HIXIE 49 - Scottish West Coast
HIXIE 49. The name sounds like a coded message, and diving this wreck often feels like uncovering a secret. We love this site not just for the wreck itself, but for the journey to get there, usually a choppy, invigorating boat ride out from Oban or Mull. This isn’t a warm water drift, it's proper Scottish diving, cold and atmospheric. Dropping down, the visibility on a good day gives you plenty of time for the shape of the coaster to emerge from the green gloom. She sits upright, pretty intact, and while she's not dangerous, we’d suggest good buoyancy for exploring the cargo holds. Sunlight filters through the kelp forest that dances on her upper decks, and that’s where you’ll find the real action. Fat plumose anemones, like alien flowers, cover almost every surface, along with nudibranchs in surprising bursts of colour. Look for the wolfish that often lurk in the shadowed nooks, their toothy grins a perfect photo opportunity. It’s a site that rewards multiple dives; you always spot something new. For divers who appreciate history, a bit of chill, and wrecks that are slowly being reclaimed by the sea, HIXIE 49 is a fantastic afternoon.
- Location
- Scottish West Coast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 57.016430, -5.805275
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 35m
Marine Protected Area: Inner Hebrides and the Minches
Nearby Dive Sites in Scottish West Coast
- ACCORD - 9m (wreck)
- ADONO - 10m (wreck)
- ADROLIS - 5m (wreck)
- AGATE - 10m (wreck)
- AGIOS MINAS - 10m (wreck)
- AKKA - 28m (wreck)
- ALBIA - 10m (wreck)
- ALEXANDER - 10m (wreck)
- AMY JANE - 52m (wreck)
- AMY (POSSIBLY) - 38m (wreck)
- ANGELA - 5m (wreck)
- ANNIE JANE - 29m (wreck)
- ANNIE MC FADYEN - 7m (wreck)
- ANNIE MELLING - 54m (wreck)
- ANWOTH - 0m (wreck)
Nearest Dive Centres to HIXIE 49
- Aquaholics - ["PADI"]
- C&C MARINE SERVICES
- Eagle Divers NI - ["PADI"]
- Field Studies Council Millport
- Freedive Northern Ireland
- Fyne Diving - ["PADI"]
Marine Life in Scottish West Coast
Home to 127 recorded species including 50 reef fish, 15 whales & dolphins, 10 seagrass & algae, 9 sharks & rays, 8 other, 7 crabs & lobsters.
Notable Species
- harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) - Whales & Dolphins
- Common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) - Whales & Dolphins
- Common sea star (Asterias rubens) - Starfish
- Devonshire cup coral (Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) smithii) - Hard Corals
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) - Sharks & Rays
- Common shore crab (Carcinus maenas) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Common brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)
- Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) - Whales & Dolphins
- Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
- Light-bulb sea squirt (Clavelina lepadiformis)
- bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) - Seagrass & Algae
- Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) - Clams & Mussels
- Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Sand mason (Lanice conchilega) - Worms
- Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- knotted wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) - Seagrass & Algae
- Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Star ascidian (Botryllus schlosseri)
- Common whelk (Buccinum undatum) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs