wreck

Log This Dive

AFFLECK

The *Affleck* isn’t about depth, it’s about history you can touch, right there in the shallows of The Manacles. This brigantine went down in 1838, and while you won't find a grand, intact hull, what you do get is a scatter of timbers and hull plating spread across the seabed. We love it because it's a genuine treasure hunt; you’re piecing together a story with every glimpse of a fastened beam or rusted plate. Visibility can be a real mixed bag here, but when it’s good, the light plays beautifully through the water, illuminating the kelp-covered debris. We’ve spent hours here, tracing the line of what might have been a keel, imagining the chaos of that September night. Conger eels sometimes peek out from under the larger plates, and the cracks in the old timbers are often packed with velvet swimming crabs. Our favourite moments are finding the old iron fastenings, solid and unyielding, still doing their job after almost two centuries underwater. It’s a site for those who appreciate maritime archaeology and don’t need dramatic drop-offs to feel connected to the past.