2 weeks of technical wreck diving off Weymouth.
The English Channel around Weymouth and Portland is one of the best locations in the UK for wreck diving. Although many of the wrecks have been identified and regularly dived there are still many that are either unidentified or very rarely dived. fourth element has teamed up with Mark Powell from Dive-Tech to bring you 2 weeks of technical wreck diving off Weymouth.
As well as the dives the weeks will also include a number of talks from experts on nautical history, ship design, decompression theory, rebreather design and others.
Take a look at the interactive map of Portland Bill/Weymouth wrecks. To register your interest in joining this expedition, add your details to the form on the right >
Photos & Resources
Do you have photos from wreck dives off Weymouth/Portland Bill? Send them to us and we'll feature them here, email: mike@fourthelement.com
Video of the Kyarra and Aolean Sky Wrecks
Video from 2009 of the Kyarra and Aolian Sky wrecks off Weymouth/Portland.
Video courtesy of TidVid
JUL
19
Week 1 : 19th - 23rd July 2010
The first technical week. We will be diving in the 35-45m range and looking at some of the more historically interesting or lesser dived wrecks. This week is aimed at those who are new to technical diving or have recently complete a technical diving course and are keen to put their skills into action. It will allow you to expand your technical diving experience, see how technical trips are run and give you an opportunity to meet other technical divers and potentially buddies. This trip costs £50 p/person p/day plus gas.
AUG
16
Week 2 : 16th - 20th Aug 2010
Advanced technical week. We will be diving in the 50-70m range and diving on some unknown or little explored wrecks. For experienced trimix divers this week gives you the opportunity to do some real exploratory trimix diving. The week will focus on unknown wrecks and will try to gather more information on these wrecks with a view to uncovering their identity. This trip costs £50 p/person p/day plus gas.
If you have any further questions about the wreck weeks please contact Mark Powell from Dive Tech either by Email: mark@dive-tech.co.uk or by phone: 07770 864327.
Weymouth / Portland Bill Wrecks
This list is just a fraction of the 100's of wrecks around Weymouth/Portland. Take a look at the interactive wreck map of Weymouth/Portland Bill for detailed information.
- Black Hawk (Stern - 48m)
- British Inventor (20m)
- Alex Van Opstal (30m)
- Bennindijk (27m)
- A3 Submarine (38m)
- Aeolian Sky (18m)
- Iolanthe (45m)
- Elena R (25-30m)
- Fisgard II (66m)
- Gripfast (50m)
- M2 Submarine (35m)
- Frognor (35m)
- Illinois (70m)
- Merchant Royal (55m)
- Salsette (44m)
- Valdes (49m)
- Franziska (55m)
- Warrior II (54m)
During the First and Second World Wars a huge range of merchant shipping as well as Naval ships were sunk in the area. Even during peacetime the sheer number of ships using the English Channel meant that there are literally hundreds of wrecks within a few hours of Weymouth and Portland. There are historic British and German submarines, British destroyers and battleships and cargo ships ranging from traditional sailing ships up to huge modern container ships. Although many of the wrecks have been identified and regularly dived there are still many that are either unidentified or very rarely dived.
More than just wreck diving...
This trip gives you the opportunity to visit some of these unknown or rarely dived wrecks. As well as the dives the weeks will also include a number of talks from experts on nautical history, ship design, decompression theory, rebreather design and others. This will help each diver to have a better understanding of what they are diving on and give them the ability to contribute to the detective story involved in identifying a wreck.
Weymouth and Portland is an ideal base for these trips as it is one of the main centres for UK diving. There is a wide selection of dive boats, many of which specialise in technical diving. There is also convenient access for fills including Nitrox and Trimix. Sofnalime for rebreather divers can also be arranged. There are also a number of dive shops catering for the technical diving.
