DIVING WEEKEND IN WEYMOUTH

27-29TH AUGUST 2011

 

Weymouth has some of the most fascinating and exciting dive sites found in the UK and we are planning a trip down there on the 27-29^th August for the bank holiday weekend. Weymouth is approx 2 hours by car or train from London. We will be teaming up with a local dive centre who will provide us with their extremely fast ribs to take us to the local dive sites.

As well as guided dives, there will be the opportunity to complete some PADI courses such as the Advanced, Nitrox and Speciality Deep Diver. These may come in useful if we decide to dive sites such as the WWI Submarine the M2 which lies at 34m.

Accommodation - Just book your own accommodation. Fathom & Blues who we'll be diving with have a number of rooms starting at just £15, to book call them on 01305 766220.

Dive Sites (subject to certification level, weather & tides)

There are dozens of excellent dive sites to choose from including famous historical World War 2 wrecks, the M2 submarine, drift dives and sites with an abundance of marine life. For details of the dive sites see Appendix 1.

Cost of Dives

	Cost (per dive)	Dive Sites
Local sites	£16 per person	Dredger	Bottle Bank
		Spaniard	Bambardon
		Queenie	Sea Vixen
		Barge	Haytion
		Landing Craft	Newton's Cove
		Countess of Erne	Bally Bay
		Outer Breakwater
	£17 per person	Grove Point	Church Open Cove
Offshore Sites	£18 per person	Earl of Abergavenny
	£20 per person	Sudon	Lulworth Cove
	£22 per person	White Nothe	Aerials
		Aerials	Pulpit Rock
		Bournemouth	Binnendyk
		Fennel	Durdle Door
	£24 per person	British Inventor
	£25 per person	Adelaide
	£26 per person	Frogner	UB74
		Alex van Opstall	Anworth
		Elana R	Railway Wreck
	£28 per person	Landrail	Black Hawk
		Sidon	M2
		P555	Pin Wreck
		A3
	£30 per person	Aeolian Sky

 

Equipment Hire – 3 days £50 + £15/day dry suit hire (or free as part of your course), excludes air fills.

PADI Diving Courses incl certification fees (excl cost of boat fees and air)

Open Water dives - £175 Advanced Open Water course - £275
Deep Diver - £190 Nitrox - £95
Dry Suit - £175 DVP (underwater scooter) - £130

Getting there

By Train

Trains leave Waterloo approximately every 30mins and take c 2 hours 40mins. If you are travelling by train then we advise you do this ASAP in order to get the best value fares.

By Car

Driving takes approximately 2.5 hours from Chiswick. See route planner. See map.

We can also put you in touch with some of our other customers if you wish to get/give a lift and split the cost of fuel?

Other Information

Weymouth is a pretty coastal town with a large harbour housing lovely yachts and home to some fine pubs and restaurants. There will be plenty of opportunity to visit these over the weekend!

Places are subject to availability and on a first come first serve basis!

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BOOKING FORM

Please copy & paste this form to an e-mail and send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or post to Oyster Diving, 95 Greenacres, Shoreham-by-Sea, W. Sussex, BN43 5XL.

Name: Email address:

Tel: Certification level:

Accommodation booked:

Which days would you like to dive (please underline)?

Saturday Sunday Monday

Would you like to do any PADI courses – please underline?

Open Water Completion Dives Advanced Open Water Course Nitrox

Deep Diver Specialty DPV Dry Suit Other (pls state):

How will you be getting there?

I will see you there I would like a lift I would like to give a lift

Any other information:

 

Dive Sites

Depth 0 – 19m

Black Hawk (Bow) 15m

Torpedoed by a German sub in December 1944, towed into Worbarrow and beached. Declared a total loss in April 1945. The wreck was blown by explosives to clear the way for the Winfrith pipeline. It is badly broken up with large pieces of machinery present and lying in a rock shingle sea bed. There are large chains on her.

Bottlebank Drift 19m

This site is right inside of the harbour close to the Hood entrance and can offer a good drift dive at certain times of tide. The sea bed, heavily silted, is littered with bottles, cups and plates with other oddities. At times this area is used to conduct training deep dives that require a depth deeper than 18 metres.

