3 dives off the North Cornish Coast
By Mark Milburn on 31 August 2008
Fridays dive is off
Our normal Friday night dive had been cancelled due to Redeemer being repainted, so we had to make alternative arrangements. We assumed that it would be out of the water for the weekend so we looked at the weather forecast and made our own plans.
As the clocks have now gone back, Friday’s dives are now night dives, the only option for us was going to be a shore dive. So Andy, Sharky and I decided to go to Port Gaverne. Port Gaverne is a small cove next to Port Isaac. It is a popular shore dive and a popular place for launching boats. Several years ago a friend had a Diving School based in Port Gaverne, but as with most diving businesses on the north Cornish coast, it didn’t last long.
As with any beach dive you either walk or swim a long way, today it was going to be a swim. The plan was to swim along the north side until we got to the gully that seperates the headland from a small island, through the gully and out onto the reef. Well that was the plan. We walked in and descended in about 1.5m of water. Swimming along the reef we came across a lot of flat fish, mainly small Flounders, probably about 20 during the whole dive. There were also several Scorpion fish of different sizes and colours hiding within the seaweed. Small red Anemones lie on the rocks between the fields of mussels. We then encountered a tiny Cuttlefish, less than an inch in length, it eyes seemed totally out of proportion with the rest of its body. There were several small fish I couldn’t identify, a very large Catfish and some small Pollack. It wasn’t long before 45 minutes had passed and it was time to turn around. We never reached the gully and only had a maximum depth of 4.6m, but it was an excellent dive.
Sphene revisited
On Saturday we decided to dive the Sphene, launching out of Port Gaverne as the low spring tides would cause problems at Rock. We had already dived it a couple of times this year, but once again we had a couple of people who wanted something a little shallower, so we went for one of the best little wrecks around. We picked the right day too, on Sunday there were 2 boats on it as we went past, and more launching from Port Gaverne. The Sphene is always a good dive, even in low visibility, today wasn’t the best visibility at around 5-6m but good enough. After descending we went straight to the starboard side and swam around anti-clockwise. I have written about the Sphene before, but basically, it is a small wreck at 57m long, laying upright. The bow and stern are still distinguishable, the propellor and the rudder are still in place. The boiler is still in its original position with the engine just behind. The stern area is the most intact up to the first bulkhead in front of the boiler. We have seen large shoals of fish on the Sphene before, but today, the shoals were even larger. Tompot Blennies were spotted everywhere, even more common than flatfish on last nights dive. There are several Conger Eels on the wreck and the ocaissional lobster. A dive everyone enjoyed.
Popular demand
Due to popular demand we decided to dive the WW1 u-boat, UB-65. UB-65 has just been added to the ‘protected site’ list so it was strictly look but don’t touch. Once again leaving from Port Gaverne we headed out on dead flat seas and brilliant sunshine. UB-65 is in very good shape considering it has been down there 90 years. Most of the external hull has rotted away leaving the inner pressure hull exposed. The propellors are in place, it was by the markings on the propellors that the wreck was identified.
Swimming along the top some of the high pressure ballast tanks are exposed and the hatches are open. At the bow the torpedo tubes are exposed where the hull has rotted away. Possible cause of the UB-65’s sinking were that the was an ordnance explosion in the torpedo room, I doubt if it was a torpedo as that would have caused a lot more damage. The small windows on the conning tower are still clear and look very spooky. The whole wreck is covered in life, Plumose Anemones adorn all the surfaces, Conger Eels lie in all the pipes and tubes. The wreck has a lot of fishing nets draped across it, as well as the remains of lobster pots and ropes, care has to be taken all the time.
Another excellent dive
Contact
Author: Mark Milburn
Email: info@travel-dive.com
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