Diving the Lucy
Seven of our club members spent Father’s Day wreck diving with Dive Pembrokeshire on their boat ‘Predator’. Our first dive was a club favourite – the Lucy. This 168ft long vessel sank in 1967 with a cargo of calcium carbide (used in making acetylene gas).
Having struck Cable Rock in the middle of Jack Sound on Valentine’s Day, the crew of seven and one dog quickly abandoned ship to avoid the results of the sea water/calcium carbide cocktail as when they mix it tends to explode! She remained well balanced on the rocks until the early evening when the full tide lifted her off and she began to drift. The last sighting of her was as she was on her way through Jack sound heading North into St Brides Bay with a heavy list to starboard. The current carried her into the entrance to North Haven where she sank perfectly upright and intact in 40m of water. Depth, darkness and more often than not poor visibility make the Lucy an advanced dive. However the usually sheltered surface conditions can make it an easier dive than many other wrecks at a similar depth. For a full wreck tour take a look at Divernet’s writeup – Wreck tour of MV Lucy.
The Dakotian
After a surface interval entertained by gulls and Puffins we moved to our second dive of the day – the Dakotian. This 6,426 ton British cargo ship was sunk on 21st November 1940, when she hit a magnetic mine. She broke her back and sank very quickly. All crew were saved. She was on her way from Swansea to St. John in Canada with a general cargo, including 1,300 tons of tinplate and, oddly enough, Christmas puddings and bicycles. She lies in approximately 19m of water so is an ideal second dive of the day. Best dived on a flood tide when clear waters are being washed into the haven as when the tide is on the ebb, all the muck is washed out of the haven and over the wreck which makes the vis very poor.
A fantastic day was had by all and we are looking forward to our next weekend in Pembrokeshire in a few weeks time.
