There is an underwater world surrounding Gibraltar,
teeming with rich history and extraordinary wildlife.
There are around 40 wrecks in the bay, but the story
of the HMS Erin, or the ‘Inner & Outer’ as it is com-
monly known, is one that was years in the making.
It remained a mystery for decades. With wrecks
such as the SS Excellent and the SS Rosslyn intact
and easy to access, the ‘Inner and Outer’, was an
enigma with no name and an untold story.
That was until a small team of volunteer divers
and historians took it upon themselves to uncover
the tale behind it.
We met with Phil Smith, Senior Guide and Site
Manager for Gorham’s Cave and Geraldine Finlay-
son, Deputy Director of Gibraltar Heritage, who
spent over 6 years diving and researching the site
from 1996 to 2003.
Both Geraldine and Phil have an immense wealth
of diving experience. Phil learned to dive in Gibraltar
when he spent two years here with the Army be-
tween 1981-1983. When he returned in 1985, he
worked for the diving school in the marina and then
ran the Joint Services Diving Club for many years.
Geraldine had wanted to dive from a young age but
unfortunately, in the 1970s diving schools in Gibral-
tar did not accept female members. She finally beca-
me a licensed diver in her mid 30’s and also joined
the Joint Services Club. They have both gone on to
become Archaeological Diving Instructors.
A fascination with Gibraltar’s shipwrecks led Phil,
together with Darren Fa, to write Underwater Gibral-
tar, a book that details Gibraltar’s plethora of wrecks
and reefs. As a part of that, they wanted to try and
uncover the mystery of this forgotten wreck.
Located on the outer side of the Detached Mole
on Gibraltar’s west side, the ‘Inner and Outer’ is com-
prised of two mangled parts. What was unclear at
the time was whether these two parts belonged to
the same ship or that of two different vessels.
The ‘Inner’ is the bottom part of a bow section
and closest to the mole. The ‘Outer’ lies 40 metres
away and is the remains of a very disfigured stern
section. There is no sign of a middle section and the
parts that remain make-up approximately 20% of a
vessel. If this was one ship, very little remained to
work with.
Various fishing nets and cabling covered both
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Gibraltar, está rodeada de un mundo submarino re-
pleto de rica y copiosa historia, compartida con una
extraordinaria vida salvaje. En la bahía, se contabi-
lizan alrededor de cuarenta naufragios y una de las
historias que lleva años en danza es la del HMS Erin
o ‘Inner & Outer’, como generalmente se la conoce.
Durante décadas ha sido un misterio. Junto a
restos de como el del SS Excellent y el SS Rosslyn
intactos y con facilidad de acceso, el ‘Inner and Ou-
ter’ ha sido un enigma sin nombre, una historia
no relatada. Esto ha sido así hasta que un grupo de
submarinistas historiadores y voluntarios, se han
encargado de destapar la historia que hay detrás de
esta embarcación.
Nos hemos reunido con Phil Smith -Guía Senior y
Gerente de Sitio de la Cueva de Gorham- y con Ge-
raldine Finlayson -Subdirectora de Gibraltar Herita-
ge- que ha pasado desde 1996 hasta 2003, bucean-
do e investigando la localización del ‘Inner & Outer’.
Tanto Geraldine como Phil, poseen una rica expe-
riencia en el mundo submarino y el submarinismo.
Phil aprendió a bucear en Gibraltar cuando entre
1981-1983, pasó dos años con el Ejército en la roca.
A su regreso en 1985, trabajó para la escuela de
buceo en el puerto deportivo y posteriormente, diri-
gió el Joint Services Diving Club (Club de buceo de
servicios mixtos) durante muchos años.
Geraldine, desde temprana edad - allá por 1970-
había querido adentrarse en el mundo del buceo,
pero desgraciadamente en esos tiempos, las escue-
las gibraltareñas no aceptaban miembros del géne-
ro femenino. Pasada la treintena, se convirtió en
una submarinista licenciada y se unió al Joint Ser-
vices Diving Club. Ambos - Phil y Geraldine- se han
convertido en instructores de buceo arqueológico.
Una atracción seductora por los naufragios de
Gibraltar, hizo que Phil Smith junto a Darren Fa,
escribieran Underwater Gibraltar (Gibraltar Sub-
marino), trabajo en el que detallan la gran cantidad
de naufragios y arrecifes existentes en Gibraltar. En
este recorrido, no podía faltar el estudio que reco-
giese el misterio por descubrir del ‘Inner & Outer’,
ese naufragio olvidado.
Ubicado en el lado exterior del Detached Mole
-malecón desprendido- en el lado oeste de Gibraltar,
el ‘Inner & Outer’ cuenta con dos partes destroza-
das. En principio, no era fácil determinar si se trata-
OTWO 02 / SEPTEMBER 2019
OTWO 02 / SEPTEMBER 2019
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