wreck

Log This Dive

CLAN MACLEAN

There's something about diving the Clan Maclean that just gets under your skin. We love a historical wreck, and this one, sunk in 1903, feels like a proper journey back in time. Dropping onto her decks at 55 metres, you really feel the scale of this 99-metre steamship. It’s dark down there, even on a sunny day, and the old iron hull looms out of the blue, encrusted with a thick layer of growth. The wreck itself is largely intact, though time and currents have taken their toll. We often find ourselves drifting over the massive boilers, feeling the cold water swirl around us. Look for the propeller, usually surrounded by schools of small fish darting in and out of the blades. Our favourite spot is usually around the bow, where the anchor chains spill out onto the seabed, attracting conger eels that peer out from every nook. It’s a deep dive, definitely one for experienced technical divers comfortable with decompression, but the reward is a truly evocative wreck dive that sticks with you long after you’re back on the surface. We'd suggest going early in the season, late spring, before the summer heat really kicks in, when the visibility tends to be at its best.