| Ferry Bridge | ||||
| Ferry Bridge is one of the most interesting shore dive sites in the area. | ||||
| Due to the extreme tidal movement of the shallow water this area is | ||||
| teeming with plant and animal life. Slack water is 1 hour after HW or | ||||
| 4 hours before HW. The depth is only six or so metres. It's | ||||
| recommended that you use an SMB in case there's any boat traffic. | ||||
| Royal Adelaide | ||||
|
Depth: |
12m | Sunk: | ||
| Type: | Reason: | |||
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: | Broken | ||
| The Adelaide is one of Portland's best shore dives (although one of the hardest due to the walk involved | ||||
| to get to the waters edge!) Park in the car park adjacent to the Fleet Nature Centre. From the cafe, | ||||
| walk towards Chesil Bank. At the base of the bank, turn right along the broken concrete path for | ||||
| approximately 17 metres then head straight over the beach. | ||||
|
- or -
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| From the cafe, walk straight to the top of the beach and find a red stone block. Walk about 40 paces | ||||
| North and go directly to the water. | ||||
| The Adelaide lies about 100 metres form the shore, at the edge of the pebbles. If the seabed starts to | ||||
| undulate you've gone too far. Best time to dive is 2 hours after HW Portland. Diving at any other time | ||||
| make allowances for the tide.(See tide page). The wreck is teaming with life and even attracts visitors | ||||
| from warmer waters. During September, trigger fish can usually be seen swimming alongside the | ||||
| locals. | ||||
| Chesil Cove |  |
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| Chesil Cove has to be one of the best known shore dives in the UK . | ||||
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The best place to dive is accessed via Brandy Row (pictured right). |
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| There are a few parking spaces but not many. Drop your kit off and | ||||
| you shouldn't have too much trouble parking fairly nearby. The | ||||
| shortest distance to the water is over the wall, down the ramp and | ||||
| straight down the beach. This is also the recommended entry point by the local Council. | ||||
 |
Chesil Beach can have very strong surge and surf - beware of | |||
| powerful under tows. Chesil has a slight longshore current. It | ||||
| shouldn't pose any problems - check which direction it's running | ||||
| before you dive (see Tides page). If the tide does take you away | ||||
| from your planned exit point you'll just have to walk back over more | ||||
|
beach.
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| The bottom composition consists of pebbles sloping to about 7 |  |
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| metres. During the summer months there's plant life growing about a | ||||
| metre off the seabed. Continuing outwards, you come to a rocky | ||||
| area. Towards the end of Chesil Beach, some of these rocks are up to | ||||
| 4 metres high. There's a disused sewage pipe amongst lots of kelp | ||||
| here too. The depth slopes gradually down to about 12 metres. After | ||||
| this you come to sand. The ripples in the sand give an indication as to the direction back to the shore | ||||
 |
(West
- out to sea, East - back to the shore).
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| The visibility here can be amazing (for Britain). In the summer it's | ||||
| often 10 to 15 metres. Aquatic life includes wrasse, pollack, edible | ||||
| and spider crabs, pipefish, cuttlefish, john dory, sandworms. See | ||||
| how the activity changes on a night dive. | ||||
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Several vessels have floundered in Chesil Cove but there's not much | |||
| left due to the fierce winter storms. You may come across the | ||||
| remains of the Preveza. | ||||
| Although the beach makes it an exhausting hike, Chesil can be a | ||||
| most rewarding dive. | ||||
 |
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| When using Brandy Row for access to Chesil Cove, please respect | ||||
| the residents by not blocking the road or access with vehicles. Also, | ||||
| observe the local by-law regarding indecent exposure whilst changing. | ||||
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| Blacknor Point (drift dive) |  |
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| The rugged seabed around Blacknor Point is a good place to start a | ||||
| drift dive, letting the tide take you South towards the Aerials. A lot of | ||||
| marine life can be seen swimming or crawling around the rocks here, | ||||
| typically, spider crabs, lobsters, crayfish, pollack and wrasse. The | ||||
| depth here goes down to about 12 metres, then there's a steep ledge, shelving down to around 25 | ||||
| metres. Blacknor Point often enjoys good visibility of 10 to 15 metres. | ||||
| James Fennel |  |
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|
Depth: |
18m | Sunk: | 21st Jan, 1920 | |
| Type: | Admiralty Trawler | Reason: | Ran aground | |
| Tonnage: | 215 tonnes | Position: | ||
| Size: | 37m x 7m | Condition: | Stern complete | |
| The James fennel ran aground in fog on 16th January, 1920. On the | ||||
| 21st January a tug tried to pull her from the rocks. As she slid into | ||||
| deeper water her hull flooded and the mooring ropes broke. Today she | ||||
| lies on a seabed of sand and rock in 18 meters of water about 80 | ||||
| metres from the shore. Her stern complete with engine and boiler | ||||
| visible amidships. In places, the wreck stands 5 metres. | ||||
