SKOMER ISLAND MARINE RESERVE
Skomer Island boasts a range of diving sites whether you’re a novice or an experienced diver. Here you’ll find intact wrecks, cliff dives to 45m, drift diving, shallow reefs, lots of seal activity during certain times of the year and also a huge variety of bird life that has a habit of dive bombing you during your safety stops!
Being a ‘Marine Reserve’, there is a no take policy on all underwater creatures. There are heavy fines imposed for offences involving the taking of certain shellfish.
Rye Rocks
Rye Rocks are a group of rocks on the west side of North Haven on Skomer Island, and are quite often inhabited by seals that are just hanging out. At low to mid water the rocks are visible, although on a high tide you may just see them breaking the water.
The reef system that supports these rocks runs out of North Haven in a North Easterly direction with various nooks, crannies and gullies running throughout the length of this, what I’d call a finger reef. If you drop in on the North Haven side, there is a shallow wall that you can follow to start with, but it does break up in places, so keep close to the wall and boulders and keep following them along. Along the way you’ll find the rare gorgonian sea fans growing at 90 to the bedrock, so be careful! These marine inhabitants only grow a couple of cms a year, and are unique in that they are only found in a handful of areas in the UK. Lots of holes for the usual array of lobsters and other crustaceans, including quite a few crayfish. At the ‘fingertip’, as you start heading back towards Skomer Island, it is quite shear with a max depth of about 25m before it starts sloping away in the sand back out towards the wreck of the Lucy. At this point, between the top of the wall at 12m and the bottom at 25m, you’ll often find the seals playing around. They like the shallow and deep contrast. Continue the dive back in, but again stay close to the wall and broken up areas as the only thing you’ll find out to the east of this finger reef is sand! You may be fortunate enough to come across the bow mast of the Lucy, which is in about 12-15m of water. Finish you dive in amongst shallow boulders that are just to the West of ‘Rye Rocks’. Very kelpy but lots to see here.
TIPS: Slack water is two and a half hours after high/low water at Milford Haven, the same as the Lucy, although ‘Rye Rocks’ can be dived most of the time. Be careful of currents during spring tides, and have a look at the site to see what side to drop the divers in based on which way the current is running. Depth is 25m max on the tip but the rest of the time is between 10m and 15m. Always carry a delayed SMB with you as when your doing your safety stops you will have a habit of drifting, and this area has varying amounts of boat traffic. Novice divers are okay here providing its neap tides and there’s not much current.
The Lucy (50.44.27N, 5.16.33W)
The Lucy was a 168-feet/52metre coaster containing a cargo of calcium carbide. When saltwater mixes with Calcium carbide, the resulting gas (acetylene) tends to explode (!), so its not surprising the crew jumped ship as soon as she ran aground in ‘Jack Sound’ on Valentines Day in 1967. The captain and his crew of seven, including the ship’s dog, were in a life raft and clear of the 450-ton Dutch coaster before you could say, “abandon ship”! The Lucy had hit the infamous ‘Blackstones Reef’ in Jack Sound, at approximately noon on the 14th February 1967. She remained fairly well balanced on the reef until the early evening when the full tide lifted her off. The last sighting of her was that she was off through Jack sound heading North into St Brides Bay with a heavy list to starboard. She was never seen again, on the surface that is!! The current carried her into the entrance to North Haven where she sank perfectly upright in 40m of water.
Be warned, that even though a fabulous dive, this is an advanced dive and divers should be aware that the ‘Lucy’ is a deep wreck with little or no light penetration!!
The location of wreck makes it a sheltered site from southerly winds, although if the wind is NE to NW, it can be a bit bumpy! As she is located in the heart of the ‘Skomer Marine Reserve’, she has been buoyed up so as to prevent shot lines being dropped left, right and centre. The bowline takes you down to approximately 33m, depending on the state of the tide. Top tip: regardless of your experience level, hold onto the line all the way down to the wreck, as current and light penetration can sometimes make the journey a bit more challenging.
If there is any current, you’ll find shelter either on the port or starboard side. Once you hit the superstructure at the stern, be sure to peer into the wheelhouse from outside. Many a diver has had a start after peering inside and finding a pair of greyish discs peering back! Seals do frequent the wreck so make sure you’re with the right buddy! Check out the mast as its covered in plumose anemones and dead man fingers. For the more experienced divers, you can come up the mast to 18m and release your delayed SMB. It is possible to then swim to Rye Rocks to finish off your dive by swimming for about 5 mins due SE. If there is current you’ll have to take this into account. The bow mast of the Lucy lies in 14m of water on Rye Rocks.
TIPS: Slack water is two and a half hours after high/low water at Milford Haven, although she can be dived most of the time when the tide is less than 6m. Depth is 42m on spring tides, but recommend you stay on the wreck, as there isn’t much on the sand bed. With that in mind, an Enriched mix of 28%-30% will give the Nitrox trained divers amongst you significantly more time to explore.
North Wall
This dive site runs from the eastern side of North Haven on Skomer Island, all the way along until you get to Garland Stone. Right on the North Haven tip, you find it the deepest, a shear cliff face type wall that runs down to 45m. As you head eastward, it does gradually get shallower, so depending on the level of experience of the divers depends on where you’ll want to drop in. Deep gullies are etched into the rock, and if the current runs, these gullies provide a nice little sheltered spot. Can be one hell of a drift dive depending on the state of the tide, but some of you divers would be after that anyway! Seals, Gorgonians, crayfish and lots besides. Due to the frequent currents, you’ll find a lot of dead man’s fingers and other bryozoans hanging around. As you head eastward along the wall, it does get shallower, and there you’ll come across lots of boulders that have fallen from the cliff faces. This makes for fantastic marine habitats, with congers, nudibranchs and a plentiful supply of fish. Essentially, select you depth profile and stick to it. Consult with the dive shop for Slack water, as the tidal stream makes the current split on Skomer in different areas, and it doesn’t always follow the chart.
