THE ANDOLA 10m

The Andola, a 2093-ton, 275ft three-masted sailing ship is shallow, but interesting.  Maximum depth is 10m. Her bow is to the south and is marked by great lengths of anchor chain. Broken plates and ribs are all around. Some sections of her double bottom are hidden under the thick weed of summer, which is why some say she is best in the spring.

CARMARTHEN 20m

A Steamship of 3000 tonnes the wreck of the Carmarthen is a pleasant dive with much marine life around her in 20m. Most of the broken wreckage stands 3m proud, though her boilers are a good 5m from the sand/shingle seabed. She has been well salvaged. Her 12-pdr Japanese gun is gone, but there is some ammunition for it buried under the sand.

CITRINE 22m

The Citrine became wrecked close to Cadgwith within a five minute boat ride of shore. The Citrine is the closest in approx 22m of water a half mile from land.  She lies in the main tidal stream from the Lizard Point to Black Head and you can get unbelievable visibility for British waters.  It does need to be dived at slack water particularly on a spring tide. The wrecks and the surrounding reefs support a great variety of fish life (pollack, pouting, cod, ling, wrasse, bass etc) which in turn attracts many predatory monk fish (anglers) and conger eels. The reefs in the surrounding areas are a photographers dream being covered with sponges, worms, starfish, urchins, and soft & hard corals.

CITY OF GHENT 30m

The City of Ghent became wrecked close to Cadgwith within a five minute boat ride of shore. The City of Ghent is in 30m and about a mile from shore. She lies in the main tidal stream from the Lizard Point to Black Head and you can get unbelievable visibility for British waters. It does need to be dived at slack water particularly on a spring tide. The wrecks and the surrounding reefs supports a great variety of fish life (pollack, pouting, cod, ling, wrasse, bass etc) which in turn attracts many predatory monk fish (anglers) and conger eels. The reefs in the surrounding areas are a photographers dream being covered with sponges, worms, starfish, urchins, and soft & hard corals.

THE HELFORD RIVER 7 – 12m

The Helford River is one of our most raved about dives.  There is an abundance of life on the river bed, expect to see thornback rays, hermit crabs, scallops, sea squirts and many more.  It is especially great if you like the smaller things in life!

HERA 17m

The Hera was a 4 mast 280ft long steel barque that foundered in rough weather on the 30th January 1914.  At 16m deep, the Hera is an ideal wreck for beginners and training dives.  Diveable pretty much at any state of the tide, it also makes a great second dive to follow a deeper offshore wreck on slack water.  There are plenty of gaps in the metalwork and crevices beneath the hull-plates that are worth a look inside for any of the usual wreck life, such as lobsters and conger eels.

MOHEGAN 15 – 29m

The Mohegan is the best-known and most dived wreck on the Manacles.  There was a loss of 106 lives. A mass burial of some of the victims took place in St Keverne church. The site is marked by a simple cross. The wreck is an unforgettable dive, with the bow in some 15 metres and the remainder in 29metres.  The ship lies on the seaward side of Carn du Rock and any dive planned for this area should be on slack water.  Slack water is 1 hour after high or low tide.  It takes at least 4 dives just to cover the wreck.   Marine life on the rocks includes gorgonia fans, dead men’s fingers and jewel anemones. On the sand you might spot the occasional flattie or anglerfish.

PANCRA HEAD 10 – 28m

Pancra is best dived in slack water but it can be done as a drift by the suitably qualified and experienced. There are plenty of conger eels and assorted reef life.  Boulders, gullies and kelp forest mark the dive site.

PENWIN 6 – 36m

The Penwin is an outstanding granite reef some 200m north of the Manacles. It descends from about 6m down to 35m or more. One of the main features of the reef is a vertical granite wall blanketed with invertebrate life.  As with the whole of the Manacles area there is a profusion of marine life and the extra depth can often make for improved visibility. The area is extremely tidal and care should be taken as the surrounding seabed drops off rapidly.

RAGLAND REEF 5 – 45m

This is the most popular of the reef dives on the Manacles. It is a pinnacle dive from 5-45 metres.  Raglan’s Reef starts to seaward as a very steeply rising rock covered with a thick blanket of many different species of anemones. It begins at a depth of 45m and rises to about 5m. It falls again on the shoreward side, gently undulating between 12 and 20m for approximately 100m. Life is usually prolific, with ballan wrasse, cuckoo wrasse, corkwing wrasse and goldsinny making up the vast majority of the fish life. In deeper waters, lying on the many ledges look out for ling, dogfish, John Dory, striped mullet and anglerfish.

ROCK ISLAND BRIDGE 12m

She sank on 22nd March 1920.  Today she lies in app. 12m of water, on sand and a real haven for marine life. A pleasant shallow dive, but watch out for boat traffic.  Look out for the bib under the plates, conger in the box sections and splendid ballen wrasse all over. The wreck is small so don’t forget the surrounding sand which is home to cuttlefish, rays, tube worms, dragonets and quite a few crabs under the scattered wreckage.

SPYRIDION 18m

This 1708-ton steamer, laden with grain from the Black Sea for Falmouth, hit the Voices in the dark on 8 February, 1890.  The wreck makes a pretty dive. There is much plating and some ribs still standing in 18m, where her small single boiler is in full view. Her big spare iron prop lies flat inshore of the wreck in slightly deeper water. It is difficult to spot.

VASE 10 – 42m

The Vase is a very pretty, colourful reef dive. It is part of the Manacles and is a rock that is wedding cake shaped with three tiers at varying depths. The rocks are covered in kelp, sea fans and sponges and beautiful jewel anemones of all colours imaginable, coating the granite on the north-east corner of Vase Rock. There are sandy gullies and coves within the rocks that provide shelter from the current and are home to numerous sea urchins, starfish, crabs, pollack and wrasse. The current here can be exceptionally strong, especially on springs when it is only possible to dive on slack.

VERITAS 36m

She sank on August 5th 1907 and today lies upside down on a sand and shingle bottom at 39m. Her bow is to the north, and her remains are well scattered to seaward. Her iron propeller is still there, and part of the stern is intact. Her two boilers are clear.

VOLNAY 21m

Homeward from Canada with luxury goods and ammunition, this wreck detonated a contact mine on 14th December 1917 off the Manacles, and was bought into Porthallow bay and anchored a quarter of a mile off Porthkerris beach, where she sank in 21 metres. It is a non-tidal, nice and easy wreck to dive.  Today the Volnay lies in nearly 70 feet of water on a sandy bottom. Although the wreck is well broken up, there are still some very large pieces, but the whole site is covered in a fine layer of silty sand and you must be careful not to stir things up.  You may find some shell cases, lead balls or cordite if you are lucky.