| Barmston | ||||
|
Depth: |
16m | Sunk: | 1918 | |
| Type: | Norwegian steam | Reason: | Ran aground | |
| Tonnage: | 1,451 tonnes | Position: | 50 32'06''N 02 27'03''W | |
| Size: | Condition: | Broken | ||
| The plates and keel are all that's left of this wreck | ||||
| Aerials (drift dive) |  |
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| On the West side of Portland, marked by some aerials on the cliff, is | ||||
| some of the best drift diving Portland has to offer. The depth varies | ||||
| from 8 metres down to about 26 metres depending how far from the | ||||
| shore you dive. There are lots of big rocks, standing several metres off | ||||
| the mussel covered seabed, and gully's nearer to the shore. Visibility can be excellent here and | ||||
| there's loads of life. Time it right and it's possible to drift all the way down from Blacknor Point, through | ||||
| the Aerials and onto the Pulpit Rock area at Portland Bill. | ||||
| Bournemouth | ||||
|
Depth: |
12m | Sunk: | 1886 | |
| Type: | paddle steamer | Reason: | Ran aground | |
| Tonnage: | 283 tonnes | Position: | 50 31'00''N 02 36'06''W | |
| Size: | 63m x 7m | Condition: | Broken | |
| Hardly anything left now. | ||||
| Pulpit Rock |  |
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| Without a doubt, this one of the best dives Portland offers. At the very | ||||
| bottom of Portland, the dive site starts at a depth of about 8 metres | ||||
| and quickly shelves off to 30+ metres. There are lots of large rocks | ||||
| and gullies once your deeper Because of its location, most of the | ||||
| time Pulpit isn't diveable due to strong currents (see tide page). The | ||||
| window of slack water only lasts about 45 minutes but it's amazing | ||||
| how much life you can see here in that time. The best time to dive is 4 hours after H.W. Portland. | ||||
| Because of the water movement the area is constantly rich with nutrients. As a result the area is | ||||
| teeming with life - particularly edible crabs and lobsters, bass, pollack, wrasse and plaice. At about 30 | ||||
| metres the seabed is covered with big starfish and soft corals. | ||||
| Pulpit can be dived from the shore but beware of the tide starting to run. It picks up very quickly and if | ||||
| you're too far from the shallows you may get caught in it. Don't go more than 30 metres from the shore | ||||
| unless you have boat cover. The best entry point is just North of Pulpit Rock | ||||
| Church Ope Cove |  |
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Church Ope Cove can be dived from the shore, but it's not for the faint |
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hearted. Access is via a long walk down steps located by the Portland |
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|
Museum.
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The Cove is a slightly shelving pebble beach leading to rocks and sandy areas. Not teaming with life, |
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|
but fairly good for flatties Church Ope Cove is subject to strong tides - see tide page. |
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| After the dive you have to negotiate the steps - good luck! | ||||
| Grove Point (drift dive) |  |
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|
Grove point is a good place to start a drift dive. The seabed consists of |
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|
a rocky ledge that follows the contour of the shoreline. The depth here |
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is between 6 and 14 metres. It then gently slopes away, gradually |
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|
getting deeper. Between 14 and 25 metres a few crabs, flatties, and |
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|
dogfish are common sights. The depth 300 metres offshore is around 50 metres . |
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| The tides at Grove Point can be fast. Watch you don't get swept into the race (see tides page). Time it | ||||
| right and you past Church Ope Cove area and on towards the Bill. | ||||
| Balaclava Bay |  |
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'Baly' Bay is formed by the breakwater arm going out to the Hood and |
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the top Eastern side of Portland. The seabed is sand and gently |
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slopes off to about 15 metres. A particularly interesting area is along |
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the breakwater wall. Start at the small beach end and swim slowly, |
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looking in detail. |
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During the summer months the rocks are covered with snakelock | |||
| anemone's, tunicates, nudibranches and vibrantly coloured kelp and | ||||
| seaweed. The wall is also the roaming ground lots of spider crabs. | ||||
| As you make your way along the breakwater wall you come to the | ||||
| wreck of the Sand Dredger at about 8 metres. From here there's not | ||||
| so much small life, the spider crabs and larger fish are still present. | ||||
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As long as you don't stray to far from the breakwater, this area isn't |
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affected by tide. It's a very popular training area for all sorts of, |
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| courses especially in the summer. | ||||
| Starting from the beach, but going the other way, there's a small reef | ||||
