It sounds dead easy , but this wreck doesn ’ t give up its secrets easily ; with a lush summer growth of kelp and recurrent plankton blooms between April and September , I don ’ t think I ’ ve been the only one apologizing for leading a dive that turned up great marine life , but failed to yield a single cannon .
Still , a man needs a project ( as someone remarked recently ) and it became a mission to navigate a route around the ten or so cannon , which in earlier dives had popped up here and there .
So , with my regular club buddies we began to approach the site systematically , helped by improving late autumn visibility and southerly gales which stripped the site of its annual kelp growth . Now in its winter plumage , and after a good number of dives , it ’ s become much easier to join the dots and pick a trail around the site .
And the bonus ? Find your cannon and you ’ re right there among the neighbouring marine life on this rich and colourful site .
PHOTO : WILLIE COGHILL
Lush kelp growth around the entry point
PHOTO : WILLIE COGHILL
Stone crabs can be found among the brittlestar beds
PHOTO : BILLY ARTHUR
PHOTO : NEIL FINLAYSON
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