100
BEST
WRECK
DIVES
Ready to face any amount of heated debate, Kendall McDonald reveals the next ten in his list of Britain's top wreck dives. It's not easy placing one above another; does his ranking match yours?
90 HERZOGIN CECILIE
3111-ton four-masted steel clipper, built 1902. 336ft x 46ft. Cargo: 4250 tons of wheat, Port Lincoln, Australia to Ipswich, via Falmouth. Position: 50 12.82N; 03 47.02W (all positions are GPS). Depth: 7m.
Sunk: 25 April, 1936, by striking the Ham Stone off Soar Mill Cove in fog. Raised and towed to Starehole Bay, near Salcombe, where it was settled upright ready for repairs before its back broke in later storms.
Diving: Popular with photographers and novices - and all divers when weatherbound! Much plate amid kelp. Bow and chain locker still intact with anchor chain leading seaward. Some ribs standing.
Launch: Salcombe.
89 TORREY CANYON
61,263-ton Liberian supertanker, built 1959. "Jumbo-ised" in Japan, 1965, length increased from 809ft to 974ft which made it largest tanker in world. Cargo: 119,328 tons crude oil, Kuwait to Milford Haven. Position: 50 02.50N; 06 07.73W. Depth: 3-30m.
Sunk: 18 March, 1967, navigational error of ship's master, striking Pollard Rock, Seven Stones Reef, between Land's End and Isles of Scilly, at 17 knots. Refloat attempts failed, then back was broken in storm. Oil fouled beaches of Cornwall and Devon.
Diving: Very broken wreck is spread over much of the square mile of reef. Bow section lies to the north-west of Pollard Rock in a deep gully in the granite; stern well to the south. Much growth. Beware unexploded bombs and rockets and a big swell.
Launch: Scillies.
88 FORFARSHIRE
270-ton paddlesteamer, built 1834. 180ft x 22ft. Cargo: cloth, hardware, soap, boiler plate and spinning gear. Hull for Dundee. Position: 55 38.40N; 01 37.25W. Depth: 8m.
Sunk: 7 September, 1838, by engines' breakdown, storm winds and striking the Big Harcar Rock, Farne Islands. 18 survivors out of 63. Nine were saved by William Darling, keeper of Longstone Lighthouse, and his daughter Grace.
Diving: Wreck is on south-west tip of Harcar Rock; little is obvious amid kelp; some timbers, plates, air intakes, steel ladder, and anchor. Some experienced divers use strong north-south tides in Piper Gut to "fly" over the Grace Darling wreckage, which is mixed with cannon from other ships.
Launch: Seahouses, Beadnell, Bamburgh.
87 ROYAL CHARTER
2719-ton iron clipper ship. Built 1854. 235ft x 41ft. Armed. Cargo: Gold, valued then at 321,000. Melbourne for Liverpool. Position: 53 21.77N; 04 15.20W. Depth: 5-20m.
Sunk: 26 October, 1859, blown ashore at Moelfre, Anglesey, after hurricane-force winds broke anchor cables. Ship broke up. 459 of 500 drowned. Salvage divers have recovered all apart from 30,000-worth of gold cargo.
Diving: Many broken ribs and plating within a few yards of the shore. Sovereigns have been found. Diver Syd Wignall reported locating a gold ingot in 1958, but ran out of air before he could free it. On his return a storm had covered the area in sand. He gave the location as 5m deep, 20m from the rocks.
Launch: Moelfre.
86 UB-81
647-ton, UBIII-class German navy submarine, built 1917. 183ft x 19ft. From Zeebrugge to attack shipping in Channel. Position: 50 29.37N; 00 58.20W. Depth: 28m.
Sunk: 2 December, 1917, by striking a mine. Bottomed with flooded stern in 30m, 2 miles south of Owers Lightship. A rescue attempt failed. 27 of 34 drowned. Wreck has moved more than 12 miles since sinking.
Diving: Broken in two just aft of conning tower, which is also badly damaged. Highest point is a gun, which points towards surface, ammunition lying around. Main hatch open to control room. Parts of gun and bridge telegraph have been removed.
Launch: Bembridge, Portsmouth.
85 CZAR
1100-ton iron steamer, built 1858. Cargo: 1600 tons military stores from Woolwich Arsenal, Lancaster guns, shot and shell, uniforms, hides, spirits, oil, sugar and spices. Woolwich for Malta. Position: 49 57.55N; 05 10.42W. Depth: 18m.
Sunk: 22 January, 1859, by hitting Vrogue Rock, half a mile off Lizard, Cornwall, had turned back suffering boiler trouble in squally weather. Broke in two behind funnel. Captain Robert Jackson, his wife, son and 10 of the crew drowned.
Diving: To north-east of Vrogue Rock, seabed carpeted with round shot and some 9ft guns lie amid iron wreckage. Buttons from uniforms and other small items in clefts in rock gullies.
Launch: Cadgwith, Kennack Sands.
84 HMS PRINCE LEOPOLD
2938-ton, Belgian steamer, built 1930, converted to infantry landing ship 1941. 347ft x 46ft. Armed. Isle of Wight to Normandy. Position: 50 34.58N; 00 55.87W. Depth: 30m.
Sunk: 29 July, 1944, by torpedo from German U-boat, striking portside, midships.
Diving: Despite capsizing on sinking, wreck is now upright, but twisted with starboard list on gravel seabed. Highest point is Bofors gun, 10m proud. Large hole on port side is torpedo damage. Bow lists more than stern, which has 30* lean. Superstructure swept away. Beware depth charges on racks at stern. Take care on any entry into wreck, metal deteriorating fast.
Launch: Bracklesham, Selsey, Bognor.
83 HMS Montagu
14,000-ton battleship, built 1901 as Montague, renamed same year. 405ft x 75ft. Armed. Exercising in Bristol Channel. Position: 51 09.57N; 04 40.40W. Depth: 5-15m.
Sunk: 29 May, 1906, by running aground in fog on Shutter Reef, Lundy. Massive efforts to refloat her failed. Six months of salvage work followed.
Diving: Scattered and broken, but 2m high piles of armour plate still there amid kelp. Beware live 12in shells in wreckage.
Launch: Ilfracombe or take RIB on Lundy ferry as cargo.
82 MOLINA
1122-ton, Norwegian steamer, built 1905. 229ft x 36ft. Le Havre to Swansea. Position: 50 33.77N; 01 28.97W. Depth: 35m.
Sunk: 22 January, 1918, by torpedo, 7 miles south-east of Needles.
Diving: Still fairly intact, standing 8m proud. Was identified by bell recovered by a diver in 1985. Propeller with two blades missing raised by salvage divers. Bow to north-west. Beware thinning plating in danger of collapse.
Launch: Yarmouth, Lymington.
81 CADMUS
1879-ton steamer, built 1911. 279ft x 40ft. Armed. Cargo: Empty used shellcases for renovation in Britain. Dunkirk to Blyth. Position: 53 50.92N; 00 12.45E. Depth: 25m.
Sunk: 18 October,1917, by torpedo 20 miles south of Flamborough Head. No deaths.
Diving: Broken into two main parts near boiler and engines. Spare iron prop lying aft of boiler. Much debris including coils of wire between two sections. Main interest is holds, where cargo of 18-pounder shell cases were carried. Despite commercial salvage, local divers call this a "shellcase supermarket" and ration divers to two shells each!
Launch: Bridlington.
Appeared in DIVER - May 1999.
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