Selected Technical Deeper Off shore Wrecks of Portland
Technical divers have used Skin Deep since the early 1990’s
when the mixed gas revolution first swept mainstream diving and
it’s these divers that have opened up many of the offshore
deeper wrecks. Before the technical divers like the original
Starfish Enterprise team who used skin deep for their build dives
to Lusitania 1994 expedition and 1998 Britannic expedition the
deep diving was left in the capable hands of the Kingston deep
air divers. Many of the wrecks here have been discovered by Skin
Deep and identified by these groups as well as Skipper Ian Taylor
himself
With the catamaran we are travelling further and faster and operating
from different ports in the Southwest. We often have some exciting
weeks for the wreck hunters but if you just fancy a good dive
have a look at this list of excellent wrecks – it’s
just a few of the many great sites we have.
This year as usual we are organising a special
trip for our elite customers who are looking for something different!
In the past couple of years we have found ourselves diving in
shipping lanes or chasing miles out to sea to dive unknown marks.
This year's mission is to dive some of the biggest wrecks in
our part of the channel, all are know wrecks but are some of
the best classic ship wrecks in the English Channel.
Illinois
Standing over 15M in places this three castle American tanker
dating from the first war is an incredible dive. One of the country’s
leading technical divers Jamie Powell rates this wreck as possibly
the best in the English Channel. August 1997 saw her very large
bell, which can be seen on the homepage, come aboard Wey Chieftain
2. Amazingly my shot had fallen through the deck and landed next
to it, presumably the bell had fallen through the same hole.
Incidentally the finder went through all the correct channels
and declared his find, he even tried to buy the wreck but was
unsuccessful as there was some debate about who owned her.
Max depth 68m.
Rotorua
A massive 11000-ton wreck torpedoed in WW1. Lying on her side
she stands some 15M above the seabed at her bow. For some reason
after being dived quite extensively in the mid eighties she was
forgotten and until I started going there in 1996 she was virtually
unheard of by divers. Possibly it’s the fact that she lies
smack in the middle of Lyme bay and is quite a trek but nowadays
with fast modern boats that is no problem.
Max depth 60m.
HMS Fisguard II
Formerly the ironclad battleship Invincible she was converted
to a static training vessel but sank in the deep hole just off
Portland Bill while under tow. Completely upside down and lying
up against a ledge Fisguard makes a challenging dive due to the
fact there isn’t much slack water and sea conditions can
change very quickly due to her close proximity to the Portland
race. She is an interesting wreck with much to see and if you
do have a dive on her, whilst on the boat get me to tell you
the story the late great Andy Smith told me about the first attempts
to dive her, you will be in stitches.
Max depth 66m
SS Miniota
A large stemmship sunk in convoy during WWII and listed as a
treasure wreck. The ship was the subject of a long search by
Graham Knott. Lying upright at 68m, the wreck is too big to cover
on a single dive. Take a Scooter or DPV. Dive
Report
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Package Costs |
4 Days diving
4 Nights B&B
4 Pack lunches
3 Nights 3 course evening meal
Mini bus service to and from boat
All included for £350 per person |
£385 |
|
Non Club Members Supplement |
£15 |
|
Deposit to secure place |
£100 |
Please
contact to book.
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