The sight that greeted us on Ayr seafront was most unwelcome. White horses, drizzle and a swell rolling out of the west were crashing onto the beach. Undeterred, we tracked down our home for the next week, “Loyal Watcher”. An ex-navy supply vessel constructed in 1978, and now converted into one of the best liveaboard dive boats the UK has to offer.
The group was made up of ten, five from BSAC1620, and five from “Abyss Explorers”. The nature of the diving dictated the kit that was being loaded on board. We had six inspiration rebreathers, two KISS rebreathers and just two on open circuit.
Our targets for the week lay not off Scotland where we boarded, but across the Irish sea and North Channel, off the tip of Ireland’s northern coast.
It was here that cross-atlantic traffic was funneled in both world wars, as the ships bringing troops and supplies to war-torn Britain made their way into the port of Liverpool. The area became a favourite for the hunting U-Boats who waited off the northern Ireland coast in packs to torpedo the ships as they sailed past. Today, in waters from 60-70 metres lie ocean liners, merchant ships, submarines and a Battleship, all waiting to be explored in 20+ metres of visibility.
The sites are extremely exposed, you are effectively diving in the Atlantic with nothing between you and America. Good weather is essential.
The group prepared themselves for the crossing in one of Ayr’s local inns. Back on board we enjoyed a good dinner before casting off. The trip took until the early hours of the morning and when we surfaced from our bunks there were several green faces, it had not been the most comfortable of nights. The decision was taken to postpone the first day’s diving and head for the anchorage instead, Portsalon, where thankfully it was calm. We spent the day testing kit. A few went for a dive under the boat. Others watched parts of Watcher’s extensive DVD collection, whilst those who had suffered most in the crossing went back to bed.
Stepping ashore at Portsalon we found we were actually in Southern Ireland, not Northern Ireland. This caught all of us all off-guard. Thankfully passports were not required, but no one had any euros! The exchange rate we were offered was not bad. We grabbed the opportunity to sample some authentic Guinness.
HMS Audacious
23,000 tonne King George V Class battleship
Sunk 1914
Depth – 70m
The following day we rose ready to start the diving in earnest. The wind had abated, though the Atlantic swell was ever-present and fairly uncomfortable. The shot line was deployed, and the first pair down tied into the wreck. Dropping through the clear Atlantic water the wreck came into view at 45 metres. Laid out below us was a British Dreadnought that was sunk by a mine over 90 years ago. For those who have dived the German Fleet at Scapa, imagine diving one of the upside down Battleships, but because of the visibility, actually being able to make out over a third of the ship at once!
The three props of the audacious are an amazing sight. Between them are two huge rudders. The 13.5” guns of are laid out across the sea bed. The shells that would have been fired for them are strewn around the wreck, and are the size of washing machines! There was just enough time to circuit the wreck in our 35 minutes bottom time.
When diving at these depths with these bottom times, returning to the shot is an essential part of the plan. Each diver places a name tag on the shot line on the way down. At the end of the dive, each diver retrieves their tag on the way up. All of the divers congregate together on the shot line. At 45 metres a “lazy” shot is attached to the main shot. When all divers are up the line, have reclaimed their tags and are on the lazy shot, it is released from the main shot by the last ascending diver. Everyone can then send up a DSMB and swim off the lazy shot. In this way, all divers drift together within an area about the size of a swimming pool. The boat is able to follow the group. The alternative would be for each diver just to ascend from the wreck and deploy an SMB. However, due to the currents and the varying run times of the divers, they would be spread out over several miles after a two and a half hour dive – NOT a safe state of affairs, given how quickly sea conditions can change over such an extended dive time.
Justicia
32,000 tonne White Star Liner
Sunk 1916
Depth – 65 metres
Imagine diving the Titanic. Unlikely to happen in our lifetimes. The next best alternative would be her sister ship, the Britannic in the Aegean. Unfortunately few have the experience, money and time to organise an expedition. The next best alternative is possibly the Justicia, a true White Star liner of a similar size, of the same vintage and built in the same shipyard as her infamous sisters.
Dropping on to the Justicia, you are immediately struck by two things. Her size, and how flat she is. The Atlantic has taken its toll, but she is all still there. Massive boilers litter the wreck, huge plates are all around, as well as rows of portholes. It is actually fairly difficult to orientate yourself on the wreck. The most intact part is the bow, the closest thing to Titanic’s bow you will see. The strobes on the line guide us back to the shot and we commence our long ascent.
Laurentic
14,892 tonne White Star Liner
Sunk 1917
Depth – 40 metres
The Laurentic lies fairly close to the anchorage, Portsalon. On a trip out to dive Empire Heritage we found the conditions too rough, and so turned around to dive the slightly more sheltered Laurentic.
It was fairly difficult to complain, when your backup dive is a 15,000 tonne liner with some gold bars allegedly not fully recovered when she was salvaged.
At 40 metres she is shallower than the other targets for the expedition. This meant we were able to do her justice, spending an hour on the bottom. We swam up to the bow, and managed to explore the wreck all the way down to her stern. She is fairly collapsed, but large sections still stand proud of the huge debris field, including her bow, the boilers, and parts of the stern. The visibility is not as good as those wrecks further offshore, and the water has more of a greenish tinge to it. That said, she is still a fabulous dive and if she was off the south coast of England, would be a firm favourite.
Empire Heritage
15,702 tonne merchant ship
Sunk 1917
Depth – 40 metres
Imagine the Thistlegorm, but in cold water, and you have a fair idea of what the Empire Heritage is like. Sunk in a convoy, loaded with war materiel, she now lies heeled over on her starboard side in 70 metres of water. The wreck itself is interesting, with a very large prop, and plenty of plates and huge boilers, but it her cargo that is most fascinating.
As she heeled over, the Sherman tanks she was carrying on her decks, slid off one by one as she slowly drifted away. Today, they lie next to her, leading off of the wreck onto the sea bed and a substantial distance away from the wreck. They lie at all sorts of crazy angles, as if tossed by some giant’s hand. Some have hatches open that you can peer inside and see the cramped conditions that each tank’s crew would have worked in. An amazing wreck.
Due to the depth and dive times involved in diving these wrecks, we only completed one dive per day. Average dive times were 2 and a ¼ hours in water that was warm, but still only about 16 degrees. We completed one more dive, on the steamship Iris on the way back to Scotland. However, everyone aborted the dive at the bottom of the shot. We were in the Clyde Estuary, and 2m of vis and pitch darkness came as a bit of a shock at 60 metres after a week of 20m+ vis!
This was a great week in which the weather influenced, but did not unduly affect the diving. I’d love to go again, with a flat calm see and uninterrupted sunshine, maybe in a few years time!
Jamie Bassett
This article first appeared in the September 2005 edition of Billericay Diver
