wreck

Log This Dive

BADEN (POSSIBLY)

The Baden, possibly, is one of those frustratingly brilliant sites that only the UK can deliver. At just 10 metres deep, it’s accessible to most divers, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it's an easy dive. We love the mystery surrounding this wreck; the local consensus is it’s the Baden, a WWI German freighter torpedoed in 1917, but it’s never been definitively proven. That just adds to the adventure. What you find is a surprisingly intact wreck, spread across a relatively flat seabed. The bow and stern sections are still distinct, though the midships have collapsed. We’ve spent hours poking around the engine room, which is still quite recognisable, and the propeller shaft tunnel. Light filters through gaps, illuminating schools of pollack darting amongst the twisted metal. Conger eels are a regular sight, often peeking out from beneath plates of steel, and the anemones that have colonised every surface add splashes of colour to the monochrome wreckage. Our favourite time to dive it is on a slack tide, when the visibility is at its best, often reaching 10-15 metres – decent for these parts. It’s a proper wreck dive, full of history and atmosphere, and a great site for divers who appreciate a bit of detective work with their diving.