wreck

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NUESTRA SENORA DE GARDOTZA

The Nuestra Senora de Gardotza, a Spanish trawler, met its end on the rocks here during a gale back in 1990. It’s a shallow dive, just 8m at its deepest, which makes it incredibly accessible and a really forgiving introduction to wreck diving. The whole thing is surprisingly intact for how it went down, with the stern section still clearly identifiable and a good chunk of the hull remaining. We love how the strong Irish currents have scoured the metal clean over the years, leaving it a perfect substrate for soft corals and anemones. You’ll find plenty of crabs tucked into the nooks and crannies, and often a grumpy conger eel peering out from under a plate. It’s not a massive wreck, 34m long, but there’s enough structure to explore for a solid 40 minutes, weaving in and out of the ribs and cargo holds. Visibility can be a bit variable here, so we always check the forecast for a few days of settled weather beforehand – that’s when it truly shines. Our favourite part? Seeing the light filter down through the kelp, illuminating patches of the wreck and the flashes of silver from coalfish darting past. It's a proper atmospheric dive, great for anyone who enjoys history and doesn’t mind a bit of chill.