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ETOILE DU MARIN

The Etoile du Marin is a favourite of ours, and it’s always a good choice if you're looking for a solid wreck dive without the bone-chilling depths of some of the deeper Cornish sites. This French fishing trawler, a compact 12.2m, went down in '92, and she's settled upright on the seabed at 52m. We always find her character appealing; she’s not a massive wreck, but the wheelhouse is still largely intact, which offers a great swim-through if you’re comfortable with a bit of overhead. What makes her special for us is how quickly marine life has adopted her. We’ve seen conger eels curled up in the nooks and crannies, their heads poking out from rusting plates, and often, you’ll find a decent school of pollack hovering over the bow. The sheer quantity of jewel anemones that have colonised the hull is really striking – a riot of orange and pink against the muted greens of the seabed. We'd suggest hitting this one on a slack tide, as the current can pick up, making the decent a bit of a workout otherwise. It’s a great dive for experienced wreck enthusiasts who appreciate a smaller, more intimate exploration rather than a sprawling metal mountain.