Wrecks to relish

HMS Audacious
 
23,000-tonne warship
Average depth: 68m
Visibility: 20m-plus
Situated: 20 miles offshore
Technical level: easy, as it is very intact around the stern although upside down, but this makes for simple navigation around the wreck. More broken up around the bow.
Currents: not noticeable.
Defining dive moment: watching the ghostly beams of dive lights shining out from the wreck. Seeing the propellers and then taking a swim towards the bow to find an upside-down gun turret with barrels laid out in the sand. Live ammunition as far as you can see. Imposing dive.

The Audacious
‘Dropping silently down the shot-line to see the wreck below made all the hard work and effort to get there worthwhile. From where the wreck had been shot, I could see the prop shafts and three of the props still in place. Being one of the first divers down on this trip was a surreal experience.

‘As I swam down the port side of HMS Audacious I could hear our boat, Loyal Watcher, making a turn in order to drop the next pair in. I imagined their excitement as they would soon be swimming alongside this huge wreck.

‘Wherever I looked there was wreckage from the gun turrets, including a large amount of ordnance from both gun breeches. Huge schools of fish blocked my view, and as I flashed my torch around they parted like a huge curtain.’

RMS Justicia
 
35,000-tonne White Star Liner
Average depth: 70m
Visibility: 20m-plus
Situated: 30 miles offshore
Technical level: orientation and pilotage difficult due to size of wreckage. Very broken up and mixed up wreckage.
Currents: can be dived at most states of the tide, but strong ocean currents are evident.
Defining dive moment: seeing the huge boiler pairs that seem to last forever, and swimming down rows of 1m by half a metre pivotal portholes one after the other.

The Justicia
‘Descending along the shot-line, I was surprised to find myself at 40m yet still able to see movement below. Torch lights were waving around to my left and right and the deeper I went, the more I could see. Soon I was able to pick out the wreckage: the divers seemed tiny in comparison with the massive structures.

‘It was difficult to determine whether we had landed at the bow or stern-end of the wreck – it was so big that there were no landmarks to determine its position. The wreck’s sides seemed to have opened outwards and the decks had collapsed down on top of each other. Huge intact portholes, about 1m long and half a metre wide, lay along the sides of the wreck. I also came across ornate brass bench ends, lamps and gauges.’

SS Empire Heritage

12,000-tonne oil tanker carrying a cargo of tanks and trucks
Average depth: 64m
Visibility: 25m-plus
Situated: 24 miles offshore
Technical level: easy to orientate yourself, as there is lots of large wreckage to make pilotage easier.
Currents: not noticeable on the wreck, but quite strong in shallower water.
Defining dive moment: seeing the huge tank barrels pointing skywards and turret hatches blown wide open. A truly unbelievable dive.

The Empire Heritage
‘Nothing quite prepares you for what you see on the Empire Heritage. On the day we dived it, we had exceptional visibility, but what made this dive so special was the sight of Sherman tanks and half-track trucks lying intact on the wreckage and the sea bed. Using any available divers as subjects, I turned into a Japanese tourist and ran off the whole film in less than 25 minutes.’

RMS Laurentic

14,000-tonne White Star Liner
Average depth: 40m
Visibility: only 10m, as it is relatively closer to shore (1 mile).
Technical level: quite broken up, makes navigation challenging, but not difficult. Ideal dive for using a scooter. Note: if you wish to dive it you must get permission from the owner first.
Currents: not essential to have slack water for the dive but this definitely makes it easier.
Defining dive moment: sitting under the bow, which lies on its port side at a 90-degree angle to the sea bed. From here you can see the starboard anchor, which is the size of a diver and still in place.

The Laurentic
‘We managed to get excellent second dives on this 42m-deep wreck. There are still many interesting features to see, including three guns, an intact bow and ammunition scattered all over the place. Even though the wreck is relatively shallow and we were close to shore, we still had a good 10m visibility.’

The Dive Boat

In more than a month we never had to calculate slack water – we simply turned up, threw in the shot and went diving. Our liveaboard vessel, the Loyal Watcher, was ideally suited for the task. A 24m, ex-Royal Navy fleet fender powered by a 350hp Mirlees Blackstone turbocharged engine, she has a range of more than 4,000km and can comfortably accommodate 12 divers in full trimix rig on the deck. The vessel carries 12 oxygen and 13 helium cylinders for the partial pressure blending system, and has been converted with the needs of serious wreck divers in mind.