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Torquay
is located in Devon between Teignmouth and Torbay. There is easy
access to various shore, reef and wreck dives. The Torquay area
has become popular with divers and provides good opportunities
for learners to enjoy shallow dives and the more advanced have
challenging wreck diving. This area is regularly
visited by dolphins and porpoises. Occasionally
basking sharks have been sighted.
Always dive according to your level of training.
Never enter the water without checking with the local dive center
for safety, additional information, level required for each dive
site and without being accompanied by a professional. All the
information provided is purely informative for our readers and
shouldn't be used as is to plan your immersion.
Some dive sites accessible from Torquay:
Fairy cove is a pretty shallow site and is accessible
from nearby Paignton harbour. If you swim away from the beach
you will get to the edge of a rock shelf. There's a descent to
around 8 meters (26 feet) giving way to a sandy sea bed with rocky
inlets. The marine life is abundant. If you keep the shelf to
your right and swim about 100 metres (328 feet) you may come across
the wreckage of the T.289 E.Boat.
Beacon Cove is a small cove east of Torquay Harbour.
Diving is not allowed between March and October. Although this
is an easy dive there isn't much to explore here.
Brixham Breakwater is suitable for novices as
well as divers with little experience. It's accessible from the
beach. It's advisable for safe diving to keep the Breakwater on
your left once you get into the water. This is because the left
shelf is the base of the pier while the right is exposed waters.
Babbacombe beach is a small cove that can be
accessed from Babbacombe Downs road. Entry into the water should
be done from the pier. After diving down swim out to the sea until
you hit the ledge. Follow the ledge to the right and you will
reach a kelpy area with abundant marine life. You are likely to
see lots of crustaceans and congers. The left
side of the ledge will bring you to a sandy bed. Swim across this
until you reach the cliffs.
The more experienced divers need to explore the
deeper waters which are accessible by boat like Shoalstone
which is between Berry Head and Breakwater. The maximum depth
to expect is about 16 metres (52 feet). It has easy access but
it's necessary to clamber over rocks. If you go seaward, north,
you will come across some nice reefs. Further on you might see
scallops and crabs although the sea bed gets
muddy. Beware of the tides here. This site is
not sheltered from the north easterlies and the easterly winds.
A good point, parking is easy, however expect a charge in season.
The Orestone is a nice drift dive. The depth
ranges from 10-22 metres (33-72 feet). There's abundant marine
life here and swim throughs.
Berry head makes a challenging drop off. Starting
at appoximately 20 metres (65 feet) Berry Head drops to about
35 metres (115 feet). The visibility isn't always
good and most of the time it's quite dark on this site. Colourful
plumose, lobsters, crabs and eels are abundant here.
It's advisable to dive at slack water because strong tides prevail
here. Please note that this site is suitable for the advanced
diver only.
Morris Rouge is a submerged rocky reef of 10
metres (33 feet) and is one of the best in the area. Diving on
this reef is pleasant and there's lots of marine life like starfish,
crabs and flatfish.
Thatcher rock is a good drift dive but divers
need to beware as there could be a swell at times.
Wrecks:
The Bretagne sunk on 10 August 1918 after colliding
with the Renee Marthe in foggy weather. She was transporting a
cargo of coal. Lying in about 30 meters (98 feet) she is quite
upright, and in fairly good condition.
The Galicia sunk after hitting a mine in 1917.
She is in 20 meters of water and is pretty broken up and scattered.
However she makes an intersting dive and encounters with crabs,
lobsters and large conger eels are frequent.
The Lord Steward sunk in 1918 on September 16th.
She was an armed merchantman and lies in about 35 metres (115
feet) of water.
As well as the abundance of underwater life to be seen in the
seas around Torbay, a lot can quite often be seen on the surface,
either from the shore, or from a boat on the way to or from dive
sites. Regular visitors to the area include dolphins,
porpoise, and the occasional basking shark.
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