lyme-bay

Lyme Bay

The Aeolian Sky	Location 50 30.55N , 02 08.33W
	Place Lyme Bay

Description: 16,000 ton greek cargo ship, 140m long.

Cargo: Machinery, tyres & bottles, much of which is in unopened containers.

Voyage: Not known	Depth: 26 - 32m

Sunk:On 4 November 1979, sank off St Aldhelm's Head.

Diving: Cleared by explosives to a depth of 18 metres at the highest point. Largely intact and lying on her port side. Generally the vis' is very good at approx' 15m. If the visibility is low care should be taken as you can enter the large holds without realising what is happening.

Launch:	Slack:
Kimmeridge 5 miles	Slack: 2.5hrs before and 3.5hrs
Swanage 7 miles	after HW Portland
Weymouth 12 miles	Preferably a neap tide required
	as the slack window is short and strong currents pick up rapidly.
Dive Charters:	Further Information:
Dive Dorset. Tel: 01305 826666

Pros:	Cons:
Big wreck with plenty to see.	Great care should be taken if vis' is low.

	Qualifications:
	Club Diver up.

Getting There:
For Weymouth: from Dorchester, take the A354 to Weymouth, continue along the back of the harbour, turn left just before the fire station. From there it depends which boat you are meeting. For Portland: take the A354 past Chesil Beach, turn left to the south side of Portland Harbour as the road starts to climb. Dive centres are in the old dockyard area.



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The Baygitano	Location 50 41.08N 02 55.99W
	Place Lyme Bay

Description: British Steamship of 3073 tons. 330 feet long and 45 feet wide.

Cargo: Not known.

Voyage: Not known.	Depth: 15 - 20m.

Sunk: Sunk by German submarine UC-77 on 18th March 1918.

Diving: Sitting upright on a gravel and sand seabed, parts are up to 5 m high. Masses of sea life live on this wreck, it is home to some large congers. This is a superb dive. Makes an excellent novice training wreck dive. She has been stripped of most of her fittings, the main features are the huge boiler and pistonblock. Easy to find as there are always boats on it. Probably the most dived wreck in the area.

Launch:	Slack:
Lyme Regis. 2 km north of site.	Diveable at anytime but
	HW Lyme is best for visibility.

Dive Charters:	Further Information:
Dive Dorset. Tel: 01305 826666

Pros:	Cons:
Big wreck with plenty to see.	Great care should be taken if vis' is low.

	Qualifications:
	Club Diver up.

Getting There:
For Weymouth: from Dorchester, take the A354 to Weymouth, continue along the back of the harbour, turn left just before the fire station. From there it depends which boat you are meeting. For Portland: take the A354 past Chesil Beach, turn left to the south side of Portland Harbour as the road starts to climb. Dive centres are in the old dockyard area.



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The M2	Location 50 34' 61"N 02 33' 99"W
	Place Lyme Bay

Description: A perfectly intact WW1 submarine that was lost with all hands during experimental work in the 30's.

Cargo: N/A

Voyage: Routine excercises.	Depth: 33 m

Sunk: Modified to be used as an aircraft carrier for a small sea plane, unfortunately someone forgot to close the hanger doors and it sank big time.

Diving: It is now a designated war grave and sealed against entry. It sits upright on a flat sea bed and is in near perfect condition.

Launch:	Slack:
Slips are available at Weymouth, Portland,	Tides can be very strong here so
West Bay and Lyme Regis. Harbour and launch	plan your dive window with great
fees are payable.	care. Slack water is between 3
	and 4 hours after high water
	Portland. On neaps the tide also
	drops to a diveable state (but not
	fully slack) 2 to 3 hours before
	high water Portland.

Dive Charters:	Further Information:
Pat Carlin (01305 787155)	Admiralty Chart 3315, Berry Head
	to Portland. O.S. Map 194.
	Dorchester, Weymouth and
	surrounding area.
Portland Dive Centre (01305 820870)
Old Harbour Divers (01305 861000)

Pros:	Cons:
An intact submarine that can be fully	Slack water essential. Shot can
dived without excessive decompression.	easily drag clear of wreck.

	Qualifications:
	You must be able to dive to 35m
	and ideally complete a few minutes
	decompression Technical diving
	is not required.

Getting There:
For Weymouth: from Dorchester, take the A354 to Weymouth, continue along the back of the harbour, turn left just before the fire station. From there it depends which boat you are meeting. For Portland: take the A354 past Chesil Beach, turn left to the south side of Portland Harbour as the road starts to climb. Dive centres are in the old dockyard area.



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The Moidart	Location 50 34.02N 02 47.22W
	Place Lyme Bay

Description: Armed merchant steamship. Built 1878, 243x32ft. 1878 tons.

Cargo: Coal and steel

Voyage: On route from Barry, S. Wales.	Depth: 33 m

Sunk: Torpedoed on the 9th July 1918 by UC 77, fifteen crew were lost.

Diving: Mainly upright snd fairly intact, except the stern which lays approx' 15m away on its port side. Follow the ship in a southerly direction. Lots to see here, winches, anchors, (one in a very odd position. you'll know when you see it!) some wooden decking remains.The engine is well exposed as the break in the hull is at the engine room area. Lays on a sandy gravel sea bed. Ships bell was recovered in 1992

Launch:	Slack:
Slips are available at Weymouth, Portland,	Tides can be very strong here so
West Bay and Lyme Regis. Harbour and launch	plan your dive window with great
fees are payable.	care. Slack water is between 3
	and 4 hours after high water
	Portland. On neaps the tide also
	drops to a diveable state (but not
	fully slack) 2 to 3 hours before
	high water Portland.

