular dives that lie just off the British South Coast near Plymouth. Divers will need to be at least advanced open water diver and must have dived within the last 12 months.
Outkast, our dive boat for the weekend has enough room for 12 divers and their equipment and is one of the largest and newest boats in Plymouth. It’s a hard bottom boat with a toilet and stove for tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
The weekend includes 2 days boat diving, 2-nights (Friday and Saturday) accommodation at the Kynance House B&B, tank and weights. If you’d rather arrange your own accommodation then please let us know.
There will be four dives over two days will consist of (subject to weather conditions):
Rosehill
The wreck of the Rosehill now lies at a depth of 30m so it can only be accessed by Advanced Open Water divers and above. This merchant ship was commissioned by the British Navy during World War One and fitted with a large gun which is still visible. Like many other British ships the Rosehill was sank by the German U-boat U40 in September 1917.
The boilers are the most remarkable part of this historical wreck. The wreck is scattered with marine life including huge conger, large shoals of bib and lots of wrasse including rock cook. Just off the wreck is a pretty reef where there is a concentration of sea fans.
Breakwater
It took 30 years and around 4,000,000 tons of rock to build this vast breakwater. This free standing Breakwater just off the Plymouth cost was the first of its kind was considered a great engineering feat during the age when Napoleon’s Navy was decimating ports all over Europe. The famous anchorage of Plymouth Sound could never have supported the Royal Navy in its blockade against the French ports without the breakwater, which meant the final victory at sea would have been almost impossible.
Throughout the two World Wars, Plymouth forged a long partnership with the Royal Navy which still exists today and is the basis of the prosperity that the city enjoys to this day. The struggle to build it in the face of ferocious weather conditions and the continual threat of a French invasion made this a huge feat of human engineering. The breakwater is now home to loads of marine life including crabs, lobsters and large schools of fish and offers divers a splendid dive site.
Scylla
The UK’s most famous diving wreck and the UK’s first artificial reef. The Scylla is a Leander Class Naval Frigate that was sunk just outside Plymouth in 2004. Sitting in about 25m of water she has now attracted large amounts of marine life including starfish, scallops and pink sea fans.
Highlights include captain’s cabin, the bridge, galley, mess decks and operations room. These areas have been left as intact as possible to create additional interest for divers. Please note that this makes the dive more challenging and requires divers to hold relevant qualifications and adhere to safe wreck diving protocols. Only divers who have undergone appropriate specialised training should attempt to penetrate the wreck.
James Eagen Layne
The James Eagan Layne is possibly the most dived wreck in the UK, its shallow depth combined with a surprising amount of intact wreckage to explore, makes this an interesting dive for all abilities.
The James Egan Layne lies shotted in Whitsand Bay, Plymouth, and is an extremely popular British wreck because of its depth. It sank in March 1945 after ferrying men and materials across the world for the war effort. At the height of World War II, it was clear that cargo vessels were being sunk at a rate faster than which they could be built. In an effort to maintain the supply of food, vehicles and other equipment to the troops, the Americans found a way of welding aptly called ‘Liberty’ ships together that were 400 feet long weighing in at around 7000 tons in just 24 hours by an almost entirely female workforce. After being hit by a torpedo from a German U-boat near the Eddystone reef, the James Egan Layne was towed towards Plymouth in order to save as much of her cargo as possible. However on the way back, her stern collapsed causing her to sink in Whitsand bay, where she still sits upright, pointing north towards the shore.
YOUTUBE VIDEO of the Scylla and James Eagan Layne
Each diver is required to carry and know how to use an SMB and reel. We hope that you are able to join us for this fabulous weekend?