HMS CHRISTINE ROSE - Scottish West Coast

The HMS Christine Rose, a drifter seized from the French in 1940, offers a proper slice of history just off the Scottish West Coast. It’s sitting upright in a shallow 11 meters, which makes it perfect for longer bottom times and really soaking in the atmosphere. We love how accessible she is, especially for anyone keen on wreck diving without the usual deep-water faff. She went down in 1941, and now she’s a beautiful skeletal structure, completely encrusted with an amazing variety of anemones and dead man’s fingers. You can easily poke around her single boiler and the triple expansion engine, which are still very much intact and have become home to squat lobsters and blennies. The visibility here can be a bit hit or miss, typical for Scottish waters, but when it clears, the light filtering through the superstructure is just stunning, illuminating clouds of juvenile saithe swirling around the mast. Our favourite time to dive her is on a slack tide, when you can really take your time and appreciate the details without fighting a push. This site is brilliant for divers who appreciate historical wrecks and the vibrant, cold-water marine life that colonises them.

Location

Scottish West Coast, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe

Coordinates

55.884266, -5.691067

Type

wreck

Maximum Depth

11m

Marine Protected Area: Loch Sween