Chequered Fort 18m

This is on the outside of the breakwater and just around the corner from the Fort. Depending on the tide, divers can get a good drift dive in this area. On descending, follow the wall down until you reach the gravel and sandy bottom at about 18 metres. There is some sea life amid the large rocks.

Countess of Erne 14m

This passenger liner Paddle steamer was later converted to a coal hulk but in 1935 broke loose from her moorings and sank against the breakwater. She was built in the early 1880s and the conversion took place 1889. She is approximately 240' long and with a 29' beam she lies upright on the bottom.

Dredger 12m

The Dredger lies right outside of Portland Harbour within the sheltered bay of Balaclava (in front of the large winch). This is believed to be a sand dredger and it makes an excellent shallow dive and training site in almost all weather and sea conditions. The wreckage is pretty much broken up.

Earl of Abergavenny 15m

This is an East Inidiaman that struck the Shambles bank and sunk in front of Weymouth in 1805 with a large loss of life. Please be careful while diving this wreck and do not touch artefacts as it is currently a study project.

Enecuri (Spaniard) 13m

This 3000 ton Spanish steamship dragged her anchor in a Force 9 gale in December 1900 and was grounded on the rocks close to the Breakwater where she slipped and eventually sank. It is badly silted and fairly broken up but is full of marine life.

Himalaya 12m

This 4600 ton three masted steamer was launched in 1853 and after serving in the Crimean war as a large troopship, was sold as a coal hulk. While anchored in Portland harbour she was struck in June 1940 by bombs dropped from a German aircraft and sank there.

HMS Hood 18m

Sunk as a blockship across the South Ship Channel of Portland Harbour. This 380' battleship is upside down (turtle) and can be a very interesting dive. However, it is "tidal".

James Fennel 18m

A small Admiralty trawler only 123' long that went aground on Blacknor Point in March 1920 in thick fog, slid off and sank there. The stern is complete and amidships there is an engine and boiler.

Landing Craft 17m

This small landing craft lies beside the Breakwater wall and close to the Bombardon unit. It is an interesting, but silty

 

Depth 20-29m

Baly Bay to Grove 25m

This can be an exciting dive is planned correctly but divers should be aware that an outward tide will rapidly move them towards the eddy race after Grove point and beside Portland Bill.

Aerials 25m

This is one of Portland's most exciting and rewarding drift dives on a sea bed of black shells. Divers are advised to watch their depth as the area has a number of drop-offs.

Baly Drift 22m

Dropping off a boat to the left of the Hood exit from Portland harbour in outgoing tide will carry divers across a seabed scattered with shells, crabs and during the summer months much exotic sea life including a variety of nudibranches.

Binnendijk 28m

Dutch steamship of 6800 tons mined and sunk in 1939 just East of the adamant shoal, approximately 500' long.

British Inventor 20m

Mined in June 1940, all that remains is the well-scattered remains of the bow section of this British oil tanker of 7101 tons. The aft portion was salvaged and converted to a new ship. Has plenty of marine life and is well broken up with only the ribs and plates showing with its highest point about 2 metres off the sea bed.

Elena R 27m

This 4500 ton Greek steamship was mined in November 1939 during its voyage to Antwerp. It measures 370' to 53' and was salvaged, is broken. The seabed is made out of shifting gravel and parts of the wreck stand 7 metres high

Lulworth Banks 25m

The area's most popular drift dive which offers plenty of activities for divers at all levels, including scalloping and sea life identification.

Pulpit Rock 25m

Dive time for this area is 4 hours after HW and the dive window is about 45 minutes. Going far out from the area could lead to deeper grounds with depths ranging in excess of 35 metres but sticking to shore, especially in the kelp beds, divers can see plenty of sea life, crabs and lobsters.

Saratoga 23m

This is a British MFV that sank while being towed to Poole and is now pretty much broken up.

