Having a free weekend recently, I checked out Divernet, and found space on a RIB, Blue Raider, from Plymouth, diving the HMS Scylla, and the James Eagan Layne. I met the skipper, Danny at the pontoon of Mountbatten Watersports Centre, aboard a new 8m rib, fitted with a 250 hp 4 stroke outboard. Whilst very quiet (you had to touch the cowling at idle, to check the engine was running!), it was easily the fastest vessel leaving Mountbatten. This meant that you were always the first on site, at any chosen wreck in the area, even if you left 10-15mins after everyone else!
HMS Scylla is a broadbeamed Leander class frigate, the last frigate to be built in Devonport Royal Dockyard in 1968. Scylla is 113m long with a displacement of 2500 tonnes.In 1993 she was decommissioned and in 2003 was bought by the National Marine Aquarium to be placed on the seabed as a reef.
The HMS Scylla was sunk earlier this year in Whitsand Bay, about ¾ mile from the site of the James Egam Layne. The project was funded by the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, as both a diver attraction and artificial reef. The aquarium is planning to site webcams on the wreck and also to use a submersible to show non-divers the process of nature taking hold of the wreck. 3 Large yellow buoys mark the bow, bridge and stern, and are secured to the wreck by chains.
Our first dive was on the slightly deeper bow section. Depth to the sea bed was around 24m, and being the first divers on the wreck, the visibility was a pretty respectable 8-10m. This gave a good impression of the size of this ship. Swimming along the sea bed, the ship lies almost on an even keel. Large square sections of the outer hull have been removed above and below the waterline, allowing easy access to all areas of the ship. At every penetration inside the ship, there is visible light guiding you to an exit point. This is a good way to practice wreck penetration in a fairly safe environment.
There are two corridors accessible, which run the entire length of the ship. Off each of these can be seen bunk rooms, machine rooms, bathrooms, mess, offices and command centre. Towards the stern, access can be gained inside the ship through the large helicopter hanger, where safety notices can still be read attached to the walls. The engine room and steering gear can be accessed through openings in the hull, and further access to the bilges is prevented by welded bars over the hatches. The props have been removed, however a swim under the stern is worthwhile to check out the twin rudders and empty shafts.
Although the ship has only been down a few months, there are a few fish frequenting the wreck. Tube worms have also established themselves on the flat superstructure. I was surprised how quickly some areas of the ship are deteriorating. Much of the superstructure is aluminium, and where this meets steel, the aluminium is corroding into a white crusty oxide.
We dived the Scylla twice, the second time being in the afternoon, with a mass of lesser-experienced divers bouncing off the hull! The vis by this time had deteriorated noticeably! In some ways diving the Scylla is a bit like the diving the Stanegarth at Stoney Cove. It is a contrived wreck, sanitised of all the nasty bits and shiny parts. For training and novelty value, it is however worth a dive. I had originally planned to shoot some video, and return in the future to compare the results, only to be thwarted by a technological breakdown.
SCYLLA was a DRAKAINA (A She-Dragon) with the upper body of a beautiful woman but around her waist grew six fearful serpents with dogs heads and razor-sharp teeth. A long coiling serpentine fish like tail took the place of her legs. A fearful creature indeed.
Scylla (the she dragon) is said to live in a cave under a rock on one side of the Strait of Messina. On the other side lives Charybdis who created a terrifying whirlpool.
To pass between between Scylla and Charybdis was to pass between two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which can be passed without encountering the other; to pass between a rock and a hard place.
FOOTNOTE: John Dunwell, club member and ex RN diver served on the HMS Scylla for 18 months.