To get the orientation of the wreck sorted out, a quick circuit of the boilers will reveal the fire holes at the front and a smaller donkey boiler forward and to the port side of the wreck .
Continuing forward the area of debris from the holds is fairly flat and bare . Fortunately the wreck has not twisted significantly so the exposed metal ribs can be used as a navigation aid. There are still traces of the Volnay's cargo of munitions scattered about the hold areas, rusting steel warheads, balls of lead shot and sticks of cordite looking like wholemeal spaghetti.
Heading towards the starboard side and following the wreckage forward, the halfway point to the bow is marked by a mast foot just off the side of the main area of wreckage .
The bow of the wreck has collapsed to port, the first sign of this is a broken section of hull slightly to starboard of the main part of the wreckage . From here a 1 metre rocky ledge can be seen off to the west of the wreck.
There is a substantial section of bow lying on its side . It would be easy to just swim past it as blank metal plate, but there is actually a way in to the rear of it with a swim through to the top of the bow . I wouldn't recommend this to anyone without plenty of experience inside wrecks. It is tight and there are lots of metal projections to get caught on.
Having said that, anyone can poke their head inside and watch the swirling mass of bib and poor cod that inhabit the sheltered area.
Above the bow, to the port side of the wreck, debris from the deck includes a pair of mooring bollards and a small crane that would have been used to service the anchors.
The anchor winch itself lies upside down and a little further to port . This is the shallowest area of the wreck and is a metre or two shallower than the seabed at the boilers.
Now heading back towards the boilers, just behind the anchor winch is a sizeable section of railing lying flat against the seabed . Just behind this is a drum with cable wound round it.
If you imagine the hull of the ship as a rectangular trough shape, with the sides collapsed outwards, the easiest line to follow is the break where the port side has collapsed away from the keel. Approximately halfway back to the boilers there is a winch lying almost on this line , just about opposite to the mast foot mentioned earlier.
Further back a solitary girder stands upright about 2 metres above the general level of the wreck. Continuing along this line the donkey boiler will soon become visible on your left.
For many divers just half of the wreck will be almost enough for one dive, so using up spare time by ferreting around the boilers before ascending the shot is probably the beat way to finish. However, for a longer dive or a second dive staying to the port side of the wreck is a convenient way to navigate towards the stern.
Behind the boilers there is little sign of the engine, it must have been salvaged or substantially dispersed.
The aft part of the wreck appears to have twisted to starboard slightly round about half way back . Here the way the wreck has collapsed changes from hull plates fallen outwards with ribs exposed to fallen inwards with flat steel upwards. Again little clusters of lead shot and tufts of cordite mark the area of the holds.
Navigation can be particularly difficult on the aft part of the wreck. Winter storms often drift sand and silt across the wreck, covering familiar landmarks and uncovering new bits of wreckage.
There is a peculiar twisted girder with a cleated edge leading back in towards the main body of the wreck .
With nothing but flat plates ahead navigation to the stern from here is pretty much a matter of judging the right direction and being able to swim straight. The edges and seams between plates provide some reference, and there is wreckage all the way.
As you near the stern a large iron cleat or fairlead lies diagonally across the wreck , followed by a pair of bollards slightly to the port side .
Just behind the bollards lies the base of the base of the rudder shaft . This slopes upward and towards the port side of the wreck, confirming that the stern had fallen to starboard before breaking up completely. The top of the shaft is a few metres above the seabed and even in the negligible current there is a cluster of plumose anemones growing on it.
The Volnay was my first wreck dive and I am sure many other divers will look back on it with equal fondness.