elcome to the Moray Coast
In these pages I have chosen to omit all the usual information about position, launching, slack etc. necessary as everyone else seems to have written about them before. I have chosen to concentrate more on my experiences of these dives & give you a brief insight as what you might expect. I have given the best visibility & deepest that I have had on these dives, but it is not necessary the maximum, all sites are in alphabetical order.

DILLON'S CAVE....15m
Launching out of Rosehearty & heading West to near Pennan, made famous in the film "Local Hero", there is a cave of around 4m in width & 60m in length, with one branch off leading to a dead end, it extends through a cliff, exiting the other side. There is not much to see inside but very nice on the North side it is very nice with always plenty of seals buzzing in & out, wheather or not you see them depends on you looking in the right direction at the right time. Another cavern lies to the East on the North side, which extends back about 30m. It is only accessablbe by boat & the cox needs to be alert to which side you you intend exiting.

FRAM (Bow Section)….40m
This is a superb dive, with 20m visibility not unusual, even if you don’t get it that good it is still an excellent dive. Lots of big fish, lobsters & octopus are ever present; seals also are to be seen around the wreck. Lying on a sandy bottom in Aberdour Bay 2miles out of Rosehearty, this Swedish steam ship was torpedoed in 1940 while at anchor. The bow section sank where it was anchored but the stern section drifted 1.5 miles before sinking. The stern section was found in 1976 but the bows were only discovered in 1995. Sadly the porthole you see in my photo page finally disappeared at the end of August 1999.

FRAM (Stern Section)….47m
Lying on a sandy bottom in Aberdour Bay 3.5miles out of Rosehearty, this Swedish steam ship was torpedoed in 1940 while at anchor. The bow section sank where it was anchored but the stern section drifted 1.5 miles before sinking. The stern section was found in 1976 but the bows were only discovered in 1995. This for me is a better dive than the Bow Section as it is well intact, it lies at about a 60degree angle & access is easily gained into which I can best describe as an aquarium, round the prop & rudder also proves to be a very rewarding sight. Moving forward it has collapsed but still retains a ship shape appearance. The occasional porthole is still to be found here, as I know of one being found recently.

JACONA….75m                                                                                                                                   Mined in WW1 this freighter was found in 2001 by John Leigh & Bruce Humby but never dived until August 2002. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to join the team of seven for the first dive ever on her. She is pretty well intact & lies on an even keel at 75m. The deck is at 68-70m but has rotted away leaving the interior exposed & easily penetrable. There is a big split amidships & the part we dived was around the engine room & stern. Nets drape around the split on the port side & are held up by buoys, the nets rise about 10m above the deck & reminded me of a circus big top, though they do not really interfere with the dive. The first day we dived her we had 12-15m visibility & plenty of light to not really need a torch, but I have returned a couple of times since & never found the visibility in the same range

LOSSIEMOUTH SKERRIES…. 14m
A very pleasant dive can be had here following the edge of the reef with lots of life to be found. The top of the reef at 7m is covered in kelp & drops of steeply down to a sandy bottom at 14m, there are several vertical rock faces in the various gullies which are home to loads of different species of marine life.

HMS METEOR….65m
A WW1 wreck it is well broken up over a large area, the part I have dived on consisted of small boilers, engine parts & scattered wreckage with quite a few fishing nets, reasonably interesting sifting through debris, but the best bit was the fish life, it was outstanding, with lots of large fish which came to investigate us & did not back off at all, I enjoyed playing about with them. According to reports by fishermen there is a large section, which is yet to be dived.

NEW MILL REEF….25m
5 minutes out of Rosehearty, this is a very scenic dive & covers a large area. Once you get to know the area you can pick where to drop in, my favourite spot is in 13-17m with loads of gullies where you will find an abundance of marine life. If there is a current running you then pick the kind of dive you want, stay in the shelter of the gullies or have a great drift dive. I like to have a bit of both, have a poke round the gullies for a while then put up a delayed SMB & go for a drift.

PICNIC SITE (ROSEHEARTY)….20m
Probably the best shore dive in the North East of Scotland. Situated on the West side of Rosehearty this site has very easy & sheltered entry/exit points, average visibility is in the 10m range but gets up to 20m, has car parking very close to the water & has very spectacular scenery. Jump in at the gully & its straight down to 10m, if you stay close to shore it doesn’t get deeper than 14m but head North & you soon find 20m. This is a favourite shore dive with divers from the NorthEast so it can get a little crowded sometimes.