| and kelp beds at about 6 metres. Care should be taken when | ||||
| surfacing due to the boat traffic. Access is by boat only. | ||||
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| Sand Dredger |  |
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|
Depth: |
8m - 12m | Sunk: | ||
| Type: | Dredger | Reason: | ||
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: | Broken - two parts | ||
| The sand dredger is a popular training site for initial diver training due its shallow depth, sheltered | ||||
| location and lots of fish and crab life. Visibility is often very good due to the sandy bottom . It can be | ||||
| very crowded in the summer and visibility can drop due to the amount of training dives taking place. | ||||
| The wreck is in two parts - one in about 8m and the other about 12m with 15 or so metres between | ||||
| them. The wreck isn't affected by any tide. | ||||
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| HMS Hood |  |
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|
Depth: |
14m, 18m & 22m | Sunk: | 4th Nov 1914 | |
| Type: | Battle ship | Reason: | Scuttled | |
| Tonnage: | 14,150 tonnes | Position: | 50 33'N 02 26'W | |
| Size: | 115m x 11m | Condition: |
mostly
intact
|
|
 |
The Hood is probably Portland's most popular wreck. She was | |||
| scuttled as a blockship in the First World War preventing submarine | ||||
| attacks through the South Shipping Channel. | ||||
| Lying upside down across the harbour mouth the wreck is heavily | ||||
| effected by the tide. As a result it can be quite busy as every one | ||||
| tries to catch slack water (H.W. and 4 - 5 hours before HW). Also, | ||||
| as the tide rushes back and forth through the wreck every day, it | ||||
| has a dangerous effect on the wrecks structural integrity. Over the |  |
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| years the tide has created lots of big holes that invite you to explore | ||||
| inside the wreck. Being upside down, the items that were bolted to | ||||
| the floor are now bolted to the ceiling. | ||||
|
The
Hood is slowly falling apart - If going inside, seek proper
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|
training
and use appropriate equipment - be careful.
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|
|
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. |
The wreck is permanently buoyed on the outside of the harbour. | |||
| This leads down the breakwater wall, joins another line running | ||||
| about 15 metres along the seabed to the seaward side of the wreck | ||||
| at 14 - 15 metres . swimming over or through the wreck to the | ||||
| harbour side the seabed is 17 - 18 metres. It's possible to get 22+ | ||||
| metres inside the wreck. | ||||
 |
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| During the summer months the Hood is alive with life(?). Some of the | ||||
| biggest spider crabs on the South Coast are resident along with cod, | ||||
| bass, the occasional cuttlefish and the odd lobster. | ||||
| There can be a lot of boat traffic above the wreck. You should either | ||||
| return to the shot or use a delayed SMB to ascend. It's only 6 metres | ||||
| from the top of the wreck to the surface. | ||||
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| Bottle Bank | ||||
| The Bottlebank is a good rummage dive. Situated just inside the harbour, the silt seabed is around | ||||
| eighteen metres and dotted with bottles and china. The area is tidal - see the tide page to work out | ||||
| when you want to dive. | ||||
| Bombardon Unit |  |
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|
Depth: |
16m | Sunk: | ||
| Type: | Wave breaker | Reason: | ||
| Tonnage: | 900 tonnes | Position: | 50:34N 02:24W | |
| Size: | Condition: | Intact | ||
| The Bombardon Unit was an experimental wave breaking device |  |
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| constructed as part of the D-day landings. It lies alongside the | ||||
| harbour breakwater, is approximately 30 metres long, star shaped in | ||||
| cross section and has a lot of hatches and support girders. It is | ||||
| easily possible to do this and the Landing Craft next to it in one dive. | ||||
| This wreck is very silty. | ||||
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| Landing Craft |  |
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|
Depth: |
17m | Sunk: | June 1944 | |
| Type: | Landing Craft | Reason: | D-day preparation | |
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: |
Intact
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| This wreck lies inside the harbour at the foot of the breakwater. It's |  |
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| only small and can be swam round in a few minutes. It's possible to | ||||
| swim along the breakwater towards the Hood entrance and see the | ||||
| Bombardon Unit as well in one dive. The wreck is very silty as are all | ||||
| the wrecks in the harbour. | ||||
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| Landing Craft - Chesil Beach | ||||
|
Depth: |
12m | Sunk: | ||
| Type: | US Landing Craft | Reason: | ||
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: | |||
| Park at the far end of the car park next to the Fleet Nature Reserve. From the car parks wooden fence, | ||||
| walk to the top of the beach and then twenty-five paces North. | ||||
|
-
or -
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|
Park
at the same end of the car park by some steel tube fencing with concrete
posts. Walk in line with
|
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the fence to the top of the beach. Looking towards the harbour, you'll see a street light on the |