Dive Charters:	Further Information:
Pat Carlin (01305 787155)	Admiralty Chart 3315, Berry Head
Portland Dive Centre (01305 820870)	to Portland. O.S. Map 194.
Old Harbour Divers (01305 861000)	Dorchester, Weymouth and
	surrounding area.

Pros:	Cons:
	Slack water essential. Shot can
	easily drag clear of wreck.

	Qualifications:
	You must be able to dive to 35m
	and ideally complete a few minutes
	decompression Technical diving
	is not required.

Getting There:
For Weymouth: from Dorchester, take the A354 to Weymouth, continue along the back of the harbour, turn left just before the fire station. From there it depends which boat you are meeting. For Portland: take the A354 past Chesil Beach, turn left to the south side of Portland Harbour as the road starts to climb. Dive centres are in the old dockyard area.



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The Pomeranian	Location 50 33.57N, 02 41.33W

Description: Built 1882.4241-ton schooner-rigged Canadian steamer (formerly Grecian Monarch), 381ft x 44ft. 316hp triple-expansion engines. Armed: 3in gun.

Cargo: Government stores, including 16 hardhat divers' helmets, huge smelting crucibles.

Voyage: London to St Johns, New Brunswick	Depth: 33m.

Sunk: 15 April 1918 by torpedo in port bow from UC-77 (Oberleutnant Johannes Ries). One survivor from crew of 56.

Diving: A superb wreck with plenty to get into. Heavy list to starboard on rock and sand seabed. Central section is collapsing. Only one diving helmet has been recovered, one lost while lifting. Other 14 helmets yet to be found. Ships bell has been recovered.

Launch:	Slack:
Lyme Regis.	Watch the tides here.

Dive Charters:	Further Information:

	Website:


Pros:	Cons:
One of the top UK dives.	Tides can be a problem.

	Qualifications:
	Club diver up.

Getting There:



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The Salsette	Location 50 29' 67"N02 43' 07"W

Description: 5,842 ton P & O liner, built for the express mail service between Bombay and Aden.

Cargo: n/a

Voyage: n/k	Depth: 33 - 48m

Sunk: Torpedoed by UB 40 on the 20th July 1917. It was thought that she could outrun any U Boat.

Diving: Lays on her port side, with bows facing south west, Lying with a list of 30 deg, her highest point is about 32 mts. The wreck still has a large number of portholes and other brass fittings to see. Large holes are appearing where the timber decking is rotting away. This is an incredible dive when conditions are right.

Launch:	Slack: Slack: 2...3hrs Before and
West Bay 9 miles	3...4hrs after HW Portland
Lyme Regis 15 miles	Slack water is essential
Weymouth 17 miles	This is a deep dive, every care
	should be taken. Best vis' high water slack.





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H.M.S. Sidon	Location 50 32.96N , 02 38.43W

Description: A British S class submarine.

Cargo: n/a

Voyage: n/a	Depth: 34 m to seabed. Highest
	point - stands 8 metres proud.

Sunk: Sank twice during her service. The first time was following an onboard explosion in Portland Harbour in June 1955. Sank deliberately by the Royal Navy in 1957 to be used for testing experimental submarine detection systems.

Diving: Good condition for a forty year old wreck. An impressive submarine dive.

	Further Information:Portland. Ordnance Survey Map 194.

Getting There:
For Weymouth: from Dorchester, take the A354 to Weymouth, continue along the back of the harbour, turn left just before the fire station. From there it depends which boat you are meeting. For Portland: take the A354 past Chesil Beach, turn left to the south side of Portland Harbour as the road starts to climb. Dive centres are in the old dockyard area.



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The St Dunstan	Location 50 38.291N, 002 42.062W

Description: Bucket-dredger, 200ft long. Built 1894 by Lonitz Coulborn & Co, Renfrew. In service as mine sweeper.

Cargo: n/a

Voyage: Out of Portsmouth, heading down channel.	Depth: 31 m to sand & shale seabed.


Sunk: Lost on 23 September, 1917. She was sunk by a mine laid by UC21. Two escort trawlers, Fort Albert and Horatio were with her at the time. Two lives lost as she turned turtle and sank within four minutes of the explosion.

Diving: A difficult wreck to shot. The only bit that really sticks up is the keel under the bow, rising a good 5m from the seabed at 29-31m. Lots of interesting machinery to examine, once you get used to everything being upside down.

	Further Information:Portland. Ordnance Survey Map 194.

Pros:	Cons:
A different kind of wreck, and one of the less-dived in Lyme Bay.	A small wreck and it doesn't take many divers to make it feel crowded.

	Qualifications:
	Suitable for clubdivers and at an ideal depth for extending bottom time with a nitrox mix.
Getting There:
For Weymouth: from Dorchester, take the A354 to Weymouth, continue along the back of the harbour, turn left just before the fire station. From there it depends which boat you are meeting. For Portland: take the A354 past Chesil Beach, turn left to the south side of Portland Harbour as the road starts to climb. Dive centres are in the old dockyard area.



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