UBUC

Dive Sites

As Skomer Island and the surrounding area is a Marine Nature Reserve, there are ground rules which must be observed. One such rule is that the South side of Skomer Island (from Pains Rock to the Mewstone) is off-limits to divers and boats during the seabird breeding season (March - July). For this reason, the divesites known to UBUC concentrate on the north side of the island meaning that northerly or north-easterly winds can halt diving. During such times, the club treks the few miles to Dale and launches from there to dive some of the fantastic wrecks in Milford Haven, such as The Dakotian,The Behar, The Thor and P.L.M 21.

1. Martin's Haven

This is where our daily base and where we launch the boats from. It has a gently shelving pebbly beach, which gives way to larger boulders and kelp and descends to around 13m on the RHS of the haven. On the LHS of the haven, the Dale Princess, which ferries people to Skomer Island, has it's embarkation point so this area is out of bounds to divers except at night. The Marine Nature Reserve boat, Skalmey, has a buoy straight out from the Haven in about 12m, which is perfect for SD and DL rescue drills. Due to the boat traffic in the Haven, use of Surface Marker Buoys are essential. If you haven't dived for a while, a enjoyable bimble round the Haven can get you back into the way of diving and be a very rewarding dive. When the weather permits, the Haven is an excellent night diving spot. The bioluminescence is breathtaking and a lot of the crustacea which is hidden by day is out and about. Martin's Haven can be dived at all states of the tide and in any wind except moderate northerlys.

2. Wooltack Point

Just round the corner from Haven Point is the perennial favourite of Wooltack Point. In the small bay, the sandy bottom and rocky edge boasts plenty of life in about 6m, gently shelving to around 16m further out. The site of many an alleged octopus, ou'l get plenty of opportunity to dive this site over the 2 weeks. Under the thinnest part of Wooltack Point is a tunnel running from Jack Sound through to the relative calm of the bay. This is great fun to do after a Tusker dive - the boat drops the snorkellers off at the entrance and picks them up round in Wooltack Bay. Wooltack Point is diveable any time between low and high tide and in any wind except northerlys.

3 + 4. North and South Tusker

The photo shows Tusker rock as seen from the western side of Wooltack Point. The tidal V shows the incoming tide and demonstrates the force of the body of water racing up Jack Sound. The topography on the Northern side of Tusker can be seen here and contains a spectacular drop-off from 20 to 32 metres. From here on north the bottom drops away to 'The Pit' at around 60m. The visibility around Tusker is often better than other dives due to the twice daily massive movement of water and the life is often much more prolific. Both North and South Tusker are amongst the best dives around Skomer Island. Due to the currents pulling down to The Pit and then suddenly getting pushed up to form overwellings, it's dangerous to dive North Tusker on anything but a High Water Slack (about 2h after HW Milford Haven). South Tusker can be dived after the HW slack in the rapidly narrowing window of calm, and by carefully staying in the window, the site can dived right up to LW.

5. Jack Sound Drift

This is easily the most advanced dive available to divers around Skomer. With a racing tide of up to 8 knots on springs, this is not a drift dive for the faint-hearted. For safety reasons, each pair in the water have their own boat cover with very competent handlers. The standing waves, overfalls and currents at the southern end of the sound are easily enough to flip the boats if not handled properly. This is an exhilerating dive but as a rule of thumb, is only open to BSAC Advanced Divers or above with experience of drift diving. The Jack Sound Drift is diveable 4h after HW (6h after HW Milford Haven) but is dependant on little wind from any direction.

6. The Wreck of The Molesley

The Wreck of the Molesley can be found amongst kelp between 4-12m tucked in on the SE cliffs of Midland Isle. She was a cargo steamer sunk in November 1929, but apart from the boilers standing about 4m proud, she lies as wreckage over a small area, but containing a wealth of life. The wreck can be found be finding the middle of large flat rock left of the small cave and swimming east. The Molesley is diveable on either slack and either side of HW slack (about 2h after Milford Haven)

7. The Black Stones

This is not a site that gets dived often, but boasts interesting topography and plenty of life. The Black Stones are diveable on or before either slack.

8. Dead Eye Wreck

Dead Eye Wreck lies perpendicular to the rocks hemmed in by cliffs to the north and Thorn Rock to the east in around 8-15m. Sunk in 1890, this brigatine's name is unknown, however, as the pseudonym suggests, many dead eyes have been found on the wreck. Apart from a few larger bits of superstructure about 3m proud, the site contains mainly wreckage spread out over a wide area. The wreck can be found by swimming out from the central (and largest) of 3 caves to the left of Thorn Rock. Being close to the cliffs, it is diveable in most states of the tide and is protected from Northerlys and Westerlys.

9. Rye Rocks

This is another very popular dive and usually suits the Dive Marshal's purposes, as one boat can carry 6 experienced divers onto the nearby Lucy (10) and the other boat can take 6 less experienced divers onto Rye Rocks. Once dropped off close to the rocks in around 5m, heading North will present quite a dramatic wall dropping down to around 22m. Contouring round to the east along this wall should arrive the divers at the mast of the Lucy. Often laden with life, Rye Rocks are diveable on any state of the tide and on any wind except Northerlys.

10. The Wreck of The Lucy

The most famous divesite around Skomer Island the intact upright wreck of the Lucy is a diver's dream. So much has been written about diving this wreck that repeating it all here would be pointless. Have a look here for the definitive tour. At 42m to the seabed and the top of the mast at 15m, she is an impressive dive - small enough to have a good look round with minimal decompression. Due to depth restrictions, the Lucy is only for experienced SD or above and is diveable on any state of the tide, (but can run like a train!) and in any wind except Northerlys.

11. North Cliffs

A favourite with photographers and videographers, the gentle slopes of the North Cliffs allow good positioning for snapping the plentiful life that exists along the cliffs. Close to the cliffs, the depth is only a few metres sloping down to 30m, although the flora and fauna are most plentiful down to about 20m. Currents along the North Cliffs can be confusing, often going against the [assumed] flow of tide caused by water coming round the Garland Stone. Although along the Cliffs can be dived on all states of the tide, care needs to be taken to ensure the current doesn't cause a few divers to drift towards the overfalls and standing waves to the North side of the Garland Stone.

12. The Garland Stone

Possibly the best life dive in the area, the Garland Stone is a big UBUC favourite. Above water, there are always seals playing about and it isn't uncommon to see them during the dive. The dive itself starts with a drop-off in 6m slightly north of the just visible group of rocks which are just SE of the Garland Stone itself. From here, depth is not an issue as no-one knows the depth of the Garland Stone, although around 35m is the preferred depth for the stunning life and rock faces, clefts and chasms. By following up to around 24m, and marked by two disused lobster pots, a swim-through is to be found, leading up to about 18m. About half way through, swing 180 degrees round to see a life-covered ledge, which is itself shielding the lair of the Garland Conger, Judy.