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causeway in line with the East Shipping Channel entrance. Walk about 16 metres North until the lamp |
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|
post is in line with the middle of the harbour entrance. |
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The wreck is about 100 metres from the waters edge. If you come to sand you've gone to far. The best |
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time to dive the landing craft is 2 hours after H.W. Portland. If diving at any other time, make |
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| allowances for the current (see tide page). | ||||
| Himalayas | ||||
|
Depth: |
12m | Sunk: | 12th June 1940 | |
| Type: | steamer | Reason: | Bombed | |
| Tonnage: | 4,600 tonnes | Position: | ||
| Size: | 37m x 7m | Condition: | Scattered | |
| Launched in 1953, the Himalaya was the worlds largest three masted | ||||
| steamer. She served as a troopship in the Crimean war and then sold | ||||
| as a coal hulk. In 1940, while at anchor in Portland harbour, she was | ||||
| bombed by German aircraft. Rumour has it that one of the four bombs | ||||
| dropped has yet to be detonated. | ||||
| Enecuri (also known as the Spaniard) |  |
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|
Depth: |
15m | Sunk: | 28th Dec, 1900 | |
| Type: | Spanish steamer | Reason: | Holed | |
| Tonnage: | 3,000 tonnes | Position: | 50 35'N 02 25'W | |
| Size: | 72m x 9m | Condition: | Fairly broken | |
| The Enecuri / Spaniard dragged her anchor in strong gales and hit the | ||||
| breakwater, sinking to the seabed. Today, she is quite broken up | ||||
| amidships, however the bow section is fairly intact. She stands 5 |  |
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| metres high in places. | ||||
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| Queenie |  |
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|
Depth: |
14m | Sunk: | ||
| Type: | Reason: | |||
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: | Broken | ||
| The Queenie can be a nice dive if the visibility is good although this |  |
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| isn't to common. The wreck is broken into three sections. A shot line | ||||
| is usually fixed to the bow section which lies on its starboard side. | ||||
| Swimming North along the breakwater you come to the midships | ||||
| section and then further on the stern where the rudder and prop can | ||||
| be seen. | ||||
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| Countess of Erne |  |
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|
Depth: |
14m | Sunk: | September 1935 | |
| Type: | Paddle steamer | Reason: | Holed | |
| Tonnage: | 900 tonnes | Position: | 50 35'N 02 25'W | |
| Size: | 72m x 9m | Condition: | Fairly intact | |
 |
Originally built in the early 1800s | |||
| as a passenger and cargo paddle | ||||
| steamer, the Countess of Erne was converted in 1889 to a coal | ||||
| hulk. In 1935 she broke free from her moorings and holed herself on | ||||
| the breakwater. |  |
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| Today she sits upright on a silty sea bed and is alive with pollack, | ||||
| wrasse, black face blennies (unique to Portland Harbour) pipe fish and | ||||
| nudibranches. The Countess is a popular training dive, being ideal for | ||||
| both novice courses and wreck penetration courses. As a result the | ||||
| wreck can get very busy during high season - particularly the shot | ||||
| line. This also has an undesired effect on the visibility. On spring tides there's a slight current running | ||||
|
from the bow to the stern. |
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| Landing Craft | ||||
|
Depth: |
16m | Sunk: | June 1944 | |
| Type: | Reason: | D-day preparation | ||
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: | |||
| One of the many tank and infantry landing craft to be found in Portland | ||||
| waters, sunk during preparation of the D-day landings of June 1944. | ||||
| Earl of Abergavenny | ||||
|
Depth: |
15m | Sunk: | 5th Feb 1805 | |
| Type: | Reason: | Ran aground | ||
| Tonnage: | 1,400 tonnes | Position: | ||
| Size: | Condition: | Broken | ||
| The Earl of Abergavenny was one of the East India Company's largest | ||||
| and finest ships. In 1805 she struck the Shambles Bank. Amongst | ||||
| the 250 lost lives was that of Captain John Wordsworth, brother of the | ||||
| great poet. She now lies in Weymouth Bay. | ||||
| Preveza | |
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|
Depth: |
7m | Sunk: | 1900s | |
| Type: | Reason: | Hit the rocks | ||
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: | Completely broken | ||
| There's hardly anything left of the Preveza apart from a small section | ||||
| poking out from the pebble seabed. Interestingly, over the last few | ||||
| years more and more of the wreck is becoming visible as the winter | ||||
| storms rearrange the pebbles. Today, it's often used as a tie off point | ||||
| for controlled ascent lines during training courses. The wreckage lies | ||||
| about 15 metres from the shore line depending on tide. To find it by | ||||
| transits, swim out from the ramp at Chesil Cove and line up the third | ||||
| lamp post with the monument up at Portland Heights Hotel. For the second transit, line up the end of | ||||
| the rail on the promenade with the chimney of the nearest house in Brandy Row (the road leading to | ||||
| the Cove). | ||||
Click on a name or flag, use the blue side bars to return to here
