wreck

Log This Dive

NOREEN MARY

The *Noreen Mary* isn't one of Scapa's colossal German warships, and that's precisely why we love her. Lying at 50 metres, this trawler offers a very different, more intimate wreck diving experience. She went down in 1944, sunk by U-247, and now rests upright, her stern section largely intact, though the bow took a beating. Dropping down, the first thing you notice is the sheer scale of the fishing gear still draped across her. Trawl boards, wires, and nets lie like ghostly reminders of her working life. Our favourite part is the engine room, surprisingly open, allowing a good penetration if you're comfortable with the depth and overhead environment. We’ve found conger eels here, tucked into crevices, their heads poking out with a wary glance. The general deck area is home to plenty of squat lobsters, and the superstructure is covered in dead man's fingers, their soft white polyps swaying gently in the slight current. It's a sombre, reflective dive, feeling the history of a civilian vessel lost to war, rather than the more dramatic military might of the High Seas Fleet. We'd suggest saving this one for a calm day; the deeper sections can get quite dark, and good visibility really helps appreciate the details.