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MABEL BAIRD

The Mabel Baird is a proper deep dive, sitting upright at 51 metres, and she’s our pick for a challenging but rewarding wreck in Cornwall. Dropping down, the sheer scale of her hits you; 88 metres of history, surprisingly intact for a ship sunk by a U-boat torpedo in 1917. We love exploring the bow, which points north, where the anchor chains spill out into the sand. You'll often find conger eels peering from every dark hole and massive pollack circling above. Penetration is possible into the engine room, though it’s a tight squeeze and only for experienced wreck divers. You can really get a sense of her working life down there. The stern is also fantastic, with the propeller still in place, encrusted with dead man's fingers and anemones. Visibility can be a bit of a lottery, as is often the case in these waters, but when it’s good, the light plays beautifully through the superstructure. Best dived on a slack tide, obviously. You want to maximise your time at depth here; there's a lot to take in.