the insider's guide to plymouth's greatest dives - Plymouth Sound ...

SOUNDING OFF
THE INSIDER’S GUIDE
TO PLYMOUTH’S
GREATEST DIVES
Everyone has their own idea about the perfect local dive site, so we asked
members of Plymouth Sound BSAC to nominate their top ten. Interviews
and photographs by Neil Hope
PERSIER: 50°17.115’N, 03°58.138’W
Nominated by: Bob Moore, 71, BSAC advanced diver
The Belgian steamer Persier came to grief on 11
February 1945. It was 6km from the Eddystone,
travelling as part of a convoy, when a torpedo struck
her on the port side. Located midway between
Plymouth and Salcombe, the Persier can be dived at any tide, with
only a negligible current present.
Owned by the club, the wreck is one of the most popular sites
among members, among them Bob Moore, who has completed
about 50 dives on the Persier in the 12 years he’s been diving. ‘It’s
pretty much intact with big boilers and a big driveshaft tunnel that
you can easily swim through,’ he says. ‘Down at the stern, there
are conger eels. Schools of bib and pollack populate the wreck,
along with plumose anemone, dead men’s fingers and sea fans.
The wreck is teeming with life, and there’s always something new
to see even after years of diving here.’
STEADY EDDY: the lighthouse
at the Eddystone stands sentinel
outside Plymouth
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HAND DEEPS: 50°12.580’N, 04°20.400’W
EDDYSTONE REEF: 50°10.750’N, 04°15.950’W
Nominated by: Debbie Bauckham, 47, BSAC dive leader
Although two separate dives, both are reefs and offer similar diving
experiences. Due to the distance from shore and their proximity to one
another, they are often combined on the same trip.
The Eddystone lighthouse is about 19km south of Plymouth Sound
and offers a variety of diving, from the shallow kelp-covered gullies on the north side
to the rocky reefs on the south, where drop-offs reach depths of around 40m.
Debbie Bauckham enjoys wrecks for the marine life they attract, but prefers the
attractions of these overtly scenic dives. ‘The Eddystone is great for both novice and
experienced divers with its fantastic life and rock formations,’ she says. ‘There are
schools of bass and pollack with plenty of crustaceans, and the pink sea fans seem
in far better condition than those on the more-often dived sites.’
Hand Deeps is a kelp-covered pinnacle sitting some 10m below the surface, but
its rocky terrain plunges down to more than 50m. ‘There are some fantastic rock
formations covered in jewel anemones, and the rock face is quite sheer in some
places,’ says Bauckham. ‘There’s also no freshwater run-off from land out there,
which can give really good visibility.’ Both sites can be dived at any time during
neap tides, but slack water is advised during springs; it falls two and a half hours
after high and low Devonport.
STOKE POINT: 50°17.24’N, 04°01.35’W
Nominated by: Keith Hiscock, 60, advanced diver
Located beyond the Mewstone to the east of Plymouth Sound, Stoke
Point’s rocky headland offers shelter from the northerly winds that can
sometimes curtail diving at other more exposed sites.
With a gradual incline onto a sand and rock sea bed, bottoming out
at 33m, it provides an excellent habitat for sea squirts, sponges and anemones, with
the occasional thornback ray sighting, to the delight of marine biologist Keith Hiscock:
‘The light sandy sea bed allows me, as an underwater photographer, to get that nice
mix of natural and artificial light, which is important when recording the many species
in the area.’
Slack water occurs midway between high and low water at Devonport. If you prefer,
a high-water drift dive will let you explore the site with the minimum of effort. ‘There’s
the opportunity to get some good lengthy bottom time at the depths on offer,’ Hiscock
adds. ‘I find the visibility here, east of Plymouth, is often better than to the west,
which can sometimes be affected by the proximity of the rivers Plym and Tamar.’
