wreck

Log This Dive

LEACHS ROMANCE

Leach's Romance isn't for the faint-hearted, dropping down to 48m, but for those who make the dive, it’s a sombre and atmospheric experience. This fishing vessel, sunk by a mine in 1940, lies broken but still recognisable on the seabed. We love the way the wreck has settled, almost merging with the silt, creating this ethereal, silhouetted form against the often-murky green. We've seen conger eels that are practically small anacondas peeking from collapsed sections, and plump lobsters scuttling across the deck plates. The visibility here can be a real game of chance; sometimes it's like pea soup, other times you get a decent 10-15 metres, enough to really appreciate the scale. Our tip: go on a slack tide, obviously, but also look for a day with minimal surface chop – it seems to help settle the particulate. It’s a dive for technical divers, certainly, with a deep air or trimix setup, and definitely one that leaves you thinking about the four lives lost that day.