TIPS: Be careful of currents during spring tides, and have a look at the site to see where to drop the divers in based on which way the current is running. Depth is 45m max on the North Haven tip but the rest of the time is between 10m and 25m mid way along the wall. Always carry a delayed SMB with you as when your doing your safety stops you will have a habit of drifting, and this area has varying amounts of boat traffic. Be wary of continuing along to Garland Stone. You don’t want to finish your dive there as the currents are not only fast, but there’s several of them meeting in one place which makes things tricky for the boat pick up. Novice divers are better to be placed about 150 metres from the North Haven point so as not to get the same depth or currents. Again, better for them on a neap tide.
The Wick
Fantastic, different dive-site on the south side of Skomer Island. Unfortunately, part of the site is only open to divers during the month of August as the rest of the time it is protected because of the seal colonies and birds nesting. However, the dive-site extends outwards and there are accessible parts to it all year round.
The wick is an inlet cut into Skomer Island. The best part to dive is the SE side of it, which at the mouth of the inlet, shear drops down to about 24m-27m. If you then continue in towards the shore, the wall slowly turns into an overhang. The overhang continues for most of the dive, and in certain areas becomes a cavern. In places, you’re actually about 10-15m in, under the cliff, with god knows how many thousands of tonnes of rock and earth above your head!
If you drop in further around i.e. south side (beware of the current), the wall once again is shear this time to 30m, but there are a couple of caverns and swim throughs that are worth visiting. Big lobsters and crayfish all along here, however, as you are still in the reserve, it’s most definitely, a no take policy.
TIPS: Be careful of currents during spring tides, and have a look at the site to see where to drop the divers in based on which way the current is running. If the wind is SW to NW don’t even try as it blows into this site. Depth is 35m max on the southern tip but the rest of the time is between 10m and 25m mid way along the wall. Always carry a delayed SMB with you as when your doing your safety stops you could end up anywhere. Be wary of continuing along and out of the Wick area towards Mews stone due to currents. Be respectful of the no go areas during the year. Consult with the dive shop if you’re not sure. Intermediate level dive providing they stick to their depth profiles.
Mews Stone
Lying on the southern side of Skomer Island, and sheltered from the N, E, and NE winds ‘Mews Stone’ can be a very swift drift dive! There’s plenty to explore and do on this site that bottoms out at 50m if you swim out to the West. Gullies, swim throughs and loads of marine life but make sure you look to dive on slack. If the current is running, don’t dive it! You’re only going to get banged around. Once you arrive there, have a look to see what the current is doing and depending on the state of the tide, drop in on the southern side and try and follow a course that will bring you East of the ‘Stone’, into the south haven side of Skomer.
Depths vary but it generally goes down to 30m with some great drop offs, from 10m straight to 30m. Quite a spectacular dive site, with vertical walls that boasts plenty of life including a lot of Ross Coral. Currents can be fast, so it’s advised to keep in close to the wall. Don’t wonder off! Red Dead Mans fingers are often seen here together with some very large Lobsters.
TIPS: Be careful of currents, and during spring tides you’d be better looking elsewhere! Essential to dynamic risk assess on arrival and have a look at the site to see where to drop the divers in based on the strength and flow of the tide. If the wind is SW to W, be careful as it blows into this site. Anything above a force 3, knock this one on the head. Another dive to pick your own depth profile and stick to it. Always carry a delayed SMB with you as when your doing your safety stops you could end up anywhere. An intermediate to advanced diver site most of the time.
Dead Eye Wreck
This broken up wreck lies on the southern side of Skomer Island, the opposite side to ‘The Lucy’. Here, at a place known as the ‘Neck’, due east of South Haven, she is spread over quite a large area, although you will come across a big chunk of her in the shallows. Tides are slack near the cliffs and this makes for a good second dive after a deep one. Depths are around 8m-15m, and there’s plenty of marine life around the wreck with several large boulders making excellent hiding places for congers and lobsters alike. As the name states, many Dead Eyes have been found on the wreck! But other than that there’s not much else known about it.
TIPS: Be mindful of diving too far east as you’ll end up in the current flow which will either transfer you to the north side of Skomer or down towards St. Ann’s head! It’s quite a distance from the wreck, but other than that, the dive is a nice shallow one.
Pain’s Rock
This dive site is essentially a pinnacle that rises up and actually breaks the surface of the water, just south of Garland Stone. On the western side of the rock, it drops away fairly sharpish at first down to about 25m, and then follows more of a slope to 50m. On the Eastern side, there’s a type of plateau, which bottoms out at, 20m-ish. The rock itself is quite small in diameter at the top but obviously increases in size the deeper you go. Not much light penetration down deep, but lots of boulders and gullies. If you dive this on totally slack water, it’s quite good to keep going round and round the rock until you reach the plateau, then head to the western side. Lots of dead man’s fingers, congers and crays. We spotted two sunfish here in early September 05.
TIPS: Be careful of currents, and during spring tides you’d be better looking elsewhere! Look at the site first to see the strength of the current. If the wind is SW to NW, I’d be looking elsewhere. As this site is on the western side of Skomer, it’s hit hard by wind and currents. A dive to pick when conditions are favourable. Always carry a delayed SMB with you as when your doing your safety stops you could end up anywhere. But be mindful of putting them up whilst you’re at depth on this dive, as they may snag in the kelp on the rock itself. An intermediate to advanced diver site most of the time.