Sketch of Crusader Bank wreck (from DR):
Video of dive. Info about wreck of Crusader in 1839.
View of "Big one" at Blackpool from Crusader Bank wreck:
Jump to: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.
19 April: Lugar and Alarm. viz ~5m.
2 May: Calcium, slate wreck and Boiler wreck (Mermaid): viz ~5m. Overnight in Conwy.
3 May: too rough to dive on way back from Conwy to Liverpool.
30 May: Harold and Meath: viz ~5m. (out of Holyhead)
see here for more about trip to Milford
9 June: South Haven (Skomer): (out of Milford Haven)
15 June: Chacabuco: viz ~6m. (on return Menai Bridge to Liverpool - Scott's boat also) calm
24 June: Village Bay, St Kilda (see here for more info )
3 July: Lugar and Alarm: viz 4-5m.
16 July: Boulder site/Calcium and Lelia: viz ~5m
31 July: Calcium and Scrap Barge: viz >5m. Strong wind from S.
18 August: Calcium and Lelia: viz ~5m. (wind from S again)
30 August: Dublin (twice): excellent viz (> 8m).
10 October: Dublin and Alarm: viz ~5m.
10 April: Munster, Ystroom and Councellor. sea calm. viz ~5m.
24 April: Blanche and "Unknown FV"(probably Hebe). sea slight. viz ~4m.
9 May: Ystroom, El Oso and Stanleigh. waves 2 ft. viz ~5m.
23 May: Alarm and Lelia. waves 0-1 ft. viz ~4m (plankton near surface).
5 June: Blanche and PS Leeds ("Unknown SS"). sea calm. viz 4-5m.
7 June: Lelia, Hoyle Bank Wreck, Ceylon. sea calm. vis 7-8m
23 June: Wreck W of Douglas (Chiria?), sea choppy. vis 7-8m
16 April: Dublin, Ceylon. sea calm. viz ~4m on Dublin, bad on Ceylon.
29 April: Letty, Speke. calm then lumpier. viz 3m on Letty, 4m on Speke.
26 June: Penstone, Dublin. calm. viz 10m.
25 August: Dublin (viz 6m) Calcium (viz 4-5m), calm, rain shower.
1 April: Penstone (viz 8m), Dublin (viz 10m). sunny, NW 3 later, circa 1 ft waves.
14 April: Peru (viz 4m), Coniston (viz 6m). sunny then shower, NE3-4. 1-2ft waves.
Monday 18 June: Letty (current, viz 4-5m), Lelia (slack, viz 7-8m). calm.
Friday 11 Aug: Letty (viz 6m, with floaty bits); Lelia (viz 4m, noisy from pile driving). calm.
Sat 8 Sept from Conwy (Beacons): Boiler wreck (Mermaid) slack; Puffin Island (some current on tip). calm (see pix and journey out/back)
Sat 24 Nov: Calcium (current, viz 10m), Lelia (slack, viz 6m). Calm then E 3-4.
Mon 6 May: Dublin (viz 1m or so: plankton). Calm and sunny.
Sun 2 June: Calcium (viz 2-3m, still plankton). Calm, sunny.
Viz on Lelia looked poor - so no dive there.
Waverly passed us going from Liverpool to Llandudno
pix
Thurs 29 Aug: Calcium (viz 6m) Lelia (viz 4m). calm then WNW 4, waves (recorded at Bar) 0.6m mostly, 0.8m for a while. See video of Lelia dive.
Sunday 29 Sept. HW 6.9/7.2m at Liverpool. Wind east 5-6 so stay close to shore off Southport: Coniston (waves 2 ft, viz 2 ft); Nazarene (waves <1 ft, viz 3 ft)
Thursday 28 Nov. Wind NW 2-3, waves small. Councellor (2ft viz); Speke (5 ft viz) Julian's Video: I did explain the layout of the Speke - but it's hard to relate to it in poor viz.
Monday 5 May from Conwy (Beacons pontoon): Mermaid and Hornby Cave. Viz poor (4ft and 6ft), sea state calm (wind offshore).
