Spearfishing wrecks UK

[Massin]

Hey guys,

In advance of the coming season I've been biding my time researching some spots to hit up.
Wrecks have always interested me but I figured most would be out of reach for me to comfortably spear from, until I came across the 'Louis Shield' and the 'Hergozin Cecillie' otherwise known as the Duchess.
Both lie at a max depth of 10M which is perfect and look to be easy to swim out to. They are both located in south Devon.
My main reason for posting was to ask if anyone has dived either of these sites and if you have any advice/warnings or any information I may find useful/interesting?
Otherwise I'd be interested to hear anyone's stories about wreck spearfishing, directly relevant to the above mentioned or not, it just seems a really cool landscape to hunt in.
I don't fancy getting sucked into a hole by a current or something, that being my main fear lol.
Thanks in advance,

Massin

 

[Jonny250]

Look up wrecksite eu for loads of detailed info on wrecks. I think you need to subscribe tho. Imo worth it just for one year. Also yeti on here has dived some deep wrecks... Good luck with it

 

[Dai ASBO]

Hi Massin,

I can't offer general wreck spearfishing advice but I have been out spearfishing at and around the Louis Sheid several times last year, which I have always enjoyed. It appears to me to be as safe as I imagine a wreck to be - and perhaps more of a case that the diver is potentially more of a danger to themselves if not done safely!!
The few bits of advice I can offer are...
Great location, short swim from beach with car park, toilets and cafe (which I'm going to have dinner in 4 hours!!). Wreck is easy to find and good spearfishing spots around.
Search You Tube for vids other divers have posted of the wreck - you can see whats down there.
Watch out for scuba divers as is popular spot - make sure you use an SMB or equivalent to mark your presence. Personally Ive always gone elsewhere when i've seen other divers there, I don't take risks!!!
Seen lots of fish there but not a catchable one yet - but I'm better this season
I'd be happy to meet up there if you need a buddy.

Hope this helps.

 

[Massin]

@Jonny250
I'll definitely check out that site mate, I've been looking for some more comprehensive info- I've just been trawling through the various scuba sites so far looking for anything relevant to my limited depth and down-time, so this should make it easier, thanks

@DaiASBO
The Louis Shields sounds perfect for a first wreck dive then. I had thought that bubblers could be an issue in and around wreck sites so I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled. Dont want to accidentally skewer a diver in bad vis or anything!
Just in the process of altering my SMB set up, so should have that ready by the time it's warm enough for me to brave the sea in my holey socks!
Do you dive around thurlestone area much then? I do have a buddy but I would be more than happy to have you along with us, neither of us are complete novices but were far from pros!
Thanks a lot for the advice anyways,
enjoy your dinner at the cafe!

 

[scallywag]

Have a look at these guys: Chasse sous marine, on you tube.
Some amazing catches from the wrecks around the north coast of France.

 

[jks]

Put your head phones on [ame=http://youtu.be/8aUaGuJ-Cls]Les épaves de Normandie - YouTube[/ame] and turn it up!

 

[Massin]

Great videos, don't think I'll be hitting wrecks at that depth any time soon though! Hopefully one day I'll have the balls/lungs for it!

 

[Dai ASBO]

@DaiASBO
The Louis Shields sounds perfect for a first wreck dive then. I had thought that bubblers could be an issue in and around wreck sites so I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled. Dont want to accidentally skewer a diver in bad vis or anything!
Just in the process of altering my SMB set up, so should have that ready by the time it's warm enough for me to brave the sea in my holey socks!
Do you dive around thurlestone area much then? I do have a buddy but I would be more than happy to have you along with us, neither of us are complete novices but were far from pros!
Thanks a lot for the advice anyways,
enjoy your dinner at the cafe![/QUOTE]

Bloody cafe was closing as we arrived!! They don't have the most accurrate info on their website
Have done a fair bit around Thurlestone, mostly because it gave pretty reliable vis, having said that made the.mistake of getting in last week and was atrocious.
let me know if you go.

 

[Coastie]

I've bought an app on my phone called wreck finder gives the position depth, date sank, build (timber or Steel) and a history of when and how it was sunk it covers the entire UK coast and gives any sounding details done by the hydrographic office on some wrecks. Louis Sheid you mentioned was a steam ship which ran aground on passage from Buenos Aires to Antwerp on 08/12/1939 while trying to evade German submarine U47 lies about 150 m offshore in an orientation of 90 degrees with a maximum depth of 2m. Quite handy.

