wreck

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HMS TOWHEE

The HMS Towhee is a deep one, sitting upright at 56m off the Cornish coast. We’ve always had a soft spot for these WWI trawlers. They’re often small enough to get a real sense of the whole ship on a single dive, even at depth, but big enough to still have plenty of nooks and crannies to peer into. The Towhee went down in 1917, likely mined, and the upright structure means she’s still very much a ship. What we really love here is the atmosphere. Dropping onto that deck in the gloom, you feel the history. Visibility can be patchy, as it often is in the Channel, but on a good day, you can pick out the mast structure, the winch gear, and the stern. Look for conger eels in the deeper sections of the hull and the ubiquitous squat lobsters tucked into every crevice. We’ve seen dogfish resting on the deck, too. It’s a site for experienced technical divers, obviously, given the depth, but for those with the training, it’s a genuinely rewarding dive into a piece of wartime history, now home to a thriving cold-water community. We’d suggest diving this on a slack tide, which is crucial for safety and enjoyment at this depth.