wreck

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Wreck of Ben Tarbert

Forget the big German battleships for a moment. If you want a taste of a true Scapa Flow wreck, one that feels completely absorbed by the sea, the Ben Tarbert is our pick. It’s a trawler, sank in 1939, and lies in about 15 to 20 metres, so it’s a friendly depth for extended bottom times. What we love here is the sheer density of colour that’s taken over the steel. You drop onto the deck, and it’s a living canvas of plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, and soft corals. We’ve spent whole dives just slowly finning over the wheelhouse, peeking into cargo holds, spotting squat lobsters tucked into every crevice. You’ll see ling and conger eels often lurking in the darker spaces. It’s a wreck that invites close inspection, a slow drift over a truly colonised structure. This is for divers who appreciate the quiet beauty of a wreck reclaimed, rather than those hunting for grand scale. We'd suggest aiming for a slack tide window; the currents here can pick up, making it a less enjoyable drift over the delicate growth.