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TAKE MY HAND: a diver photographs the rock
face at Hand Deeps
MAINE: 50°12.820’N,
03°51.045’W
Nominated by:
Lynne Bracegirdle,
54, dive leader
After a torpedo strike to its
port side, the 3,600-tonne
steamship Maine came to
rest less than 2km off Bolt Head where it
now sits upright on a white sandy sea bed,
the deck at 22m with the stern at 34m.
Dive leader Lynne Bracegirdle describes
the Maine: ‘There’s good water clarity and
it’s reasonably intact, apart from amidships
where it has collapsed. The fore and aft
holds are filled with fish. There seems to
be different fish here to elsewhere – a lot
of tompot blennies and schools of bib, with
lobsters, crabs, scallops and an old conger
at the bow.’
First dived in 1961 by Torbay BSAC –
who purchased the wreck for £100 – the
Maine is a slack-water dive due to the
strong current. At springs, it should be
dived two hours after high water or two
and a half hours after low water.

JAMES EAGAN LAYNE:
50°19.609’N, 04°14.720’W
Nominated by: Mark Prior, 53,
advanced diver
One of the UK’s best-known
wrecks, the James Eagan
Layne was one of 2,700
Liberty ships constructed
during the Second World War. After it was
holed by a torpedo off Devon’s West Rutts,
an attempt was made to beach the stricken
vessel. But just over a kilometre off Rame
Head, it became clear nothing could be done
to keep her afloat and, on 21 March 1945,
it sank to its final resting place.
Mark Prior has dived it many times. He
says: ‘She’s obviously not the wreck she once
was due to her age and gradual collapse,
but she is still full of atmosphere.’ Diving is
possible at all states of tide, and with the
buoyed bow at 6m, it makes an ideal place
for initial entry and for safety stops on ascent.
The deepest part of the wreck is 24m and
safe penetration is possible, although caution
is advised as there are loose or sharp girders
and plates. Despite the ravages of time, the
James Eagan Layne is still a haven for
marine life: the bow is covered in plumose
anemones, large wrasse are plentiful, and the
stern, found southwest of the main wreck, is
home to schools of pollack.
HILSEA POINT ROCK: 50°17.305’N, 04°02.646’W
Nominated by: Jeremy Clark, 46, dive leader
Hilsea Point Rock is a popular scenic dive suitable for all grades of diver.
While slack water gives optimum conditions, a drift dive is possible after
half tide for the more experienced. Located south of the old coastguard
lookout hut on the cliff face, east of the point itself, the rock rises just a
few metres from the surface and descends over a broken rocky sea bed to 25m.
A narrow canyon – wide enough for a diver to swim through – offers sightings of
cup corals, jewel anemones and sponges, very much to the liking of Jeremy Clark.
‘The underwater scenery is spectacular and you can see most of the colourful species
in the popular identification guides,’ he says. ‘You can see all of the UK wrasse
species, John Dory, dogfish and, albeit a rarer sight, monkfish.’
FIRM FAVOURITE: a diver moves among the
girders of the James Eagan Layne
ON POINT: dead men’s fingers are among the
sights at Hilsea Point Rock
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MEWSTONE: 50°18.132’N,
04°06.637’W
Nominated by:
Damian Walker, 38,
PADI rescue diver
A ten-minute RIB ride due
south from Plymouth
Sound’s breakwater, the
Mewstone is an island that was once
joined to the nearby shore. It’s now an
isolated and impressive sight as it rises
high above the surface of the water. No
less impressive below, the Mewstone
slopes 15–30m in places.
Damian Walker sees the site as
valuable for upping the experience levels
of novices. ‘The gradual increase in depth
means it’s easy to have a controlled
environment in which to further a diver’s
exposure to depth,’ he says. ‘With fingers
of rock stretching out into gullies of lightcoloured
sand combined with prolific
marine life, the Mewstone makes an ideal
spot for the underwater photographer.’
