Poole Dam Divers Dive The Scillies
27 May - 03 June 2006

by Kathy Moore

The Isles of Scilly compromise 5 inhabited islands and 48 islets spread out over 63 square miles 28 miles west of Lands End.

After a drive from Bournemouth and Poole through the bank holiday traffic and road works we all arrived in Penzance. Ready to catch the Scillonian ferry. After loading all the dive kit into the dive container and personal luggage onto the St Mary's container we parked our cars in the pre-booked secure car park and headed to the pub for lunch.

The weather was still windy and foggy and this meant that unusually for 4 days there had been no flights to and from the island so all these additional passengers joined us for the ferry trip. It was reasonably calm until we passed the lizard and then became noticeably choppier however after 2 and 3/4 hours we were walking down the gangplank to St Mary's swathed in fog. We left our luggage to be transported to the guest house and then wandered through the main street getting our first glimpse of the picturesque cottages surrounded by walled gardens covered in brightly coloured flowers.

St Mary's is 2 and 3/4 miles from east to west and 2 and 1/2 miles north to south. The highest point is Telegraph Hill at 57 metres. There are 2 towns Hugh Town centred on the harbour and Old Town around Old Town Bay.

We continued our way through Hugh Town past the Co-op where we stopped to buy provisions for the following days diving. We then wandered on past the beach separating to register in our guesthouses.

On Sunday we woke to blue skies with some cloud cover and intermittent sunshine with F4-5. We were all relieved the fog had gone and were confident of getting some diving done. The long-range weather forecast was for decreasing wind and increasing sunshine so we were full of confidence that this was the start of improving weather. And we were lucky that this was the case every day the weather got warmer and the wind got lighter

We met Jo Allsop the dive skipper of Moonshadow dive charters on the quay at 9am where she gave us an introduction to the boat and the plan for the week ahead and then we unloaded our kit onto the boat and stowed it all away. Jo has operated Moonshadow for 4 years out of St Mary's as skipper and prior to this worked for the previous skipper before taking over the business. Diving runs in the family as Jo's father also runs a dive boat out of St Martins. Both Jo and her father are active divers and have extensive knowledge of all the dive sites.

Our daily routine consisted of deciding what combination to have for our cooked breakfast and then a leisurely stroll to the harbour (via co-op for lunchtime provisions) to load the cylinders onto the boat. After a day on the boat with 2 dives and a break for lunch we returned to St Mary's for our constitutional ice cream.

Dive cylinders are unloaded at the end of each day ready to be collected and taken to the filling station. There is no oxygen on the island so all dives are on air. Leave times for the dive boat vary depending on dive site destination and tides and can range from 0745 to 1030.

There are many dive sites around the islands including wrecks, reefs, walls and of course the seal colony and rarely is diving not possible somewhere (unless gale force winds and fog as in the previous week where 2 days were cancelled). As a club that enjoys wreck diving Jo accommodated this by finding us many differing wrecks to dive around the islands including Brhyer, Western Rocks, Eastern Isles, St Mary's, St Agnes and Round rock and Bishop rock.

The islands have a long history of shipwrecks as for centuries the islands and low-lying rocks have provided treacherous waterways for sailors. Almost 1000 shipwrecks have been recorded. The first lighthouse was built in 1680 on St Agnes and then more lighthouses followed in 1841 and 1858 and 1887 on Sevenstones Reef, Bishops Rock and Round Island. As a result there are a huge variety of wreck many of them being of historic significance.

Hathor and Plympton. Off St Agnes on Lethegus Rocks is the site of two wrecks piled on top of one another. The SS Plympton sank in 1909 on a journey carrying maize from Argentina to Falmouth. In the thick fog she hit the rocks and capsized. 11 years later the Hathor, which was under tow having broken down in the Azores, was abandoned in a gale after the hawsers parted. The Hathor put down anchors but these continued dragging and eventually she drove ashore and sank with all her cargo. The Hathor lays across the Plympton in about 34metres of water where you can find the prop. You can follow the prop shaft past the boilers to the bow of the Plympton where you can find a large anchor in 40 metres of water you can then work your way towards the stern, which lies in about 12 metres of water. The wreck is open and easy to explore and with visibility of 10 metres plus there is lots to see. When you want a change from wreckage there are beautiful rock faces covered in colourful marine growth.

