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Exeter
on the Devon coast in South West England has a wide array of diving
opportunities. Exeter dive sites go from easy shore diving to
more challenging deeper dives for the more adventurous divers.
For wreck lovers, there are many interesting wrecks
to explore.
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 of the dive sites accesible from Exeter are:
Babbacombe Bay is a nice site with kelp forests
on the left of the beach and rocky outcrops to the right. There's
plenty of marine life which includes plenty of cuttlefish
which arrive to mate and lay eggs in the shallow weed off the
shore starting early April to middle of May. You may
also encounter some peacock worms, wrasse, sea hares and dogfish.
Dead man's fingers, soft corals and snakelock anemones are also
to be seen.
This site is best dived near high water. This is a popular training
site as the depth is approximately 10 metres (33 feet) and the
bay is protected from winds except for the east and the north
east winds.
Budleigh Beach has three reefs running parallel
to the shore. One is easily reachable from the shore. There
are lots of crustaceans here as well as pollack, dog fish and
wrasse.
The River Run makes a great drift dive which
should be done on the ebb from the pier head. Fish life
here includes crabs, bass and flatfish.
Exmouth Pier Head has abundant wildlife and has
an average depth of 12 metres (39 feet) and 18 metres (59 feet)
in the channel.
The marine life here includes wrasse, sponges, tunicates
and gobies.
The ancient pier collapsed and is now home to
lots of lobsters. There are two cars
to explore. This site should be dives a little before high tide
and care should be taken as the tide can be pretty swift. The
use of an SMB is reqired as entrance to the dock
and slipway are not permitted.
Wrecks:
The Galicia is the wreck of an armed British
steamship that was on a voyage from London to Valpraiso when she
sunk after hitting a mine in May 1917. The mine was laid by a
German Uc class submarine off Teignmouth. The wreck attracts
a lot of marine life like conger eels, wrasse, lobsters and pink
sea fans. The depth is 17 metres (56 feet) and the top
of the wreck is at 14 metres (45 feet).
Boma is a steamship that was torpedoed in June
1918 while headed for St. Helens, Isle of Wight with a cargo of
potatoes, hay and straw. The depth is around 32 metres (104 feet).
She has been heavily salvaged and her hull pretty broken. This
wreck attracts lots of scallops and fish.
The Bretagne sunk after colliding with a French
steamer. She sits upright on the bottom, the stern gun is still
in position and her cargo of coal can still be seen. It's a nice
and easy dive. The depth is about 29 metres (95 feet) and the
top of the wreck is at about 22 metres (72 feet).
Chateau Yquem, a French steamship was torpedoed
in 1917. Some parts are missing but the stern and bow are still
intact. Some of the deck can still be seen. The depth is about
48 metres (157 feet).
Perronne, a steamship was torpedoed in 1917.
She's badly broken but still makes a terrific dive. Special care
should be taken as some large parts of the wreckage stick up and
in bad visibility you may also accidentally swim into the large
holes on this site. The maximum depth is 29 metres (95 feet).
HMS Empress of India was used as a gunnery target
and she sunk in 1913. It's lying upside down, therefore you must
dive to the maximum depth to view underneath. She's very large
and during the dive you may see rows of huge portholes and an
enormous crankshaft. Lots of fish live here.
Lord Stewart is the wreck of an armed merchant
that sunk in September 1918 when a torpedo struck her. She lies
upright on the seabed and is broken in two. The depth is 41 metres
(134 feet) and the top of the wreck at 27 metres (88 feet).
Gefion also called Geffien went down in October
1917. The top of the deck is at 32 metres (104 feet). The wreck
is quite broken up and has been heavily salvaged. She lies on
her port side and the boilers and engines are well visible.
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