EAST CORNWALL DIVERS

WRECK DIVING

HMS Scylla

Europe's first artificial reef was sunk on Saturday the 27th March 2004 at 3:30pm. Within 2 minutes and 40 seconds she had gracefully slipped from the surface, bow first as predicted.

East Cornwall Divers were there amongst a flotilla of several hundred boats to watch the sinking. A 1km exclusion zone was established around the vessel. The cliff tops were lined with people, all hoping to catch the moment she sunk. As she slipped beneath the waves, the surrounding cliffs lit up as photographers tried to capture he last moments. Horns sounded and echoed from the flotilla.

A few members of our Club were aboard Maid Maggie the following Tuesday to get one of the first dives on her. The water was a milky colour, as the paint on the hull hadn't had time to dry before she sunk.As expected she was pristine, with now signs of marine life.

Scylla Video

The video was shot by Colin Bowden on Sunday 11th April, just 2 weeks after the sinking .We dive the wreck on a regular basis throughout the year. She is now covered in marine life.

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James Eagan Layne

There are plenty of wrecks in the South-East Cornwall area, the most famous being the James Eagan Layne,which must be the most dived wreck in Britain. Every weekend divers flock to Cornwall from all over the country and for many of them the James Eagan Layne is a must!

The James Eagan Layne was an American Liberty ship. She sank on March the 21st 1945, after being hit by a torpedo. The ship is sat upright on a sandy bottom, in a charted depth of 24m, at position 50.19.32N 04.04.42W.It is situated about three quarter of a mile off shore, and is marked with a wreck buoy to seaward.The wreck is split into two sections, the bow section being the largest is some 25m away from the stern section. The bow complete with railings points north and is very much intact. Visibility is generally good, although this does depend on the number of divers on the site.In summer it becomes very busy! It is possible to dive the wreck at most states of the tide. It is sheltered from the South- easterly / easterly winds by Rame Head. Care should be taken not to move or collect radio active discs which are 4-5 cm in diameter, and are still occasionally found on the wreck!

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SS Rosehill

The SS Rosehill is often difficult to locate, but that makes it all the more interesting to dive

The SS Rosehill formally known as the Minster was an armed steam ship of some 2788 tonnes. It was torpedoed without warning on the 23rd of September 1917. .This wreck is extremely difficult to locate, and often enough the visibility is poor. The wreck is upside down and does not stand very proud of the seabed. A reef that runs parallel is often mistaken for the wreck. The only thing standing proud are the boilers, which protrude some 3m above the rest of the wreck. If you are willing to spend time locating the wreck, it is well worth a dive!

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The Elk

HMS Elk was a 181 ton former Grimsby trawler built in 1902. She lies at 50.18.24N; 04.10.12W. In 1915 she was hired by the Navy as a minesweeper and served until 1919, when she returned to fishing. In 1939 she was called up again and used as a dan-layer. On November 27th, 1940 was hit a mine and sank off Penlee Point and in her present position . She is in 27m of water, standing bolt upright and 5m proud, on a sandy bottom. She is 108ft long. Her port side is shows more damage than the other. She is home to some very large congers, as well as pouting and pollack. The Elk Reef which is 10m high runs parallel to the wreck, and is often mistaken for the wreck itself. The reef is covered in deadmens fingers and gorgonia, and makes an interesting dive should you miss the wreck!

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The Medoc

The Medoc is a deep wreck at some 53M to the bottom and quite difficult to find. She is upright and covered in fishing tackle as she is a favourite with the fishing charters.

The Allies commandeered the French cargo carrier the Medoc. At 273 feet long, 34 feet wide with a displacement of 1.166 tons, the Medoc was loaded with ammunition, mostly 3.5 shell cases and cordite. She approached the vicinity of the Eddystone on the afternoon of 26 November 1940. A lookout spotted an aircraft coming towards the ship but mistakenly decided that it was friendly. The plane opened fire and raked the Medoc with machine gun fire. On the second attack it flew towards the Medoc it rattled off a couple of bursts with its machineguns and then dropped a torpedo with devastating effect. The Medoc sank so quickly, that all thirty nine of her crew perished with her.

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The Gypsy

The wreck of the Gipsy can be found just off of Downderry in about 7M of water. This is an ideal second dive, it can also be easily reached from the shore.

The Gipsy of Nantes, formally known as the Rodney was built in 1874. she struck the rocks off Downderry beach on December 7th 1901, while bound from Chile to Plymouth, carrying nitrates. The 1447 tonne ship lost her bearings and became stranded on the reef. She was blown apart by explosives as she had become a hazard to local fishing vessels. Parts of the wreck are strewn over a large area in about 7-8m of water. This wreck is an ideal second dive. It is also a good shore dive as the reef itself is very interesting.

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The Poulmic

The Poulmic was a victim of a Parachute mine on October 6, 1940. This 350 ton ship was blown apart. Her remains can be found scattered at 50.19.05; 04.09.38.

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The Kantoeng

The Kantoeng was a dredger, which was built in Holland in 1937.She left Holland on tow along the Channel for the Dutch East Indies, when she capsized off of the Eddystone. She finally came to rest 1 mile from Fowey Harbour entrance at Lat 50.18.55N and Long   03.39.10W. The average depth of the wreck is 15M. She is sat on a sandy bottom.

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The Wrecks of Talland Bay

There are three wrecks in Talland Bay, which are worth diving, especially as a second dive. They are the Margarita, the Tregothic and finally the Ester.

Talland Bay is an area just to the west of Looe and is easily reached by RIB from Downderry or Looe in under half an hour. The sweep of the bay holds the remains of three vessels. The first is a 220 ton steam trawler called the Margarita, she ran ashore on the 3rd May 1922 and her boilers can still be seen in the shallows. The other two wrecks are a lot harder to find. The Austrian brig Ester struck the shore in an easterly gale in March 1885 and disintegrated, as did the Tregothick, an outward bound West Indiaman who ran ashore on January 10, 1786. Captain Elder, his son and eleven seamen died.

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The Flying fortress Bomber

At Millendreath two miles west along the coast from Downderry are the remains of an American Flying Fortress Bomber. The bomber was hit, and the pilot new he could not land the plane so he instructed his crew to bail out once the plane had reached the British coast. The pilot turned the plane around and sent it heading out to sea before he bailed out over Downderry. Unfortunately the plane did a U turn and started to head back towards the shore. It finally crashed about half a mile offshore in about 10m of water.

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