Sunday 20 July from Liverpool marina: accompanied by 5 dolphins; dive Alarm (10m viz) and Lelia (7m viz on wreck; less near surface). Sea state slight and no rain. dolphin video
Sat 20 Sept from Liverpool: to avoid poor viz from dredging near Liverpool; we went quite far west: Penrhos (3-4m viz) and Ocean Monarch (5-6m viz). These sites are shallow enough that the seabed is well lit. Weather N 2-3 and mainly overcast.
Thurs 2 Oct: sunny with mainly very light wind. Ocean Monarch (5-6m viz) and Calcium (3-4m viz). These sites are shallow enough that the seabed is well lit. Lots of marine life.
I note that the giant dredger HAM 316 is (from AIS tracks) dumping both at site Z (near yellow spoil buoy due N of Q1 buoy) and at the site close NE of Hamilton rig. This latter site is close to wrecks Munster, Stanleigh, El Oso.
Thurs 25 June: Alarm (viz 5-6m) and Lelia (vis 1m); calm. Saw a porpoise. Julian's videos
Sat 27 June: Dublin (5m viz) and Penstone (6m viz); sunny but SW 3 wind with lumpy conditions (0.5m waves at Liv Bar).
Sat 8 Aug: calm (even glassy) and sunny: Dublin (7m viz) and Pennington (7m viz).
Friday 15 July: Calcium (5m viz, lots of life); NH01 (3m viz and noisy). Weather mostly overcast with rain squalls: waves 1 ft mostly from SSW but a bit more in squalls,
Sunday 14 August: Dublin (10m viz); Alarm (10m viz). Wind force 2 with waves less than 1 ft. No rain.
Sunday 28 Aug: Hebe (3m viz); Peru (3m viz) [wrecks off Blackpool].
Wind NE -> NW 2; waves less than 1 ft before 5pm.
Some images: conger;
Blackpool Tower beyond Lennox Rig; Manannan
passing at some speed.
Monday 12 Sept: Calcium (10m viz); Ceylon (5m viz). Wind SSE 4-5
decreasing SSW 3. Waves 2 ft decreasing 1 ft. Choppy in Mersey.
Some images: lobster;
Tompot Blennie; Plumose anemones covering wreck.
Sunday 9 Oct: Dublin (10m viz); Alarm (10m viz). Wind E - NE 2; waves less than 1 ft. Sunny at times. Dolphins. Good weather for October.
Liverpool based trips need weather to be stable and HW to be between
5am and 9am. I will contact e-mail list a few days before a possible
trip. I have pruned this e-mail list to people who have been out with
me during the last few years. If this does not apply but you still want
to be included - please e-mail a request to me.
As well as the agressive dredging to widen and deepen the shipping
channel for huge container ships, construction work is ongoing on the
Burbo Bank windfarm extension: involving lots of seabed activity.
(Scheduled to be complete first quarter 2017 according to DONG website). So dive
sites nearby (such as Lelia) may have worse viz than recently.
Wed 19 April [trip on another boat]: calm, Lelia viz 2m or less.
Sunday Oct 1 proposed.
Actual data: wave height at Liverpool Bar reached 1.24 metres by
3:30 pm BST. So correct call to have cancelled.
Sunday 15 October.
SSW 4 gusting more, sunny, 1.0m waves at Bar - 2 ft waves where we
dived. Two porpoises seen.
Obstruction NE of North Hoyle Windfarm (close SW of anchoring
area, charted as obst 15.2;
sonar image): viz 3m, large pipe found.
Some of Paul's photos: 1; 2.
Ceylon: viz very poor (less than 1 ft).
Agressive dredging and windfarm construction has ceased - though some dredging and aggregate extraction is still taking place. Let's hope the viz has returned to previous good levels...
Sunday 8 April. Calm and partly sunny. Seals and dolphins seen.
After securing permission from CADW, dive on the RESURGAM at low water,
viz 3m or so. Sonar trace from RESURGAM.
Video of Resurgam dive.
Another Video of Resurgam dive(from
Graeme P) [40Mbyte].
Second dive on Calcium (viz 5m).
Sunday 24 June. Very sunny and calm. [Boat places not all taken].
Munster (3m viz) ( sonar image);
Councellor (2-3m viz) ( sonar image).
Video from Graeme.
Sat 7 July: very calm and sunny (full boat). Seals seen. Videos from
Graeme P.
