wreck

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COMMANDANT BARATIER

The Commandant Baratier isn't your usual Cornish wreck. At 50 metres, it’s a deep dive and often involves currents, so you’ll want to be comfortable with advanced nitrox or even trimix. We've spent many hours finning around her, and what we love most is the sense of history that clings to every rivet. She was a French sailing vessel, captured and sunk by a German U-boat in 1918. You can almost feel the chill of that February day as you descend into the gloom. The wreck itself is surprisingly intact for its age and depth. We usually find ourselves exploring the stern, where the rudder is often visible, or tracing the lines of her hull, which has become a living reef. Expect to see conger eels peering from dark corners, their thick bodies filling the gaps in the collapsed decking. Our favourite spot is usually around the bow, where schools of pollock often swirl, darting in and out of the ghostly mast stumps. It's a deep, atmospheric dive that really rewards careful exploration and a good torch to pick out the details. For serious wreck enthusiasts, it’s a compelling piece of maritime history.