Diving the Manacles

While the rest of England was sweltering in the heat wave on Thursday we had a windy and slightly damp day at the start of our two night stop in Cornwall. Fortunately the weather brightened up a lot on the Friday.

Graham and I had chosen to visit Porthkerris because it is the gateway to the Manacles and also offers beach diving that is reckoned to be some of the very best in the UK. The cove is situated amongst granite cliffs and is well protected from the weather making for good diving conditions unless there is an easterly wind. Which on Thursday there just happened to be.

The Manacles themselves consist of approximately one square mile of reef that over the years have claimed over 110 wrecks and sadly as many as 1000 lives.

On arrival we duly paid our £2 diving tariff and £3 parking fee and parked up directly opposite Drawna Rocks and the infamous Crack of Life. It was a recent article in one of the dive magazines on the later that had drawn me here in the first place.

Things all looked very quiet with only one other diver getting ready to kit up. We duly went over to say hello and see if we could get any local tips only to discover that the diver was from Southend. He still managed to give us some pointers but isn't it a small world.

The first challenge of the day came when setting up the rebreather only to have an 02 cell failure. Not daunted I quickly moved on to the open circuit gear and soon Graham and I were climbing the short distance over the rocks to the beach.

With the wind blowing easterly surf was up making it a mild challenge to get in the water. We soon got in to pleasantly discover that despite the weather the visibility was holding up.

As you approach the rocks themselves you swim through an area known as the aquarium because of the numbers of fish that seem to gather there. We were not disappointed and the Wrasse seemed almost tame as they came into say hello. I would be fairly sure that these fish are being fed by the procession of divers visiting the site.

Making our way around the rocks and into the swim through we could quickly understand why this site is so popular as there was life everywhere. We had been told to look out for cuttlefish but were not fortunate enough to find one.

In fact if I am very honest as we meandered around peering into nooks and crannies we really had no concept of the dive route so after 45 minutes staying at around 15 metres we surfaced only to find that we had strayed off Drawna Rocks. We re submerged and made our way back to the rocks swimming over the less interesting kelp beds and then eventually back onto the beech.

Despite the weather this was a very pleasant and picturesque dive though it has to be said we were glad for the cup of tea from the refreshment caravan.

Shortly after the first dive we got a call from James to say he was on his way but as it had taken Graham and I ages to actually find the dive centre we agreed to meet up in Helston at AP Diving which would then give me a chance to check out the problem with the rebreather. Convenience being the name of the game with the manufacturer only a few miles down the road.

It was good to visit AP valves where I stocked up on some sofnalime and O2 cells and had the opportunity to chat with Martin Parker as he came out to say hello in the car park.

Having decided the weather was not good we then abandoned two plans in quick succession; camping and a second dive. A quick ring around B&B got us lodgings in the Gallentreath Guest House at Porthallow.

We arrived to a warm welcome and a pint of strong local ale. The location could not have been better with an amazing view down the valley onto the beach. The beach at Porthallow looks ideal to dive from though it transpires it is owned by the villagers (most beaches in Cornwall are privately owned) and they banned divers many years ago because they were too rowdy.

It may have something to do with the quality of the local pub the Five Pilchards which served excellent ale and a superb supper. All in all we ended up walking back to the guest house in fine spirits having had a good day.

In the morning we had a wonderful sight of the new style of thong as modelled by Graham before being treated to a very full and tasty English breakfast. Setting off in convoy we went back to Porthkerris beach via a slight diversion as I had re-entered St Austell in the sat nav. Got there in the end and in time to get on the rib to take us out to the manacles proper.

Our first dive on Friday was on the prettiest reef I have seen in UK waters, Raglan Reef. The reef is a pinnacle that goes from 6 to 42 metres so it is ideal for getting some depth and then gently sauntering upwards below the kelp line. Now here's the honesty part: as we descending as a three I had a problem with the camera housing so I resurfaced dropped the camera back on the rib and went back down in search of the others. I looked but couldn't find them so ended up doing a solo dive which was absolutely fantastic. I know it is not a good example but I had bail out redundancy and I really enjoyed the solitude. There was so much to see too and I really resented not having the camera. Numerous dog fish, pollack, saithe, mackerel but most of all the topography. Awesome!

On surfacing I caught up with the other two who had enjoyed a great dive too, if a bit shallower.

With quick race back for lunch and tank switches and we were back out on the Manacles to dive the Mohegan. This is the best known and most dived wreck on the Manacles though fortunately we were the only ones on it. I buddied with Mark the other diver that had joined us for the day as he left his new wife on the beach. Yes they were on their honeymoon having chartered a yacht from Falmouth for a fortnight to celebrate. Seemed like a great idea to me.

The Mohegan hit the manacles in 1898 and she is now fairly well broken up and spread about. The boilers are still intact and there is plenty to see. As you may expect she is also now covered in life and there are plenty of plates to look under. The bows sit in about 15 metres and the more interesting stern section in about 24 metres. All of the wreckage is below the kelp line and this was a really pleasant dive when all is told. The fact that I ran my bottom time to the wire before ascending to the kelp line to watch the fish on my safety stop should say it all.

Back on the beach we had more excitement before setting off to Plymouth as James car wouldn't start. We did think of abandoning him, but soon we were off doubtless to be back for a long weekend later this year.

Dive to live.......we do