DIVERNET - Spring Diving - Ore Stone, Devon

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Tony Backhurst


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> travel > travel features > 2004 spring special

appeared in DIVER April 2004

It's a bit of a yucky day in Teignmouth. Had I known it would be this windy, wet and miserable, I would have stayed at home.
     It had been very nice until we got halfway down the M5 and here we were, hoping to dive the Bretagne. But with a strong offshore wind it's obvious from the harbour that five miles out above the wreck is a bit too exposed.
     I'm sure many divers find themselves in a similar situation, especially at the beginning (or end) of the season.
     Our options are explained by Mark at the Teign Dive Centre. The original plan is cancelled, so we are free to drop out, or we could do something inshore. If we're lucky, the wind may drop enough later in the day to make the Bretagne possible as a second dive.
     We settle for the Ore Stone, five miles down the coast and just half a mile off Hope's Nose.
     Everyone suits up before leaving the harbour. Even less than a mile offshore it's clear that we're in for a wet journey as the wind blows the tops off short, sharp waves. It's quite a relief when we get to the Ore Stone and find a little shelter.
     The boat makes passes as close to the rock as the skipper dares, to drop off pairs of divers. The rain has stopped, but the sky is still grey and dingy.
     I submerge straight away to get out of the slosh and follow a compass bearing over the shallow kelp and into the Ore Stone. And I do mean �into�, because a tunnel runs right through it.
     With this prospect, I would normally dive with a wide-angle lens and plan to picture divers entering the tunnel, nicely framed against the entrance.
     Today, I'm glad to be diving with a macro lens. Wind, rain and muddy water from east Devon's rivers have reduced visibility to a silty 2-3m, and that's probably an optimistic estimate.
     Even so, I can just pick out a lighter patch at the far end of the tunnel from a little way inside the entrance.
     The waves surge through the tunnel. I progress by letting the water push me forwards, then grab hold of a rock before I get dragged back again. All this plus focusing a macro lens and I am task-laden.
     The nice thing about tunnels, caves and anything that creates an unusual patch of darkness for such shallow depth is that life normally found in deeper water is found close to the surface.
     Overhanging rocks near the tunnel entrance are carpeted with bryozoans. Further in, the walls exhibit a patchy tapestry of sponges and jewel anemones.
     From the far end of the tunnel we could have continued out and round the rock, back towards our starting point. But the prospect of following the edge of the rock above a kelp bed at 5m doesn't feel that attractive. I turn back through the tunnel and follow the slope to deeper water.
     In the briefing we had been cautioned to surface on a delayed SMB well out from the rock for a safe pick-up, so as long as I don't get too far out, this is the easy course of action and the most likely to get past the kelp.
     Things level out at 10-12m into an undulating rocky seabed with patches of sand. There are no vertical edges or overhanging cracks in which critters can hide. Nevertheless, we are past most of the kelp and the prevailing life is bryozoans, hydroids and dead men's fingers.
     I start looking for the little stuff and find a small cowrie climbing along the top of a white sea-squirt. Then I spot the first scorpion spider-crab, only a few centimetres across and proudly displaying a decorated outfit of bits of everything from flecks of seaweed to brown and yellow sponges.
     Switched on to spider-crabs, I soon find more, some even smaller, each with their own cute variation on the corporate dress code.
     With such a yucky day, beggars can't be choosers. For 40 minutes or so I have quite a good time, despite the surge, darkness and poor visibility. I get into the right frame of mind and look for the smaller stuff.
     The even better news is that later in the afternoon the wind drops, it brightens up a bit and the last boat wave of the day makes it to the Bretagne.
     In Teignmouth, head for the commercial docks. You'll find Teign Diving Centre and the public slip opposite the car park.
     The centre can fill air and nitrox, rent equipment and provide hardboat charter for individuals (01626 772965). The slip is usable at all states of tide except very low springs. The New Quay Inn provides B&B accommodation (01626 774145).

Seen at the Ore Stone - a scorpion spider-crab

sponge encrusting the walls of a tunnel

an outcrop of rock in the tunnel makes a good home for jewel anemones

a cowrie climbing along a white sea-squirt