HMS SCYLLA: 50°19.644N, 04°15.200W
Nominated by: Kevin Pidgeon, 45, sport diver
Four years on from its sinking off Whitsand Bay, the former
Royal Navy frigate HMS Scylla is now rivalling the James
Eagan Layne as a magnet for marine life. The starboard
side is covered with plumose anemones; the shallow
deck is colonised with kelp, offering a home to the plentiful wrasse;
and large pollack hang almost motionless in the current off the bow.
Kevin Pidgeon, a former Devonport Dockyard worker, has a particular
interest in the vessel, having been involved in refitting its weaponry during
the 1980s. ‘It’s fascinating to see how it looks below the water after
having seen and worked on her during my time in the dockyard,’ he says.
‘I’m very interested in how they prepared it for divers, such as the cut-outs
to allow access from one side to the other. I think this is the way forward
for diving as the older wrecks deteriorate.’
SCYLLA THRILLER: former Royal Navy frigate
HMS Scylla, sunk to create an artificial reef in
2004, is now becoming a haven for marine life
STONE ME: this dahlia anemone is among
the marine life found on the Mewstone
EAST RUTTS: 50°13.400’N,
03°58.800’W
Nominated by: John Gould, 71,
advanced diver
The East Rutts are an offshore
formation of several pinnacles of
rock that descend to a depth of
40m and rise to within 8m of
the surface. Veteran diver John Gould enjoys
exploring the large boulders and fissures that
form the reef. ‘You can have a good drift dive
here and the boulders allow shelter if you want
to get out of the tidal flow, whichever way it’s
running,’ he says. ‘Silt can sometimes be a
problem, but there’s lots to see like pollack,
lobsters and football sea squirts. Sea fans are
quite common here and there’s a lot of marine
life among the kelp in the shallows.’
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HATT TRICK: colonies of jewel anemones brighten up
Hatt Rock [this photograph]; Plymouth Sound BSAC
divers complete a safety check before diving [below]
HATT ROCK: 50°10.600’N,
04°29.300’W
Nominated by: Pete Flaxman, 64,
advanced instructor
A 27km journey from Plymouth,
a dive at Hatt Rock depends on
favourable weather conditions, but
the rock’s isolated location has its
advantages. Diving officer Pete Flaxman has vivid
memories of his first-ever dive with the club, which
still remains a firm favourite: ‘Dropping down onto
the top of the rock in 30m with nothing else around
is like being in a wilderness – I can only compare it
to standing on a rocky tor on the wild and empty
landscape of Dartmoor.’
Due to its depth – it starts at 25m and plunges
to more than 60m – there is no kelp forest on the
pinnacle. Instead it is covered in brightly coloured
jewel and plumose anemones.
PLANNING AND
PRACTICALITIES
Plymouth Sound BSAC (www.
plymouthdivers.org.uk) meets Monday
evenings at 9pm and is based at the
Mountbatten Watersports Centre,
Mountbatten, Plymouth. The centre has
a bar, a restaurant and reasonably priced
accommodation, with no charge for the
use of its two slipways.
There is also an excellent free slipway at
Richmond Walk, Mount Wise, which can be
used practically at any state of the tide
apart from low-water springs.
Fort Bovisand also offers a free slip, while
the Queen Anne’s Battery Marina, usable at
all tides, has a launching fee which includes
use of the toilets, showers and car parking.
AIR/NITROX FILLS
Sandford & Down, Pier Street, West Hoe:
01752 266248
In Deep, Mountbatten Centre, Lawrence
Road: 01752 405400
Aquanauts, 88 Vauxhall Street, Barbican:
01752 228825
Sound Diving, Queen Anne’s Battery
Marina: 01752 670674
Plymouth Diving Centre, Queen Anne’s
Battery Marina: 01752 263900
CONTACTS
Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC),
Hyperbaric Medical Centre, Tamar Science
Park: 01752 209999
Plymouth Longroom (harbourmaster –
contact before diving in and around
Plymouth Sound): VHF channel 14 or
telephone 01752 663225
Brixham Coastguard: VHF channel 16 or
telephone 01803 882704