LOCATION | 50º.19.58N | 004º.15.19W |
DEPTH | 12M to Deck/26M to seabed | |
LEVEL | Ocean Diver/Sports Diver | |
SLACK | Can be dived at any state of Tide. |
Europe’s first artificial reef was sunk on Saturday the 27th March 2004 at 3:30pm. Within 2 minutes and 40 seconds the HMS Scylla 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 her 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 no signs of marine life.
We dive the wreck on a regular basis throughout the year. She is now covered in marine life. The proximity of this wreck to the James Eagan Layne means our members often get the chance to dive both wrecks in one day!