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Local Dive Sites
 The
following text extracts detailing local wreck dive sites are taken
from the book "The Wrecks of Liverpool Bay" by Chris Michael and are
reproduced here with his kind permission.
Chris is also author of
"LELIA", a book published by Countyvise (in association with
Liverpool Marine Press), about the history, tragic maiden voyage,
and subsequent discovery (by him) of this wreck. Details of
obtaining both books can be found at
www.liv.ac.uk/~cmi/dive.html
Ocean
Monarch
American passenger liner (sail) 1301 tons gross, 179 ft long/ 40 ft
beam, 27 ft draught. Built: Donald McKay, USA, 1843. Owners: E. Train &
Co. (White Diamond Line), registered at Boston.
Date of
wreck: 24 Aug 1848
Location: 53° 25.40' N 3° 35.37' W (Decca)
Depth
at low water: 17m seabed, no scour, 15m to top of wreck.
The
wreck site is assumed to be the Ocean Monarch. She is marked as
'position approximate' on the chart with the position given above.
Her true position is closer to 53° 25.35' N 3° 35.58' W. The wreck
was originally found from information obtained by a trawler that
caught her nets on an underwater obstruction. The wreck is
apparently on an even keel but only a metre or two above the level
of the surrounding seabed. She lies north - south and appears to be
of wood with iron cylinders scattered around. There is some coarse
fishing net caught on one side. The wreck was salvaged a few years
ago without any treasure being recovered. The main feature of note
is the amount of pottery to be found. Indeed this site is known
locally as the 'plate wreck'. This wreck is a 'Conger City'. Every
crack seems to have its resident mean grin. A dozen
congers have been seen during one dive.
City of
Brussels
Passenger liner (steam) 3775 tons gross, 390 ft long, 40 ft beam, 34
ft draught. Built: Tod & McGregor, Glasgow 1869. Engines: Steam
Compound with 4 cylinders giving 500 hp, built by Laird Bros.,
Birkenhead, one screw. Owners: Inman Line, registered Liverpool.
Date of
wreck: 7 Jan 1883
Location: 53° 33.48' N 3° 32.18' W (Decca)
Depth
at low water: 24m seabed, 25m scour, 17m to top of wreck.
The
City of Brussels is the most dived wreck in Liverpool Bay. She is
reasonably intact around the counter stern which is the highest part
of the wreck and lies to the east. Nearby lie engine components and
further west are the scattered bow sections. As a passenger ship,
she had opulent fittings and there is always hope of finding a nice
souvenir among the wreckage. The visibility is usually relatively
good and there is plenty of marine life - including large pollack
and ling.
Dublin
Irish steamship 599 tons gross/176 ft long, 28 ft beam, 14 ft
draught Emit: Walpole and Webb, Dublin 1866. Engines: Compound steam
engines, 90 hp, installed 1882 by V. Coates & Co. (Lim) Belfast.
Owners: R. Tedcastle, registered Dublin.
Date of
wreck: 26 October 1888
Location: 53° 29.60' N 3° 38.00' W (Decca)
Depth
at low water: 31m seabed, 33m scour, 26m to top of wreck.
The
Dublin lies quite close to the wreck of the coaster Penstone on the
sea bed. They were both lost as a result of collision. The
Hydrographic Office thought at one time that this site might be the
wreck of the Albanian, a Bibby cargo steamer that sank in 1877. The
Albanian is now known to lie further west. The Dublin is a much
older and larger vessel than the Penstone and it is a very rewarding
dive site. The wreck is upright and fairly intact, except for the
bow section. The counter stem has rudder and single propeller. The
bow lies south east and the stern north west.
Munster
Passenger motor ship 4302 tons gross, 353 ft long, 50 ft beam, 14 ft
draught. Built: 1938 Harland and Wolff, Belfast. Engines: 20
cylinder oil engines, 1347 hp, 2 screws. Owners: Coast Lines,
registered Dublin.
Date of
wreck: 7 Feb 1940
Location: 53° 35.96' N 3° 26.75' W (Decca)
Depth
at low water: 23m seabed, 24m scour, 18m to top of wreck.
This
wreck site is an excellent dive with more of a scrap yard than an
identifiable ship to see. There is an extensive area of tangled
wreckage, some portholes, and two small cylindrical objects some 4
metres long. There were large lobsters walking around everywhere -
and one of them was sitting in an intact loose porthole. Such is the
stuff of diver's dreams! Some large portholes have been found on
this site. This wreck always has a good variety of fish life,
particularly large pollack and ling - and it is still home to more
than its fair share of lobsters. The area and amount of wreckage is much
less than one would expect from a ship as big as the Munster.
However, the Munster is recorded as being cleared by the Admiralty
Wreck Disposal Vessel HMS Annet in 1947. Presumably most of her
wreckage lies under the sea bed in the trench created by explosive
charges in the clearance. The part of the wreck above the sand seems
to be from the forward superstructure. The force of these explosions
would explain why only tangled wreckage survives to be seen today.
Calcium
Steam coaster 613 tons gross, 180 ft long 28 ft wide 11 ft draught.
Built: G. Brown at Greenock 1918. Engines: Steam triple compound
(single boiler), 81 hp, built McKie and Baxter Glasgow. / Owners:
ICI (Alkali) Ltd., registered Liverpool.
Date of
wreck: 30 Dec 1940.
Location: 53° 25.68' N 3° 30.00' W (Decca)
Depth
at low water: 15m seabed, 16m scour, 12m to top of wreck.
The
wreck location charted was thought at one time to be the Lelia and
the general layout, size and location of the wreck fits reasonably.
She is about a mile south of the North Hoyle buoy. Her bow points
east and is upside down. There is a nice swim-through here. There is
a big boiler amidships and some stern ribs are relatively upright.
There is a gap between the bow and stem sections but only of a few
metres. She is relatively shallow so underwater visibility is good
and there is plenty of marine life. At times there are so many small
fish that the wreck is obscured. Another speciality of the wreck is
the large conger population. More detailed investigation of the
wreck shows that it is more modem. Her anchor is still attached and
looks as if it is from this century. There are signs of electric
wiring in places - not invented in Confederate times! The Lelia had
four boilers not one. A guide to identification is that the coaster
Calcium is noted as being mined at 53° 25' N 3° 45' W but as
eventually sinking at 53° 25' N 3° 30' W which is close to the
position of this wreck.
Chagres
Steamship 5406 tons gross, 400 ft long, 51 ft beam, 30 ft draught.
Built: Stephen and Sons, Glasgow 1927. Engines: Steam triple
compound of 447 nhp, built A. Stephen at Glasgow. Owners: Elders and
Fyffes, registered Glasgow.
Date of
wreck: 9 Feb 1940
Location:
53° 35' 32" N 03° 31' 40" W (GPS)
Depth
at low water: 36m seabed, 40m scour, 28m to top of wreck.
The
Chagres, despite her foreign sounding name, was a British cargo
steamship. Because she is relatively deep and further from shore
than most of the wrecks described, the under water visibility can be
very good - 20 metre visibility. She lies north west to south east.
She is reasonably upright and fairly intact with her stern south. A
mast sticks up prominently amidships - indeed some anglers reported
to me that her funnel was identified by their sonar! The engine
components are very clearly visible and some of the collapsed bridge
is evident. This wreck is excellent for marine life and it is a
popular target for wreck fishermen.
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