Calcium: 8m viz. ( sonar image);
( Calcium Video).
Lelia: 3m viz. ( photo),
( Paddle wheel),
( Lelia Video).
Sun 5 Aug: very calm and sunny. Bottlenose dophins rode our bow wave
( Video from Sergio B)- then we
met a pod of over 25 of them.
Dublin: 8m viz.
Penstone: 8m viz.
Wed 24 July: warm, sunny, light wind, small swell. Wildlife seen:
gannets diving, several seals watching us.
After securing permission from CADW, dive on the RESURGAM at low water,
viz 3m or so. Survey of Resurgam.
Video Clip (100 Mbyte from George, dive from
stern(prop), passing conning tower, to bow with hole at port side.)
Calcium - viz 4-5m, lots of underwater life.
Monday 26 August: light wind and very small waves. Full boat.
Dublin (viz 4 metres+, lots of life); Alarm (viz similar).
• Monday 14 September: "socially distanced" trip with 4 divers
to shallow wrecks newly found north of Hoyle bank.
Three wrecks dived (two most probably for the first time ever) - viz not
great (1 metre or so) but shallow so not too dark. Current < 0.5kt for
3 hours. Two seem to be wooden sailing flats carrying bricks /
limestone; other is a small steam vessel - with a prominent boiler.
Weather brilliant. Details here.
• Sunday 27 September: "socially distanced" trip with 3 divers
to shallow wrecks newly found north of Hoyle bank plus Lelia. Wind
light, sunny, cool, 1-2ft swell from N.
Two more new shallow wrecks dived: one with metal components, one with only
stacks of slates remaining. Viz poor (less than 3 ft).
Details here.
Lelia dived at slack (and after) - viz better, but still only about
5 ft.
Some images (from GP) blennie,
brown crab, wind farm.
Video of Lelia dive(Graeme P).
Repairs to Liverpool Marina sea lock have been delayed - but it is now [late May] open.
• Friday 4 June - Alarm (viz 5m) and Lelia (viz 3m+). sunny calm
• Sunday 18 July - excellent weather, sunny, calm, Crusader Bank wreck (5.9m deep,
3m viz, no current) and Peru(15m deep, 3m viz, no current).
Sketch of Crusader Bank wreck (from DR):
Video of
dive. Info about wreck of Crusader in
1839.
View of "Big one" at Blackpool from Crusader Bank wreck:
• Monday 2 Aug NW wind force 2, 0.4m waves at Bar, partly sunny, very
neap tide:
Calcium (4-5m viz); two new wrecks nearby (one with paving slabs, one
with slates and metal parts) viz also 4-5m.
Details here.
Images of a tompot blennie and of bait fish:
Tompot, Bait
fish (on wreck with slates).
• Wednesday 1 September; excellent tide [HW 6.9m at Liverpool] - weather NE
2-3; 0.4m waves at Bar; overcast. Dive 3 wreck sites not previously visited:
- Nazarene.
Excellent viz (5m), slight current to SE, lots to see.
Images of dive site.
[Previous dive on this wreck in Sept 2013 had strong off-shore wind and
very poor viz - so nothing was seen]
- Possibly Pilot Schooner Mersey (lost 1885) - site surveyed
by me previous week. Little to see - stones - some items (ribs?)
sticking up in a line - viz 3-4m. Lump
sticking up; Scorpion fish.
- Possibly
Eversfield, site found by windfarm survey. More silty, viz 3m, metal pieces, large
admiralty-type anchor. No positive identification.
Wreck; Conger;
Anchor.
Thursday 23 June, Crusader (viz 3m) and Peru (silty, so vis 1-2m). Lovely weather. More detail of trip.
Sunday 10 July, light wind, warm: Alarm (5m viz); Letty (4m viz);
Lelia (3m viz).
Video
from GP.
Monday 8 August. Fine weather - sunny and calm.
- Dive a wreck, found by
charter skipper Tony Parry before 2018, now charted,
near the Ocean Monarch [0.17nm to SE] Viz 6m+.
Wreck is wooden with metal tubes and fire bricks (marked Hall
Stourbridge). Maybe a steam flat, or possibly Rob the Ranter.
