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Anglesey
diving figures among the best in the United Kingdom.
Anglesey is famous for its shipwrecks with lots
of different vessels having fallen victim of its waters.
Around the wrecks there are huge amounts of fish
and marine life. There are also lots of dive sites to do fantastic
scenic pinnacle and drift dives.
Day trips are available to the Llyn Peninsula,
around Anglesey and Bardsey Island.
Average air temperature during the year: 7°C
- 16°C (45 to 61°F).
Average Water surface temperature: 8-16 ° C (46-61°F)
Visibility: 5-20 metres (15-65 feet)
Coldest time: February to March Warmest
time: Autumn Possible to dive : Through the year except
when the NW, N, NE, E winds render the north coast of Anglesey
and Holy Island undiveable. SE, S, SW winds render Rhosneigr,
Rhoscolyn, Trearddur Bay areas undiveable. NW, W winds make a
problem for the whole of Anglesey except for possibly Moelfre
to Traeth Bychan.
Most Anglesey dive sites are very tidal, requiring
care when planning to dive. The shapes of the reefs are complex
and thus create many tidal dangers like rough waters and back-eddies.
For some sites it's pretty difficult to predict the slack water
contents in advance.
The dramatic coastline is unique. Underwater
there are drop offs, reefs and pinnacles. Anglesey is popular
for it's wreck dives and most sites are at a depth of up to 20
metres (65 feet) and easily accessible by boat departing from
Trearddur Bay, Holyhead and other launch sites. The many coves
around Holy Island are protected from the fierce currents offshore
making them ideal for shore dives.
Some dive sites in Anglesey are:
Holyhead marina is a good dive site in bad weather.
There is a huge wall protecting it from most conditions, but there
may still be a swell inside. On the seeward side, Soldiers Point
there are remains of wreckage littered and diving should be done
at high water only. Trearddur Bay, is a popular diving spot but
also very popular with boats as well, so watch out for the traffic.
For a good night dive Treardur Bay main beach is
recommended. There are a lot of jet skis and boats during the
day making it difficult and inconvenient for shore dives. Trearddur
Bay to Porthdafarch has a lot of secure bays with varied marine
life. Porthdafarch has depths going to 9 metres (29 feet) at high
water. This is a popular spot in summer and there's a good car
park. The Bad weather in the Porth Castell, Trearddur Bay are
was responsible for a lot of ship wrecking.
Most of the wrecks are accesible from the shore
but divers going out by boat will dive more challenging wrecks
further away from the shore.
They can reach spots like the Skerries which is home to
the renowned Skerries Lighthouse The narrow Menai Straits,
seperate Anglesey from the mainland and is a national underwater
park with greatmarine life. Beware, the tidal currents are quite
strong here.
On the Anglesey North Coast there's Porth Eilian
a north facing bay inside Point Lynas which is very beautiful.
It's a good shore dive but also very popular with jet ski users.
The underwtare life here is varied and includes lobsters,
anemones, octopus, nudibranches and multi colored sea weed.
The area from Beaumaris to Red Wharf Bay on the
eastern side of Wales has several wrecks which
can sometimes be difficult to locate. These range from small trawlers
to coasters.
Puffin Island's is famous for it's friendly seals
that seem to enjoy hanging around divers. Reef dives can be done
on the cliffs around here which go to a depth of approximately
35 metres (115 feet) The Skerries are found off Holyhead and is
just before Ireland and is great for wreck and cliff diving. This
is composed of a group of rocks jutting sharply out of deep water
a few miles offshore.
However, this is a dive for experienced divers as the currents
can be quite strong and conditions are bound to change dramatically.
The depths go down to 40 metres (131 feet). The Stacks, (North
Stack and South Stack) have very good diving and can be reached
departing from Holyhead.
Special attention must be paid to the strong currents.
The B17 bomber wreck is found right below North
Stack. This area has many gullies and bays waiting to be explored.
The Anglesey coast has more than 400 shipwrecks.
Divers must beware of the strong tides around Anglesey and most
wrecks should be dived at slack water only.
The wreck of the Missourri is a very popular
wreck and is found in the bay around Porth Dafarch, Trearddur
Bay in 15 metres depth(49 feet). The wreck stands up off the sea
bed in several pieces.
The current isn't strong and the visibility may change depending
on the weather and the quantity of silt in the water.
The Royal Charter is a steel hulled steam clipper
which sunk in a storm in 1859 near Moelfre on the east coast of
Anglesey. She was sailing from Australia to Liverpool with a big
cargo of gold. More than 450 people lost their lives in this incident.
The wreck lies in shallow waters of about 4-6
metres (12 feet-20 feet) and can be dived as a shore dive or from
a kayak.
The SS Havso wreck is a steamer lying at a depth
of about 15-18 metres (49-59 feet) out of Trearddur Bay. On July
21st, 1937
Maen Piscar (a rock pinnacle) completely destroyed
the SS Havso causing the ship to sink within minutes. A good part
of the wreckage lies 50 metres!!! nw of Maen Piscar. It's broken
up and dispersed over a large area although the boliers can be
easily recognised.
The Havso is home to a lot of fish and shellfish.
This dive site has very strong currents and is exposed
to winds from all directions. The Derbent is a large wreck off
the Anglesey coast. She sank on the 30th November 1917
with a cargo of fuel oil. No lives were lost in this incident,
it took some days for the vessel to sink and all the crew had
time to leave the boat. Low water diving can be a bit of a challenge
because the the superstructure is on the land side of the ship.
The steamship Cork which was used for transporting
passengers and livestock between Ireland and Britain when down
on January 25th 1918 under torpedo fire towards the end of world
war 1. Some of her crew and passengers perished.
The huge anchors are still in place in their
hawsers and the main deck level has fallen and exposed the lower
level. Beware, special attention has to be paid as the wreck is
covered in monofilament netting. As already mentionned the Anglesey
area has hundreds of wrecks.
Some names of the frequently dived wrecks are
SS Dakota sunk 1877, PS Pansy 1915, BQ P.Harnitz 1894, MV Deo
Gratis 1938 and SS Abbotsford 1875. Others are SS Fawn 1886, SS
L.Athlunmey 1887, SS Edith Owen 1879, SC Trafalgar and SS Delfina
1928 just to name a few.
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