The Poole Harbour Guide 2013 FREE

Poole
Based
Diving
Attractions
By Phil Thorkildsen
For those that like sea life, the first must be ‘The
Pinnacle’. Legendary among local divers, this tower of
rock, aka Tesco’s, can be found right in the harbour
entrance, just below the Haven Hotel. Location alone
ensures that most of the time, the local fauna is left to its
own devices. Diving here is only really practical during
neap tides and when surface traffic is low, so it’s mostly
very early mornings. Those that bother are rewarded
with a lovely dive and a little fresh ‘lunch’.
If you plan on diving on The
Pinnacle, please advise Harbour
Control first, ideally on VHF
Channel 14 or otherwise by phone
(01202) 440230
East into Poole Bay we find ‘Poole Patch’ (Poole Rocks
on the chart). Doesn’t sound very inspiring but these
rocks are the remains of an ancient forest. Destroyed by
part of the process that created the Solent, these
fossilised tree roots now stand proud of the seabed by
several feet, the roots forming a cathedral like structure,
many of which are large enough for a diver to swim
through. Most of them have their own resident
The Poole Harbour Guide ~ 2013
population of fish. An excellent training location with just
enough to keep the dive leader interested too.
West of the harbour entrance is the ‘Training Bank’. This
is highly tidal but, with good boat cover, can make an
interesting ‘rummage’ dive.
Probably of greater interest to the majority of divers is
the huge number of wrecks in the area. Chronologically,
these start with the ‘Studland Bay’ wreck, re-discovered
in 1984 by divers from Hamworthy Sub-Aqua Club
when they were asked to investigate a snagged net by a
local fisherman. This 15th century vessel, once described
as ‘as historically significant as the Mary Rose’, is now a
protected wreck, but an excellent display of artefacts can
be found at the local museum.
A number of wrecks in the area can be attributed to
bad weather or poor navigation but by far the greatest
number are the casualties of the two world wars. Too
many to catalogue here, these range from merchant
vessels, warships and aircraft to tanks, yes tanks! There
are seven of these bizarre contraptions, casualties of bad
weather during practice for the D-day landings. Most are
shallow, the size of a van (these are Valentines, not the
more common DD Shermans), they’re all tricky to find.
An interesting and poignant dive, everybody should do at
least one, and spare a thought for the brave boys that
went to war (and to sea) in them.
Facilities
A number of good dive shops in the area cover all diving
needs, from novice training to technical diving. All
associations are covered (BSAC, SAA and PADI).
There are a number of active local clubs too, see
relevant press for details or enquire at dive shops.
Good charter boats run out of Poole covering all
the available diving. See press and book early,
they’re popular.
Launching
If you insist on using your own RIB, Poole is not the
best place. The public slip at Baiter Park is VERY
shallow. If yours is more than a six man RIB, don’t
expect to use Baiter, without a struggle, at anything
other than high water. A couple of boat yards and a
number of yacht clubs have excellent slips, but, all are
expensive, and some just don’t want divers. The two
most ‘diver friendly’ yards are in Hamworthy, both
entail a long slow trip out through the harbour adding
significantly to transit times.
Lastly, if the forecast includes east or south-east winds,
do something else for the weekend!