Oxwich Bay - Gower
 
The Solør Location 51° 31' 45" N 04° 08' 24" W
Also known as the Oxwich wreck Place Oxwich Bay
 
Description: 8262t - Norwegian Oil Tanker. Steel hull. Home port Oslo.
 
Cargo: 11,000 tons of fuel oil and a deck-cargo of 17 crated gliders.
   
Voyage: New York to the Clyde. Depth: Top: 3m to -0.5m Seabed: 5m to 12m
 
Sunk: Part of convoy HX-332. Torpedoed in the Irish Sea on 27 Jan 1945 by U825 (Gerhard Stoelker). Two days later she was beached at Oxwich to allow the removal of her cargo. forty of her forty four man crew survived. Broke in two, some sources say that the bow and stern were raised and made into a new ship, what remains is midships. In fact the aft section was towed to Briton Ferry leaving the fore section for local scrap.
 
Diving: Lying upright. The whole ship has collapsed from the inside out so penetrating the hull is now less dangerous than swimming around the side of the wreck. BE CAREFUL.
Gravel seabed. Artifacts to be found include fishing weights, oil, mussels.
A real photographers wreck, quite recognisable as a wreck, quite big as well and stuffed full of marine life, there are loads of nice conger here, Beware there can sometimes be overfalls around the point, the waves come not sideways but from above. Because of the depth you get all day on her and she's easy to find on a rising tide as for ages she sticks up slightly.

You can find her on an echo sounder too, motor parallel to the shore of Oxwich point, when you see a large arrow painted on the rock move in towards the shore. Its around here.
 
Launch: Slack:

Could at a pinch do this one from the shore. Though with some of the tides around Oxwich best from a boat. Launching is at Oxwich beach, not far from the wreck, car parking is also here. Vans & a kiosk sell hot food also the Oxwich bay hotel does cheap nice meals and a barbeque in the summer selling burgers etc. It costs about £7 per day to park at Oxwich and launch, can launch at Swansea and motor round. Launch at Oxwich beach, or launch at Mumbles and motor around, alternatively you can launch at Port Eynon

1.5 hours before HW is divable and 3 hours before LW is diveable.
Further Information:
The Gower Coast by George Edmunds, ISBN No. 0 906570 20 4
 
Pros: Cons:

You couldn't ask for a better shallow
second dive or novice dive.

 Beware the overfalls. Also popular with fishermen.
   
Qualifications:
  All levels
 
Getting There:
M4 to Swansea, just follow signs for Gower Peninsula and Oxwich.
 
 
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