The plan is to drive down to Weymouth on Friday afternoon and have dinner together during the evining. The boat has been booked for Saturday and Sunday and we should be away by3pm - 4pm on Sunday. There are huge numbers of dive sites in Weymouth a few are listed below
| Aerials |
20-30 |
25m. |
This is one of Portland’s most exciting and rewarding drift dives on a sea bed of black shells. Divers are advised to watch their depth as the area has a number of drop-offs. |
| Alex Van Opstel |
20-30 |
30m. |
This 5965 ton Belgian passenger liner, 420′ with 57′ beam, sunk in September 1939 by a mine en route to Antwerp. One of the few large wrecks on the East side of the bill. Her highest point is 7 metres above the seabed. |
| Baly Drift |
20-30 |
22m. |
Dropping off a boat to the left of the Hood exit from Portland harbour in outgoing tide will carry divers across a seabed scattered with shells, crabs and during the summer months much exotic sea life including a variety of nudibranches. |
| Binnendijk |
20-30 |
28m. |
Dutch steamship of 6800 tons mined and sunk in 1939 just East of the adamant shoal, approximately 500′ long. |
| Bottlebank Drift |
10-20 |
19m. |
This site is right inside of the harbour close to the Hood entrance and can offer a good drift dive at certain times of tide. The sea bed, heavily silted, is littered with bottles, cups and plates with other oddities. At times this area is used to conduct training deep dives that require a depth deeper than 18 metres. |
| British Inventor |
10-20 |
20m. |
Mined in June 1940, all that remains is the well-scattered remains of the bow section of this Britich oil tanker of 7101 tons. The aft portion was salvaged and converted to a new ship. Has plenty of marine life and is well broken up with only the ribs and plates showing with its highest point about 2 metres off the sea bed. |
| Chequered Fort |
10-20 |
18m. |
This is on the outside of the breakwater and just around the corner from the Fort. Depending on the tide, divers can get a good drift dive in this area. On descending, follow the wall down until you reach the gravel and sandy bottom at about 18 metres. There is some sea life amid the large rocks. |
| Countess of Erne |
10-20 |
14m. |
This passenger liner Paddle steamer was later converted to a coal hulk but in 1935 broke loose from her moorings and sank against the breakwater. She was built in the early 1880s and the conversion took place 1889. She is approximately 240′ long and with a 29′ beam she lies upright on the bottom. |
| Dredger |
10-20 |
12m. |
The Dredger lies right outside of Portland Harbour within the sheltered bay of Balaclava (in front of the large winch). This is believed to be a sand dredger and it makes an excellent shallow dive and training site in almost all weather and sea conditions. The wreckage is pretty much broken up. |
| Earl of Abergavenny |
10-20 |
15m. |
This is an East Inidiaman that struck the Shambles bank and sunk in front of Weymouth in 1805 with a large loss of life. Please be careful while diving this wreck and do not touch artefacts as it is currently a study project. |
| Elena R |
20-30 |
27m. |
This 4500 ton Greek steamship was mined in November 1939 during its voyage to Antwerp. It measures 370′ to 53′ and was salvaged, is broken. The seabed is made out of shifting gravel and parts of the wreck stand 7 metres high. |
| Enecuri (Spaniard) |
10-20 |
13m. |
This 3000 ton Spanish steamship dragged her anchor in a Force 9 gale in December 1900 and was grounded on the rocks close to the Breakwater where she slipped and eventually sank. It is badly silted and fairly broken up but is full of marine life. |
| Grove to Baly Bay |
20-30 |
25m. |
This is a very rewarding dive with depths ranging from 16 to 25 metres maximum. The dive time is normally 1-2 hours before or 1-2 hours after HW and the dive area is from the vicinity of Grove point to Balaclava Bay. The ground varies from ledges to very rocky undulating ground. Can be very prolific sea life. |
| Himalaya |
10-20 |
12m. |
This 4600 ton three masted steamer was launched in 1853 and after serving in the Crimean war as a large troopship, was sold as a coal hulk. While anchored in Portland harbour she was struck in June 1940 by bombs dropped from a German aircraft and sank there. |
| HMS Hood |
10-20 |
18m. |
Sunk as a blockship across the South Ship Channel of Portland Harbour. This 380′ battleship is upside down (turtle) and can be a very interesting dive. However, it is “tidal”. |
| Shambles |
20-30 |
25+ |
Especially in good sea conditions a dive on the deeper edge of the shambles can be very rewarding for divers with varying interests. Visibility in this area can sometimes be as good as 20 metres and it is a much rewarding dive for underwater hunters. |
| St Dustan |
20-30 |
27m. |
This 200′ bucket dredger was used as a mine sweeper and was sunk by a mine in 1917. The wreck lies turtle, twisted, and her highest point off the sea bed is about seven metres. |
