A Long Weekend in Plymouth, The Scylla

By Mark Milburn on 25 September 2008

U.K.’s most popular wreck

The Scylla has now got to be the most dived wreck in U.K. waters. Ever since the ex-Naval Frigate was sunk as an artificial reef in 2004, thousands of divers of all levels have swam around it and through it. My first dive on the Scylla was a few months after it had been sunk. It was full of holes for divers to swim in and out of; covered in signs warning you to check your air, it was all a little contrived.

Still it has been a huge success, with many people returning again and again – some because it’s such an easy dive and some to watch how it becomes colonised by marine life. I was a little indifferent about diving it again. Originally this story was just going to be a a few lines about a second shallower dive of the day, but it is worthy of a lot more than that.

There’s life Jim

We were dropped on the stern line which brought us down onto the helicopter platform. I instantly headed towards the bottom of the wreck to see what I could find. I was amazed at the amount of plumose anemones. The whole of the port side was covered in them; white, orange and green ones. In between the anemones were plenty of hydroids, sea squirts, starfish, dahlia anemones and other small lifeforms I cannot identify. Following along the hull there were just more and more anemones, quite an impressive sight. I have been trying to think of another wreck with even half this amount on. I can think of many reefs covered in them but not wrecks to this extent. As I approached the bow of the 113m long wreck I turned to see if I could get a photo, but as we have had a weekend of low visibility due to the plankton, I wasn’t surprised to see that I could barely see the wreck. Turning and heading down the starboard side, more life. This time it was dead man’s fingers everywhere. Well nearly everywhere; there seemed to be panels where there was nothing at all. The joints between panels had started to rust and life was forming in straight lines where the joins were. Maybe it was due to anti-fouling paint.

I kept peering into the various holes in the side, popping in and out every now and then. Occaisionally the odd plumose anemone had found a home on an internal surface, but otherwise there didn’t seem to be too much life within the wreck. After a full circuit around I came up a little shallower to wander into more pre-cut holes. I decided to swim through a few more times, all very nice and easy, even in only a few metres visibility. Although the wreck has been stripped of most snagging hazards there is always a danger of entanglement, so you have to be alert. After a second circuit I came onto the decks to see what life was there.

Settling Silt

Silt has been settling slowly for the last two years, laying about six to ten millimeters over the horizontal surfaces, giving lots of nutrition to anything that needs it. The biggest problem is the amount of bashing it’s getting from all the divers. The scars are there, who knows what life has been squashed. As I scoured the decks I came across a jewel anemone. I didn’t expect to see any but there were a few scattered around. Then my first nudibranch on the Scylla, Limacia Clavigera; white with orange spots – easy to spot, even at only around half an inch. Then there was another one, different species this time, it was a Polycera Quadrilineata. Then another. As far as I could make out it was a Polycera Faeroensis similar in colour to the Polycera Quadrilineata. There is not masses of life, but there is a variety; small dahlia anemones, a playfull blenny hiding around the cruise missile launchers and an inquisitive cuckoo wrasse was watching my every move.

Moving onto the forward deck I came across another nudibranch; a different one again. This time it was a Janolus Cristatus; a transluscent nudi with blue tips, very interesting. There were actually several of these around here of varying sizes. A few more dahlia anemones were scattered amongst the silt along with the odd sea squirt. I made my way back to the bridge for a quick look around inside before I headed to the bow and ascended to the surface.

A must for everyone

The Scylla has matured very well. Most of the internal fittings have now got a coating of rust but you can still make out what they are, which is far more interesting than painted lumps of metal. I am glad that I did the Scylla not long after it had been sunk just to see how well and quickly it has adapted to being a real wreck. There has been some serious ‘Spidging’, i.e. the removal of items found underwater. Some may call it vandalism, epsecially when these are items of irrelevance. It doesn’t bother me as it is all part of U.K. diving. What is vandalism is the removal of the warning signs by trophy hunters, although divers should be constantly aware of checking their air. The idea of this wreck was to be an easy dive for beginners as well as experienced divers. They were just engraved laminate signs with no relevance to the ship itself.

This is a must for anyone. At a maximum depth of 22m I had a run time of 69 minutes. I could have stayed longer, if only the water temperature was in double figures.

Contact

Author: Mark Milburn
Email: info@travel-dive.com

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