Shambles 25m+

Especially in good sea conditions a dive on the deeper edge of the shambles can be very rewarding for divers with varying interests. Visibility in this area can sometimes be as good as 20 metres and it is a much rewarding dive for underwater hunters.

St Dustan 27m

This 200' bucket dredger was used as a mine sweeper and was sunk by a mine in 1917. The wreck lies turtle, twisted, and her highest point off the sea bed is about seven metres.

Sub. Ground 25m

This area is marked with the large yellow buoys after the Hood entrance to the harbour and has a maximum depth of about 25 metres with a straight bottom layout. Tide flow in this area can give divers a drift of up to 2 knots.

Sudon 15m

A Swedish steamship which sank off the Cave Hole on Portland in 1882.

 

Depth 30m +

Aeolian Sky 30m

A fine modern and recent wreck lying off St Alban's Head. She's a Greek registered bulk freighter of 14,000 tons and lies on a limestone sea bed on her port side. She stands about 13 metres throughout with her bows to the South and stern to the North

Alex Van Opstel 30m

This 5965 ton Belgian passenger liner, 420' with 57' beam, sunk in September 1939 by a mine en route to Antwerp. One of the few large wrecks on the East side of the bill. Her highest point is 7 metres above the seabed

A3 38m

This British submarine was sunk as a target after colliding with the HMS Hazard.

Ailsa Craig 36m

This 600 ton British steamship was sunk by a torpedo in 1918 while carrying a cargo of coal. Measuring 200' in length it was partly salvaged.

Arfon 35m

As an Admiralty armed trawler the Arfon sank in 1917 when she hit a mine. The wreck was discovered in 1998 some 7 miles south of Worbarrow Tout.

Ethel 38m

A well-broken steamship of about 2000 tons standing 6 metres off the sea bed.

Frognor 34m

This is a 1500 ton Norwegian steamship, torpedoed in May 1918. She measures 260' by 32' and stands 7 metres in places.

Landrail 31m

This pre-World War MTB destroyer sank while being towed back to Portland after being used as a target for battleship practice and taking two direct hits on her guns. She now lies in two parts on a shingle sea bed. In the past this wreck was called both the HMS Hazard and the HMS Bittern.

M2 34m

One of the most popular boat dives from Portland this submarine is an official War Grave. She was built in 1918 as a K-boat and in 1927 she was converted to carry a light sea plane in a hangar in front of the conning tower. It is generally accepted that she sunk after diving with the hangar doors open (as they are today). The M2 is not far west round the Bill, is about 300' and all hands were lost on her when she sunk in January 1932.

Moidart 36m

This 1300 ton armed merchant steamship was torpedoed by a German U boat and sank in 1918 while carrying railway lines. She stands 8 metres high in some places. She measures 240' by 32'.

P555 39m

An ex American submarine sunk on purpose, upright, as a sonar target in August 1947. She sits upright on a shingle and gravel seabed.

Pomerianian 33m

A British steamship of 4200 tons she was requisitioned by the government during WWI and was torpedoed and sunk on April 15, 1918 en route from London to Newfoundland with a loss of fifty lives. The wreck, carrying a general government cargo, sits upright on the bottom.

Pulpit Rock 30m

Dive time for this area is 4 hours after HW and the dive window is about 45 minutes. Going far out from the area could lead to deeper grounds with depths ranging in excess of 35 metres but sticking to shore, especially in the kelp beds, divers can see plenty of sea life, crabs and lobsters.

Scaldis 33m

This 80' MFV was last heard of in 1974 and all crew were lost. She lies upright.

Sidon 34m

This British S class submarine sank first in 1955 with the loss of 13 men and was raised and sunk again as an underwater sonar target. She lies broken but is a good dive and can be clearly made out as a submarine. There are recent attempts to salvage her and the conning tower.

Start 36m

This Norwegian steamer carried a cargo of coal when it was torpedoed in December 1917 and sunk. The 728 ton wreck is well broken and is believed to be well salvaged.

UB74 34m

This German submarine sank in May 1918. She measures 182' by 19' and was sunk with depth charges dropped off the yacht Lorna. She is broken up and difficult to locate.