PRESTONIAN….16m
A well broken up wreck with a big boiler a couple of miles West of Rosehearty, which ran aground in 1915. Visibility can range from 1-20m with 8-10m the norm. Lots of wrasse, lobster & octopus seen here & occasionally the odd seal to be seen underwater but lots hang around on the surface. It’s quite a good dive but generally done as a second dive as it's shallow. It is a sheltered site so usually divable most of the time.

SAN TIBURCIO….40m
WOW! This is a cracker. Poor visibility here is when it's less than 10m, I've seen it at 20m but there are rumours it gets better. One of my fondest diving memories is kneeling in the scour at 41m looking up at the bows in 20m visibility, a truly awesome sight, on the port side an anchor sways in the current at 40m. You don't need to go that deep as the deck is around 28m & that is where the interesting stuff is. The San Tiburcio struck a mine in 1940& is split in two behind the bridge; the stern lies at right angles to the bow 30m apart. As you swim through the bridge you come to the split, an incredible sight as the break is so clean. The stern section has a bit more twisted metal about it, the stern gun has been removed from its mounting & there are live shells around this area as I found out when my buddy picked one up to show me. I find it such a fascinating wreck that I never seem to get past the bow section, there is a line which leads to the stern section so ideally you should go down on the Bow section , cross over & ascend from the stern section, during the summer months there are usually permanent shot lines on both sections. It is a longish RIB journey out of Burghead so it really needs nice weather to make the trip comfortable. On the trip over the firth we regularly see dolphins & porpoises, I have even seen Orca's. I cannot make up my mind between this & the Hispania as to which is my favourite Scottish dive.

TANTIVY….40m
Sunk in 1952 as a sonar target for the RAF this T-class submarine is an excellent dive as it is almost completely intact, not too much life here but a cool dive nevertheless. The conning tower is draped in fishing nets so care needs to be taken to prevent entanglement. We normally launch out of Findhorn or Burghead & as it is a lengthy journey from there it is best done in favourable weather conditions, be on the lookout for dolphins & porpoises which you usually spot round this area.

TROUPHEAD....22m
5 miles West of Rosehearty this area is fairly large & very nice with lots to explore, always lots of seals here, visibility on this corner is usually very good too when it may not be not so good nearby. It is only accessible by boat.

UNITY….28m
A trawler which caught fire & was towed outside Lossiemouth harbour & allowed to sink. This fairly small wreck lying on an even keel is teeming with life which makes for a very pleasant dive. Easy access can be gained to the hold & engine room as the engines have been removed.

VALENTINE TANK….11m
Lying just off Burghead approximately 5m in length, 2m in width, 1m in height with the turret another 0.6m higher, it makes for a very short dive but nevertheless an interesting one as it is so unusual to dive on a tank. It sank during rehearsals for the D-Day landings & is fully intact apart from missing one of the tracks. Lots of crabs occupy the various nooks & crannies, even down the barrel of the gun. Being so small it makes it difficult to locate & took me several attempts over the years to find it even though our GPS marks were only 10m off. On one attempt to find it in 1998, we saw a pod of dolphins approaching so three of us kitted up sharpish & jumped in, we drifted along in the gentle current surrounded be eight dolphins circling us clicking & squeaking in perfect formation no more than 3m away for 8minutes, an amazing experience for us.

HMY VERONA....43m
This Yacht disappeared without a trace during WW1, it is thought to have struck a mine. Lying about 10miles N of Lossiemouth it is broken in two at the extremely large boiler, it makes a very nice dive with visibility in the 10m range.It requires good conditions to get here as it is well offshore, lots of dolphins & porpoises can be seen on the way out. This is a war grave so please treat it with the respect it deserves.

SS WYNOR….57m
Lying on an even keel & pretty well intact, apart from damage to her bows, this small steamship still has its cargo of sacks of manure intact. It is a haven for large lobsters & congers, plenty fish life can be found also. The decking above the engine room has rotted away which makes access simple. I am not sure when it sank but I believe it sank due to bad weather, I found it to be a nice dive. She lies 15miles North of Lossiemouth, I have been assured visibility can reach 30m, but I have only seen it in 10m.