WRECKED
Essentials
DEPTH RANGE : The wreck lies at a charted depth of 18.7m and stands a good 5m off the seabed .
FINDING THE WRECK : The site is in Port Quin Bay , Latitude : 50 ° 36,157 ’ N Longitude : 004 ° 53168 ’ W
TIDAL INFORMATION : It is essential to dive this site at slack water , which is at approximately high water or low water at standard port Milford Haven .
Hovering above the engine room
Still , there are plenty of things to see around the boiler , the sides of which are festooned with pink sea fans . It also provides a home to various blennies and baby crawfish hiding in its rusting tubes .
Behind the boiler you get back to where you probably started and might want to rummage among the debris , on the lookout for hidden treasure among the flakes of rust before a quick tour of the stern gunwale . Look out for the capstan , winch and bollards , all gradually collapsing in onto the wreck . The wreck is tidal , but even on spring
At the stern gunwhale
tides you should be able to manage a good dive , particularly if you get in just before slack .
As you can see from the photographs , the visibility on this wreck can be stunning – but beware of the visibility after a storm . Unlike the offshore wrecks , viz in this location can drop significantly from about 15m to about 5-6m or less . However , even if you were unfortunate to land on the wreck in these conditions it would still be possible to have a great dive .
Overall , a very pleasant , enjoyable and straightforward wreck dive .
GAS : Harlyn Dive Centre , a BSAC Technical Centre in located in PityMe , near Rock , caters for recreational and technical divers
( www . harlyndiveschool . co . uk , 01208 862 556 ).
ACCOMMODATION : There are plenty of B & Bs , campsites and hotels to choose from but it is best to book early as the whole area gets very busy during school and especially summer holidays . We camped at a Higher Penmayne Farm Caravan and Camping site ( www . higherpenmaynefarm . co . uk 01208 863 357 ). This is a quiet family campsite , not far from Harlyn Dive School but in a post Covid world was busier this year in September than the height of the previous summer . It has wifi throughout the campsite fields .
EATS AND TREATS : In Rock there are plenty of eateries to suit all tastes . Food is generally of a high standard ; and since the last time we visited was in even more demand given the reduced number of seats and Covid restrictions . We decided to head out a bit further out to a gastro pub called the Maltsters , Arms , Chapel , Amble PL27 6EU . They took their Covid precautions extremely seriously , which was reassuring .
BLOWN OUT : Have a go at surfing : it ’ s what normally draws people to north Cornwall ; or you might be able to sneak a dive in on the south coast . You could shore dive at Porthkerris Divers ( www . porthkerris . com , 01326 280 620 ) or look for a boat space to dive the Manacles out of Falmouth . Hatch at Harlyn Dive School has been known to tow its RIB to the opposite coast to continue diving .
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