Diving

The Channel Islands experience one of the largest tidal movements on earth which makes for some exhilarating drift dives but also supports an incredibly rich array of marine life. Add to this the Islands’ southerly position and you’ll notice a distinctly exotic flavour to the diving down here. Jewel anemones and corals carpet the sheer reef walls while the cracks and crevices are home to lobsters, crabs and the occasional crawfish. You’ll encounter curious cuckoo wrasse and gleaming shingle banks that conceal flatfish, rays and cuttlefish. This wealth of wildlife makes the diving here perfect for those with an interest in marine life or underwater photography. For more information explore the following links;

Bouley Bay Dive Centre, Jersey

Riptide Dive Boat Charters, Jersey

T & T Divers, Jersey

Sark Diving Services

Bouley Bay, the best shore dive in Jersey

f Research diver in Sark

The Shipwrecks If your interest lies in wrecks rather than reefs, then the Channel Islands are the perfect destination. Many of the wrecks around here date back to the Second World War when the Islands were occupied by German forces. One of the most popular with divers is the freighter Schockland which sank after striking rocks off the south coast of Jersey while carrying troops and a cargo of cement and girders bound for France. (picture below)

Just off St Peter Port lies the Dutch Rhine Barge Oost Vlaanderen which fell victim to Allied aircraft in 1943 while waiting to enter harbour with her cargo of cement and arms. The Minesweeper M343 near the Minquiers is another great dive as is the Armed Trawler off the south coast of Jersey. Further afield lie the Heinrich Hey and the Walter Darre about 6 miles north of St Malo. Both of these armed steam trawlers sank in the same attack with a huge loss of life. The wrecks lie within 350 metres of each other and the impressive 88mm gun on the deck of the Heinrich Hey still points to the surface. (picture below)

We also dive some later wrecks such as the superb Princess Ena, a passenger steamer that sank in 1935 after fire broke out onboard. Another favourite is the Heron, a coaster that struck a reef north of Jersey in 1961 with a cargo of tomatoes and other produce bound for England. The position of the wreck remained a mystery for almost forty years but has recently been discovered sitting upright and almost intact. Jersey is also home to various wrecks that were scuttled to form artificial reefs such as the Striker, the Olway and La Mauve. (picture below) Though lacking the history of ‘real’ shipwrecks they make interesting dives and, like all of our wrecks, are shrouded in shoals of pouting and home to our best-known beastie, the conger eel.