wreck

Log This Dive

MONTREAL

The MONTREAL is a big old girl, isn't she? We’ve always had a soft spot for these hulking steamships, and this one, sitting off the Northumberland coast, is a proper dive. Dropping down, you hit the bow first, often a bit dark and silty, but then the sheer scale of the wreck starts to hit you. She’s over 140 metres long, snapped in two, so you can spend a good hour just exploring the different sections. Our favourite part is the engine room, or what’s left of it. You can push into some of the cargo holds, too, if you’re comfortable with overhead environments and good on air. What really makes the MONTREAL stand out for us, though, is the life she supports. Ling, big old cod, and sometimes conger eels coil up in the darker sections. We’ve seen shoals of coalfish so thick they just turn the water silver around the superstructure. Visibility here can be a bit of a lottery, sometimes a solid 10 metres, sometimes less, but even in murkier conditions, the sheer size of the wreck gives it an atmospheric, almost ghostly feel. It's a dive that rewards repeat visits, always something new to spot as the light changes or the currents shift the sand. This is one for experienced wreck divers who appreciate history and don't mind a bit of a technical challenge.