10/05/2026
Friday 8 May Street Sub Aqua Club departed Street for our first weekend diving trip away of the year, Plymouth, Devon.
The boat and 4 divers headed down Friday afternoon/evening and launched from Mountbatten slip. The Mountbatten centre and pontoon are currently closed for refurbishment. All dive kit and people loaded we headed around Penlee Point to dive the Coronation wreck.
The Coronation, a 90-gun second rate ship-of-the-line was launched in 1685 by Isaac Betts at Portsmouth dockyard as one of the 1677 30-ship programme. According to documentary sources, she measured 161 feet long by 45 feet, weighed 1427 tons and had a crew of 660. The Coronation took part in the British defeat at the ‘Battle of Beachy Head’ on 30th June 1690, where she carried the flag of Vice Admiral Sir Ralph Delaval, commander of Blue Squadron. On the 3rd September 1691 after patrolling for the French fleet, the English Fleet under Russell made for Plymouth. The Coronation foundered in a strong gale from the South East whilst trying to round Penlee Point with a loss of all but 17-23 of her crew including the Captain, Charles Skelton.
Diving the site without a licence is against the law. The site is fully protected and there is strict "no taking" policy including marine life. For more information on the site and obtaining a licence to dive go to www.coronationwreck.org
During the dive, in addition to the large cannons, a large Octopus was seen and a large family of Craw fish. Visibility was 6-8M
Saturday morning, joined by 2 more club members, we headed to Whitsand bay to dive the wreck of the SS James Eagan Layne and shelter from the North Easterly winds that were prevailing.
The 129m ling James Egan Layne was an American Liberty ship built in December 1944 and named after the second engineer of the Esso baton Rouge who was killed when his ship was struck by the U-123 in 1942. Hundreds of these ships were built in the early 1940’s. In March 1945 the James Eagan Layne crossed the Atlantic towards the Solent with a cargo of munitions. As she passed near to Plymouth she was torpedoed by a German U boat (U-1195) between holds 4 and 5 on the starboard side, her steering gear failed and she began to flood. She was taken in tow to shallower water in Whitsand Bay where she gently sank upright on a sandy bottom. There were no casualties and much of her cargo was salvaged.
She lies upright on the sea bed with bow towards the shore. As a wreck she is ideal for novices and experienced divers alike. The stern section of the wreck is separate from the main hull and lies to the south. Although the wreck is deteriorating she is an excellent dive.
Visibility around 6-8m, maybe more in some of the holds.
A lunch/surface interval was taken in a lovely cove in shelter from the wind
A long, slow, lumpy ride back around Penlee Point and across the sound for a dive in Cannonball alley
Several rocky ravines with sandy gullies spread out in a south westerly direction from the shoreline or ‘Westlake Bay’. The ravines and gullies are up to 3m in height and are home to vast amounts of aquatic life. In the winter months, the area is fairly clear of dense kelp parks and makes the spotting of the many cannonballs easier. Many are heavily encrusted and are covered in concretions which have anchored them to the rocks. Unfortunately, no cannonballs were found.
Visibility was 8+ m (if you weren't in the Kelp).
Sundays diving was unfortunately curtailed due to increasing winds and although we could have found somewhere to dive, launching and recovering of the club boat was going to be very difficult and it wasn't worth damaging the boat or people.
A good number of club dives completed and a great weekend of British divi
