There are plenty of wrecks out in Liverpool Bay - with lots of life on them. Chris has written two books on "The Wrecks of Liverpool Bay" which you can buy from Aquaventurers Dive Shop, from Liverpool Marine Press or from him by e-mail (cmi@liv.ac.uk). He has also written a book giving the full history and current status of the wreck of the Lelia, a Confederate Blockade Runner which sank on her maiden voyage with big loss of life: see book info
The wrecks are 20 miles out but not particularly deep (14 to 40 m, mostly 25 to 30 m). Visibility underwater at low tide can be quite good (20 ft plus) but a torch is very useful. The currents are less around Low Water but in order to get 2 dives in, you will have to dive in some current. Because of the possibility of some current, limited visibility underwater, and the need to kit up in the boat with some wave motion, diving in the Bay is not for novices. Chris does not run charter trips as such, but will try to accommodate interested divers on the trips he organises. Trips are arranged by e-mail usually and are confirmed the evening before when the weather forecast is good. Be aware that quite a number of trips get cancelled because of adverse weather.
The boat takes up to 8 divers and we usually do two dives each. The trip leaves Liverpool Marina through the lock at about HW + 2 hrs and comes back in at the next HW - 2 hrs. So we are out for 9 hrs or so. So take air for two dives, food (Marlin has a fridge) and hot drink. Drinking water is provided aboard. Marlin has a toilet. The cabin is quite sheltered and has a heater - so it's a comfortable trip. Divers are responsible for arranging for themselves any equipment loan and transport to the Marina car park. Cost of the share of fuel and running expenses is £40, more for the most distant wrecks.
MARLIN has a vertical ladder at the stern - divers take off their fins to use it. Some divers also take off weight belt or cylinders in the water to make climbing the ladder easier.
He now picks up divers at the southern end of
Brunswick Dock.
As of February 2019, there are stone steps down to a fenced area where it is
possible to load directly to the boat. Image here
Turn off the dock road at the roundabout to "Brunswick Business Park".
Then the steps are directly across the road from the gatekeeper's hut.
You can unload heavy stuff by stopping briefly on the pavement.
You can park (keep going left) in the car park the other side of the
hedge from the gatekeeper's hut (there is a gap in the hedge to walk
through).
Map of South end of Brunswick Dock
Some trips start and end from Beacons pontoon at Conwy
(
map: jetty in river north of marina ).
This is on the West bank just North of Conwy Marina.
Basically drive through tunnel by-passing Conwy then take next exit to
Marina. At T-junction near Marina go left to car park close to the
floating pontoon called "Beacons" alongside the slipway.
For a brief summary of recent diving from MARLIN see Marlin dives from 2009 on.
Info (and status) about upcoming trips: here.
For information on MARLIN and her capabilities, see cruises from Liverpool.
Tide tables are available from Bangor Oceanographic - then choose Tide Tables then Liverpool and month. Care some of this site is password protected. Also for Liverpool from POL .
Data on water quality _was_ available from the
CEFAS
buoy near Liverpool Bar (select location in Liverpool Bay then required
feature such as water quality or wave height. Click on buoy position.
Alternative access here
or
here.
I find you need to select "graphs" and "show water quality" then
scroll down.
Turbidity is a measure of how murky the water is
- less than 1 is good, 3 or more is not good; Fluorescence increases
when there are more plankton in the water.
Wave height forecasts (wind and swell waves) are available from NOC
[service now discontinued],
also from
here and from
here.
Also real time info
here.
NOC also have a 36 hour wind forecast for the sea area of Liverpool Bay here [ discontinued?]. Another source is here
Another useful wind summary and weather forecast is XC weather .