HO report of wreck:
length approx 30mtrs, width approx 4mtrs. this is a
small unknown wreck with some planks running across the sea bed overlain
with bricks and tiles (possibly ballast, or cargo), with the highest
point being a collection of half a dozen metal tubes which may be pipes
although one end appears to be capped or domed. the pipes are about 35
centimetres diameter, with one end flanged, 2mtrs long and stacked
together so probably cargo. (dived by R.N. Cramer and D. Stead,
Merseyside Sub Aqua Club).
- Second dive Calcium, also viz 6m+.
Monday 22 August. Very small tides (7.1m and 7.3m) so good for diving
inshore wrecks. Forecast was very small waves - actually there was a
S force 3 at first - so head to a more sheltered spot, then wind swung SE and
became calm later. Some rain showers.
Note: after a recent accident, Liverpool Marina now requires
lifejackets to be worn by all aboard vessels while in the sea-lock.
Some views on way out: Cruise
ship World Navigator, Manannan passing New
Brighton.
Dive 1: Hoyle Boiler
wreck. Slight current (at HW+4:30) viz 3m -
iron propeller (circa 3ft diameter) more visible than previously, hull seems to have been
iron. Possibly Steam barge
Renfrew.
Dive 2: "wreck
5" just NE of North Hoyle Wind Farm. Viz 5m.
Wooden wreck with iron frames, carrying slates.
Dive 3: Possibly Steam flat
Eversfield (in Burbo Extension wind farm), viz 3m some current (at
next HW-4). Large anchor [shaft 8-10cm diameter and 1.5-2.0m long, so
weighing around 80kg] with chain seems to be quite large for a steam
flat [but Eversfield had been rebuilt - as larger than a steam flat,
more like a small coaster]. Many wooden beams. No sign of engine
components.
Since surface visibilty was less than 2 miles, as we approached the
Burbo Extension Wind Farm, the fog horn on the corner turbine was
sounding - a new experience for me.
Sat 29 April. Very small tide HW 7.0 and 6.9m. Wind slight, overcast
with sea mist - visibility 1-2 miles. Seals and porpoise seen.
Survey wreck of Valeria - found some way off charted position.
Dive Stanleigh. Slight current - viz good until near bottom - when
1-2 metres. Sea temp 9°.
Dive Munster. Slack. viz 2-3 metres.
Sunday 11 June. Light wind, calm seas, warm, HW 8.5m and 8.0m, LW
2.1m - so neap but still quite large tidal range. Dive Alarm - viz 3m
or so; then Lelia - viz 3m with lots of life.
Pass cruise ship Britannia (P&O, 3647 passengers) on
pierhead. Also a 6-legged jack up crane barge [MPI Adventure, 1000 ton
lift] fitting new blades to a turbine in
Burbo extension wind farm. Also more photos from GP: Turbine and
reflection, jellyfish, lobster.
A short Video [from GP, underwater parts on Lelia].
Fri 8 Sept. Calm, warm, some low-lying haze, otherwise sunny. Very
neap: HW 5:53 7.4m; LW 12:33 3.7m; HW 18:35 7.2.
Dive Dublin & Penstone. viz 5m plus.
Pass cruise ship Ambience at
Pierhead and later as she was leaving. Seals seen several times.
Boat performance was a bit sluggish and divers reported extensive
fouling on propellor - more
info here
Sunday 8 Oct. Lovely weather for October: calm, milky sun, very neap tide (2.5 m range) 4 divers.
Dive Calcium (viz 5 m plus) and Lelia (viz 3m or so, some silt on
seabed).
Photos (from GP) Wheel on Lelia wreck; Starfish on wreck; Marlin;
Sunset over Birkenhead and Stena Edda
Video of trip[from GP].
Thurs 18 July, calm, overcast, neap tide (range 4.8m),
Dive Speke - viz 3m+. Current slight.
Dive Valeria -
at LW slack. Surface looked rather muddy, but going a bit deeper,
viz was fine - 2m at least, and fairly light since wreck is mostly in 5-6 m.
Almost no current. A 90 minute dive!
Images of Valeria [from JT]. Lobster,
Wreckage, Donut shape,
Fish, Bollard,
Upright, Ring,
Since we had some time to wait before marina lock, we had a go at fishing
and one hardy soul went for a swim around the boat.
