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MARIA LAMB

The *Maria Lamb* is one of our favourite North East wrecks, especially when the conditions are playing ball. She was a composite schooner, built in 1868, that came to grief on Taylor’s Bank in 1894. At just 11 metres deep, she’s a perfect chill-out dive, but don’t mistake shallow for boring. We love finning around her bones, particularly the stern where the rudder post and propeller shaft tunnel are still very clear. You can often see conger eels tucked into the darker nooks. Her wooden hull has mostly rotted away, but the iron frames and plating are still very much intact, giving her a skeletal, almost ghostly feel. When the visibility is good, maybe 5-6 metres, the light filters down, illuminating the anemones and dead man’s fingers that cling to the structure. We’ve had some fantastic encounters here with curious wrasse and blennies darting in and out of the ribs. The *Maria Lamb* is best dived at slack water, and a neap tide will give you the calmest conditions, letting you really take your time exploring. This site is great for newer wreck divers or photographers wanting a relaxed dive with interesting structure and resident marine life.