Other Shore Dives
Other shore dive sites around Cornwall include :-
Boscastle
Port Isaac
St Agnes
Porth Nanven
Porthgwarra
Porthleven
Porthallow
Mevagissey
Talland Bay
Ponus Wreck
The Ponus was a 5077 ton oil tanker.It came ashore near Gyllyngvase Beach in November 1916. It’s cargo caught fire and kept Falmouth lit for three nights. It was heavily salvaged but there’s still quite a lot of remains.
Today it is well broken and often a lot is covered in sand. Still a nice rummage dive, the highest point is only about 2m. This is primarily a shore dive but does make an easy boat dive. read more →
Porthkerris & Drawna Rocks Shore Dive
Porthkerris is an area on the Lizard Peninsula between Porthallow & Porthoustock. It is very popular with divers as there is a dive centre there. Another thing that makes it popular is the shore diving, the main site is around Drawna Rocks. Drawna Rocks is an island group of rocks about 100m from the shore. At high tide you can get 18m depth around the back of the north end, if you head out east from the northern tip another reef heads out to sea even deeper. The deepest we have had is 22m on a high spring.
The area has plenty of life, especially the deeper part of the reef which has a coverage of dead man’s fingers, jewel anemones and even pink sea fans.
Grebe/Durgan Shore Dives
Grebe and Durgan are situated on the north side of the Helford River near Mawnan Smith. They are within 100m of each other and are very similar. The main difference being that Durgan is an easy access site for dive kit and entry but it takes you straight into the moorings and boat traffic, whereas Grebe has little boat traffic and it is a 'no anchoring area' for boats.
From Durgan swimming towards Grebe there are large Sea Grass beds which are full of life. Sea Hare nudibranchs can be found in abundance as well as cuttlefish. It's a macro photographers dream. From Grebe it is a continuation of the beds from Durgan.
