the insider's guide to plymouth's greatest dives - Plymouth Sound ...

MEWSTONE: 50°18.132’N,
04°06.637’W
Nominated by:
Damian Walker, 38,
PADI rescue diver
A ten-minute RIB ride due
south from Plymouth
Sound’s breakwater, the
Mewstone is an island that was once
joined to the nearby shore. It’s now an
isolated and impressive sight as it rises
high above the surface of the water. No
less impressive below, the Mewstone
slopes 15–30m in places.
Damian Walker sees the site as
valuable for upping the experience levels
of novices. ‘The gradual increase in depth
means it’s easy to have a controlled
environment in which to further a diver’s
exposure to depth,’ he says. ‘With fingers
of rock stretching out into gullies of lightcoloured
sand combined with prolific
marine life, the Mewstone makes an ideal
spot for the underwater photographer.’
HMS SCYLLA: 50°19.644N, 04°15.200W
Nominated by: Kevin Pidgeon, 45, sport diver
Four years on from its sinking off Whitsand Bay, the former
Royal Navy frigate HMS Scylla is now rivalling the James
Eagan Layne as a magnet for marine life. The starboard
side is covered with plumose anemones; the shallow
deck is colonised with kelp, offering a home to the plentiful wrasse;
and large pollack hang almost motionless in the current off the bow.
Kevin Pidgeon, a former Devonport Dockyard worker, has a particular
interest in the vessel, having been involved in refitting its weaponry during
the 1980s. ‘It’s fascinating to see how it looks below the water after
having seen and worked on her during my time in the dockyard,’ he says.
‘I’m very interested in how they prepared it for divers, such as the cut-outs
to allow access from one side to the other. I think this is the way forward
for diving as the older wrecks deteriorate.’
SCYLLA THRILLER: former Royal Navy frigate
HMS Scylla, sunk to create an artificial reef in
2004, is now becoming a haven for marine life
STONE ME: this dahlia anemone is among
the marine life found on the Mewstone
EAST RUTTS: 50°13.400’N,
03°58.800’W
Nominated by: John Gould, 71,
advanced diver
The East Rutts are an offshore
formation of several pinnacles of
rock that descend to a depth of
40m and rise to within 8m of
the surface. Veteran diver John Gould enjoys
exploring the large boulders and fissures that
form the reef. ‘You can have a good drift dive
here and the boulders allow shelter if you want
to get out of the tidal flow, whichever way it’s
running,’ he says. ‘Silt can sometimes be a
problem, but there’s lots to see like pollack,
lobsters and football sea squirts. Sea fans are
quite common here and there’s a lot of marine
life among the kelp in the shallows.’
GB DIVES
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