Firebrand and Eagle. Both these ships were part of a fleet of 21 men-of-war on their way home from Gibraltar to Portsmouth that blundered into the western rocks in 1707. These historical wreck sites are a look and don't touch site and diving is only permitted with agreement from the Scillonian Divers. Both sites are littered with cannons and anchors amongst the rocks and boulders. The Eagle is sited at Bishops rock, which is the site of the lighthouse.

Cita. This is the most recent shipwreck off the islands from 1977. A bulk carrier carrying 145 containers of general cargo from Southampton on her way to Belfast she drove into Newfoundland point in dense fog. Containers stacked 3 high above and below deck fell into the sea. As residents and visitors became a ware of the contents of the containers, which included car engines, batteries, cast iron, clothing, and French wine they descended to help themselves and a free for all arose. She stayed afloat for 12 days before she broke her back and sank. Now her bow section is on the rocks in 12 metres and stern complete with machinery and accommodation block fell to 30 metres. The wreck is marked with a permanent buoy and the shot line is covered in marine growth, seaweed and kelp. The line takes you straight down to the stern, which is upright against the rock face. The stern still hold a variable pitch propeller.

Minnehaha. The 158-foot wooden barque was on passage from Callo carrying a cargo of bat guano. In deteriorating weather the boat struck the northeast corner of Penninis near Big Jolly Rock off St Mary's. In 2 minutes she was under the water. Despite being a wooden ship the upper deck ironwork chains and anchors are still visible amongst the kelp beds and boulders. The wreck is in 15-20 metres and we were guided by our dive skipper to descend against the rock face where she assure us we would find our first anchor and she was right there is was leaning against the rocks standing proud. There was plenty of ironwork to find and we found 2 more anchors on our little explore. There were also a lot more marine life here lots of wrasse hiding amongst the kelp, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. The rebreather divers in our group had their cameras with them so we all took the opportunity to pose for photographs.

Eastern Isles. This was the most popular dive; it was also the longest dive but shallowest dive and was at the eastern isles grey seal colony. As we kitted up the seals were sunbathing g on the rocks and then popping into the water to cool off. We entered the water in about 6 metres of water and swam on the surface to the rock face then descended into the kelp beds. We all found our own spot and sat amongst the kelp beds waiting for the fun to start. It was quite surreal seeing all these little divers head sticking out of the kelp!! The seals were initially very wary but soon their inquisitiveness took over and they came to play. Nibbling fins and hoses seems a good game or looking at their reflection in your mask.

Antonios. An hours boat ride from St Mary's to the Western rocks on the south side of Pednathise Head is the site of the 2626 ton Greek steamship which sank in 1912. There is a lot of scattered wreckage found amongst the huge boulders, a huge pile of chain and an anchor with boilers, engine block, steam valve and keel section. Amongst the boulders which were covered in anemones, soft corals we found all shapes and sizes of divers and Pollack.

Douro. At round rock lies the site of a 200-ton Liverpool wooden schooner wrecked in 1843 on passage to Africa. Its cargo was listed as baled goods, armoury and brass stops (or bracelet tokens used in the slave trade). She struck round rock in dense fog and sank in 20 metres of water. The shot line takes you through kelp covered boulders to the seabed and amongst these huge boulders and kelp if you are successful enough with your rummaging you can still find blue glass beads and brass bracelet slave tokens.

Evenings were spent in a variety of restaurants and pubs; there are no shortage of eating establishments, which cater for all dietary requirements.

The island has many areas for walking. A short stroll to the Star castle gives panoramic views of the surrounding islands and we were treated to some beautiful sunsets. As you continue along the path you come to the other side of the island at Woolpack point and Morning point and as you walk back past the Garrison House you have beautiful views of Porthcressa beach. All in all a lovely post meal evening walk.

Useful numbers
Isles of Scilly Travel 0845 710 555
St Marys Tourist Information 01736 362207
Moonshadow charters 07884055122

Photos taken by Mark Davison, Nick Clark, Kev Brown, Kevin Moore all members of Poole Dam Divers

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