Wrecks on the Dogger Bank
Every now and then I hear about somewhere to go diving that is totally unexpected. We all have our prejudices and until a few years ago I wouldn't even have considered the Dogger Bank off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea as a diving destination. Then I started hearing rumours about virtually untouched wrecks, magnificent marine life and good visibility from one of my local dive clubs. I casually pencilled the Dogger Bank in at the bottom of my “to do” list. This year some spaces were available and I had the chance to join them.
Lightship LV83. The LV83 is one of the most unusual wrecks I have ever seen. An intact lightship standing upright in 33 metres, rising to 20 metres at the top of the light tower.
It is not just the light tower that makes a lightship different. Below decks electric generators fill a substantial part of the hull to provide power for the light. Apparently acetylene cylinders are located within the light tower to provide a backup light should the electrical system fail.
As usual, strong current off slack water means profuse marine life. The wreck is completely coated in anemones.
I don't know much about how the LV83 sank, save that it was involved in a collision with a trawler in August 1967. The starboard side of the hull has an obvious bow-shaped split just forward of the superstructure.
HM Whaler Kos XVI. The Kos XVI started its working life as a whaler, built for speed to chase whales. In wartime such small size, seaworthiness and speed can be put to other good uses. Come the Second World War it was converted to a minesweeping corvette.
Unlike many warship wrecks, the Kos was not sunk by a mine or other more direct kind of enemy action. It was actually the victim of a collision in August 1941.
The seabed is at 38 metres and the wreck sits almost upright rising to 34 metres. Damage from the collision is immediately apparent. The hull is intact save for the stern, which has been almost completely separated from the rest of the wreck.
Above deck only the wheelhouse has collapsed. The steel framework for the other deckhouses is intact, though walls have decayed to leave easy access through the corridors and cabins.
Virginian. The Virginian was a 211 ton steam powered trawler sunk in a collision. Other than that I can't tell you much about it, except that it was yet another beautiful dive.
There is nothing unique about it like the lightship or whaler/minesweeper. It is just a reasonably intact wreck listing slightly to port in 33 metres of water.
There were not as many anemones as on the other wrecks, but there were hordes of fish and the visibility was improving further, though for some perverse reason it was not as good photographically.
British Prince. The British Prince was a 4979-ton ship carrying a mixed cargo including copper and tin ingots and truck wheels. It was sunk by German bombs in September 1941.
Closer to the shore the water was deeper, reaching 42 metres on the seabed. It was also darker, though the visibility was still quite acceptable.
The wreck is mostly collapsed, but the bows were intact and resting on the starboard side. Intending to stay the night and make another dive in the morning, the line was tied in just behind the bows to the shallower port side of the wreck at about 35 metres.
Some of the divers moved back to the debris of cargo from the holds, but most of us headed for the bow and its impressive pair of anchors still tucked in tight to the hawse pipes.
Related pages:
- More about the Kos XVI
- The wreck of the submarine UC70 off Whitby