Nick

 

[Yeti]

Busy wreck!

 

[Massin]

@DaiASBO

Shame about the cafe the other night, must have been annoying!
I'll def let ya know when I head over that way, my new gloves socks and float line should arrive by the end of the week so I'll be eager to put them to use soon after.

@Coastie,

Sounds like a useful app, can you search wreck by location or depth? I've been checking the site Jonny recomended which has loads of info too but I couldn't seem to find a way to do that, prob me just being blind- need to have a look on my desktop instead of my iPhone and it might be easier...

 

[Jonny250]

massin, to search wrecksite by location you click on the relevant chart for your area. you have to pay for the chart tho. i paid for one year, downloaded all the wreck info and copied onto my garmin mapsource chart program, job done.

 

[Coastie]

Massin.
I just did a general scroll along the coastline and reef area.s The app list quite a few marks as just unknown but then follows on to give a description like iron work or wooden hull etc. you can search by the name of the wreck or look direct onto the chart.

 

[Mr. X]

A cave-gun (e.g. short speargun with trident-spear) might be useful if there are a lot snag hazards and/or "tight" conditions.

 

[Massin]

@Jonny250

It was a damn site easier to see what I was doing on my computer rather than phone, unsurprisingly.
Mind blowing to see just how many wrecks we actually have around our coast,I knew it was a lot but I wasn't quite expecting that!
I don't have anything to upload the maps onto so £30 seems a little steep for me- theres still a good amount of content there for free though, very interesting to look through.

@Coastie

Your app sounds appealing, it would be really cool to be able to choose a max depth to search or something, as i think my safe limits would greatly limit the amount of wrecks I could dive.
Might just have to buy it anyway and see what I can find if I can't get what I need free from Jonnys suggestion

Cheers guys

 

[Massin]

@Mr.X

As much as I'd love to add to my arsenal, I don't think I can justify buying another gun just yet, still haven't christened my current one!
I'm a bit scared of getting stuck in a hole on a wreck, so I was planning to try aspetto from a ledge over an opening to maybe snipe at cruising fish, and go for checking the tighter spots when I'm a little more comfortable down there and sure there are no scary currents!
I'm currently building a workshop at home which should be done by the weekend so a gun building project will be on the cards soon after.
I was planning on going longer than my 75 for a teak gun but maybe the wrecks will call for something smaller!
Thanks for the input, definitely food for thought

 

[manalive!]

Mr X,

I can see the obvious benefit of using a shorter gun, but what's the advantage of using a trident spearhead?

 

[Mr. X]

Massin, a 75cm gun is probably good choice for this (and most other spearing around the UK too). If you are making a wooden gun and already have a 75cm gun you might consider something significantly larger - maybe 100-120cm for those odd special clear vision days/locations. Although Portinfer made an 80cm gun for Guernsey - and that seems like the kind of size you could use as your main gun forever. I use my 75 with a regular spear all the time now; my current view - which evolves over time - is that 90cm guns are just over-large, cumbersome 75cm guns - your mileage may vary though.

manalive!, I believe there are several advantages to using a trident in confined space. For example: lower range, lower penetration, better holding - some say they also tend to paralyze the fish, which could obviously reduce some of the tangle hazards that you might encounter on a wreck. More gear

BTW If you are diving on a wreck, you probably wouldn't want a float line attached to your gun, or yourself. Presumably you'd use a boat or float with a diver-down flag and anchor that somehow while you dive below.

 

[Massin]

@Mr.X
I was thinking to be optimistic about vis this year and build myself a 105-110 and hope I have an opportunity to use it lol.
And I had thought the same about having a line near me around snags so that's where the drop weight will come in.
Good suggestion on the other thread about using a big fishing weight- I'm sure I've got a rather large one lying around, I've been using a big square scuba weight which is definitely over kill for my lil float!

 

[SurfnSpear]

Hi Massin, I would humbly suggest you might be better rewarded putting in the hard research on the good reef/shoreline spots. Building up a solid foundation of experience over years is all part of the fun and obviously there are no shortcuts. The wrecks can be interesting but I'm not sure they are particularly worth the focus. I have dived wrecks in the past including a couple of the Devon wrecks from boat and I'd say I take more from other spot experience.
There are the obvious risks of wreck spearing/checking under the plates, but I would have to say bubblers might just take the fun right out of a whole session for you and care not for democracy, or first come first serve under the ocean!
Anchor rope cutting is much fun for them on their mass arrival at 8am!
Have a good one.