wreck

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Wreck of Vestal

The Vestal sits upright on the seabed, remarkably intact for a century-old wreck off the Scottish coast. We love that you can still make out her original lines, the bow and stern clearly defined, even the capstan sometimes visible through the gloom. Dropping down, you feel the chill of the North Sea, but then the structure starts to resolve, dark and solid. Sunlight, when it breaks through, throws shafts of light onto her hull, illuminating the thick carpets of plumose anemones and dead man’s fingers that have claimed every surface. Ling and pollock patrol the deeper sections, disappearing into shadowed holds, while wrasse dart in and out of the plating. This isn't a dive for coral fanatics, but if you appreciate history and the way the ocean reclaims its own, the Vestal is a beauty. We’d suggest catching it on a slack tide, otherwise, that current can really rip.