Dive The Channel Isles aboard the MV Maureen

15th - 21st June 2002

After a lumpy Channel crossing we arrived in Guernsey to dive Long Pierre, a pinnacle 18m - 50m, a beautiful scenic dive site. Yellow, green and purple jewel anemones adorned the rocks; cuckoo wrasse darted in and out of the caves and gullies.

The following day we dived two similar wrecks near Guernsey, the Dr Rudolf Wahrendorff & the Oost Vlaanderen. Both wrecks sit upright in about 30m of water, very much intact with plenty of life on them. Dr Rudolf Wahrendorff was an armed trawler sunk by Avengers of 850 squadron, fleet air arm on 24th July 1944, the wreck lies very close to the harbour entrance of St Peter Port.

The Oost Vlaanderen was a 421 tonne vessel sank by the RAF just a mile and a half from St Peter Port.

The wreck is a fairly conventional steam powered coaster; the engine room is at the stern with two holds forwards. Filing the bottom of the holds were neatly stacked solidified bags of cement. This wreck is known locally as the cement wreck.

Onwards to Jersey, as we approached St Helier, a pod of six dolphins rode our bow wave.

Monday morning, the sun shone, the sea was calm and we looked forward to a dive on a German minesweeper near St. Helier. The wreck lay in 38m and had to be dived in the 30-minute slack window. We descended the shot line, attaching a trapeze with a karabiner to the main shot line; we would use this later for our deco stop. Out of the gloom, the wreck appeared teaming with bib.

We swam along the stern, lobsters and congers appearing from each nock and cranny. The bow section lay some 15m away. Just out of sight from the stern. Richard led the way across no mans land to the larger bow section, following another buddy pairs line. The bow section again was shrouded in shoals of fish and much of the decking was intact. Now into decompression we crossed back to the stern section and ascended the shot onto the trapeze to decompress.

After a long sunny afternoons rest we dived again about 6.30 in the evening on the wreck of a small trawler near St. Helier. The small amount of wreckage was scattered over a sandy bottom, but teaming with life, bib, poor cod, congers and lobsters.

The Schokland was our dive on a sunny Tuesday lunchtime. The wreck lay upright in 30m of water, again teaming with life , the usual suspects, shoals of bib, congers and blennies (Jo you would have liked this trip),. The hull of the ship remains well intact containing winches, boilers and engine and cement bags stacked in the holds.

The Kronwyck lay inverted in 25m of water with two boilers, home of three congers and twin props covered in shoals of fish.

The Princess Ena lies on its port side in 40m, sunk on 14th August 1935 by fire. Two boilers and an engine stood proud, the stern was broken with one bronze prop still in place.

Our last dive in the Channel Isles was the Vingt Clos, a scenic wall near Sark covered in colourful anemones.

On Thursday we started back across the Channel and dived the spectacular Muree, a Pakistani container ship, lying intact and upright in mid Channel. We did a couple of laps of the bridge lying in 40-50m, including a length of breaststroke in the ships swimming pool, before making our ascent, the holds of the vessel lay in the gloom below.

A great week’s diving in the Channel Isles, I’d really recommend it, instead of diving British wrecks sunk by the Germans, as on the South Coast, you are diving German wrecks sunk by the British. The tides here are enormous (12 metres plus) so you need an experienced skipper who knows the area well. Thanks to Mike, Penny and Grant from the Maureen and the members of Swansea Yachting & Sub Aqua Club who were great company for the week.

Mike Wilkinon July 2002

With thanks to John Liddiard for his wreck sketch.