Malin Head Trip July 2007

[Marco Lattughi]

Trip Report 22-27 July –Malin Head –Ireland.

We arrived in Malin Head on Saturday the 21st July and settled in our comfortable and spacious accommodation 5 minutes walk from Malin Head Pier.

After getting our dive gear sorted we headed to the local for a couple of pints of the black stuff!

Day 1-Cumberland –depth 58m

We got our gear into Geoff’s 9.1m rib which has a bottle wrack in the centre and a sitting area over the large Volvo inboard engine. Any dry kit can be stashed in the fibreglass covered bow area. As soon as we were ready we headed out to the wreck of the Cumberland for a shake down dive, the sea was flat calm and we reached our destination in a matter of minutes cruising at full speed. We shotted the wreck which lies in 58m and jumped in. The visibility was incredible and at 37m we could see the outline of the wreck. We got to the bottom secured the shot and started exploring the area around the china cargo hold which was packed with Staffordshire crockery and then moved slowly forwards to wards the bow passing rows of portholes secured in the large hull plating. After 25 minutes it was time to return to the shot and slowly make our way up the deco station.

Day 2-Justicia-depth 72m

After a good night sleep we loaded our gear in the rib for the trip out to the Justicia which lies about 25 miles off Malin Head once again the sea was calm and the sun was shining, the trip out to the wreck site took around 35-40 minutes and upon arrival we met the Loyal Watcher which had already shotted the wreck (good timing I say). We got kitted up and jumped into the crystal clear Atlantic. The descent was easy with no noticeable tide and by 40m we could make out the wreck on the bottom. The shot was on the bow just around the anchor bollards in around the 65-68m mark, we quickly started swimming down the port side and soon came across rows of large portholes in pristine condition, followed by ornate lite funnels and brass vents. The time soon wracked up and it was time to head back, so we swam towards the starboard side and made our way back to the bow. We then went round the bow on the seabed from port to starboard and looked at the anchors and then ascended back onto the top of the bow in order to regain the shot and begin our slow ascent. As we ascended we took the time to look back on the wreck and admire its beauty as it slowly faded out of our sight. Once back on the rib we all agreed that that was a remarkable dive.

Day 3-Empire Heritage-depth 68m

The weather was still good although a breaze had started to pick up along with a slight swell, we made our way out to the wreck site and once again bumped into the Loyal Watcher, but this time we used our own shot. On the way down there was a thick plankton bloom which reduced the ambient light considerably compared to the previous day. One of the deck masts appeared in view and soon after we were on the sea bead next to a pile of Sherman tanks, and dumper trucks, after moving the shot over to a piece of wreckage we moved off and over the tanks which were scattered all over the place some upright and some laying on their sides. After doing a couple of loops over the tanks we moved off and headed for the side of the ship were the structure was discernable then it was time to head back to the shot and make our way back up to the trapeze.
Day 4-Carthaginian –depth 58m
The wind was now picking up along with the swell, we mad our way out to the wreck which was already shotted. The wreck lies flattened on the sea floor with the boilers standing proud, the visibility was excellent and we headed to the stern then round to the port side and up towards the bow, by now the current was getting quite strong and we turned and glided back to the boilers to pick up the shot. The wreck is littered with portholes and other bits and bobs and make for a nice rummaging dive. The deco was again uneventful and by now we were all working as a team and had the jellyfish dodging down to a fine art!

Day 5 – U1271-depth 56m

Weather now getting worse with a nice Atlantic swell rolling in, we decided to dive a U-boat closed to land and opted for U-1271. We dropped onto the sea bead in order to recover one of Geoff’s old shots and after sending it up on a bag started to swim towards the stern on the U-boat then around to the port side and back up to the conning tower were the main hatch is just open by 2-3 inches after a quick smooch inside the hatch we carried on up to the bow and then made our return to the shot.

Day 6 – Cumberland – depth 58m
The wind was now up for good and the swell made for good trip out to the wreck. We had now given up on getting out to the Audacious and opted for another dive on the Cumberland, we got there and got it quite speedily. The dive was better then the first time as we got to see more of the wreck and had a good rummage in the cargo holds finding all types and shapes of crockery and other assortments. The deco was rather bouncy, with the swell now being rather large! We surfed most of the way back to the harbour, thus ending a cracking six days of wreck diving.

Travel Arrangements
Stena fast cat from Stranrar to Belfast (1hr 45min £290 for car and 2 passengers other sailings available from Fleetwood or Liverpool)

Drive from Belfast to Malin Head 2.5-3 hr

Accommodation, boat and gas provided by Geoff at Dive North (www.divenorth.com)

Links:www.deepimage.co.uk, www.greatoceanliners.net/justicia.html,

[wreckferret]

Marco,

Great report, I spent 10+ years trying to dive the Cumberland and never got to dive it.
Geoff is the only person I would dive those wrecks with, he is a diver and knows what he is doing.

My first trimix dive was on the Empire Heritage and the shot was on an upturned tank - amazing.

Glad you enjoyed Donegal.

[Marco Lattughi]

The Cumberland is a great dive and I could quite easely spend a week just rummaging around that wreck, as there are so many interesting bits and pieces. m
Mind you, I would happily spend a week on any of those wrecks as the visibility and quality is hard to match.

There are also plenty of other marks around that stretch of coastline that are worthy of further investigation.

[onthetrain]

whoops double post...sorry

[onthetrain]

sounds like you had a great week mate. Nice one. I did the trip on the Salutay a couple of years ago but unfortunately we had f8 - 9 most of the week and spent our time in Belfast Lough!!

being a native of NI I keep meaning to go back to do some of these but to be honest they are not the sort of dives I want to do off a RHIB.

Maybe I'll get over on the watcher sometime.

Thanks for taking the trouble to tell us about your trip.

Alan

[Marco Lattughi]

Getting on and off the rib is actually easier than getting on and off the Watcher. The rib has two permanent ladders at the back and you only climb half a metre after taking off your sidemounts, compared to a 2m+ climb with full gear back onto the Watcher in full atlantic swell!!

I thought the same as you before trying it.

[onthetrain]

oh, ok. Might be worth taking the unit next time I visit me Dad then