Hermine Wreck Anglesey

[Mark Holbrook]

Hello People, new here. Was hoping for some advice from anyone familiar with this wreck. Have dived this once, or so I thought (!), years ago and am now planning it for some newly qualified divers. When I did this dive I distinctly remember 2 large (4-6 ft diameter) boilers. However on reading a few guides boilers are never mentioned. I'm now starting to think that my original dive was on a different wreck (possibly the Havso?), please can anyone help? Are there boilers on the Hermine?

Thanks a lot

Cheers, Mark.

[michmoor]

Mark,

I dived this wreck two weeks ago and saw no sign of any boilers, mainly the ribs of the wreck visible although the wreck is scattered so they could be elsewhere.

Michael Moore

[Steve Pearson]

Hi Mark

Here is the info from Chris holden who wrote the underwater guide to North Wales

LAUNCH SITE TREARDDUR BAY
Wreck of the sailing-ship ‘Hermine’
GPS position (WGS84) 53° 15.760 N 004° 37.270 W
Maximum depth expected 16 metres
Round trip from slipway 3 miles

This wreck is sheltered on the ebb, but is exposed to the flood-tide.
The iron-barque ‘Hermine’ ran ashore between Porth y Garan and Raven’s Point in June 1890. The cargo of salt has long gone, but the wreck lies scattered over a large area. This consists of iron plates, pipes, ribs, bitts, tubular-iron masts, lengths of chain and halliard winches.
Immediately to the west of the wreck, there is a 20-metre long underwater tunnel that has been formed by a boulder resting between the cliffs and an off-lying reef.
Beware of lobster-pots and loose lengths of rope.

It doesn't mention boilers, and so probably isn't the Hermine

Steve

[Dave Perks]

Hi

I've never seen any boilers on the Hermine in my half dozen dives on the wreck. The Havso however does have a couple of reasonable boilers on it. A rough transit for the boilers is: align the peak of the Mean Piscar pinicle with the beacon @ roscolyn. The boilers are on this transit about 40m from the peak of the Mean Piscar. (to the north)
There is lots of wreckage around this area.
Hope this helps.

Dave

[Steph]

Has anyone done the Hermine as a shore dive?

It says it is possible in the Anglesey Wrecks and Reefs book but not Chris Holdens book.
I did not find the the instructions clear enough to find it mayself when I had
a look around the caravan site.
Talking to the guy in the Caravan site office he was of the opinion it would be just off at a steep sort of slip way/concrete path leading down to a cobble beach but it seems a small patch of water to get a reasonabl size ship in...

In the event I had to abandon the dive as I had left a vital pice of kit at home on the line to dry so could not confirm this, other people I had spoken to had only done it as a boat dive...

Has anyone got an OS grid ref for the enty point and the wreck?

[Mark Holbrook]

Thanks People.

It is sounding much more like I dived the Havso than the Hermine, mind you I didn't organise the dive I was just told it was the Hermine.

I'm thinking of using one of these wrecks to give our new divers experience of wreck diving, boat handling, navigation etc, as well as using them to practice our newly found surveying skills after attending a NAS course. Consequently something remotely resembling a ship or at least part of one is preferred! Based on the above, which do people think is the better dive?

Thanks for your help

Mark

[Robs188]

Another good dive just a bit further along the coast is the Missouri, in Porth Dafarch bay, very good for "new" divers. It also has a five massive boilers in amongst the wreckage and a good variety of sea life there too.

Good luck with the dive

[michmoor]

How was the NAS course, have been thinking of attending it myself.

[Mark Holbrook]

We did the Introduction Course, and it was excellent. Introduction to nautical archaeolgy and bits about the various laws. Then went onto survey techniques. After the theory session did some practical dry surveys of items placed on the ground, which we then mapped onto a drawing. Finally repeated this session on the bottom of the pool, which was an entirely different kettle of fish! Overall an informative and enjoyable day and we now have the qulaifications to help out with real projects. I'm going on the Part 1 course in the Autumn which extends the skills to 3D surveys in open water.

However meanwhile we're quite keen to try out our skills in a real situation, hence my questions on the Hermine. What is the dive like, much to see of the wreck? After reading the dive guides, with the tunnel at one end and the amount of sea life they claim, sounds like it might be quite good for Anglesey.

[michmoor]

The dive is quite good, I dived it on the 25th May and the vis was 2 to 3m which is good for Angelesey that time of year.

We dropped off near its corner and went with the current which took us over the ribs of the wreck which has got plenty of life, including a massive Spider crab, then we hit what was either the starboard or portside of the wreck (please forgive me if I have these nautical names wrong) which offers shelter from the current. From there the dive can turn into the drift and you can nip in and out of the gulleys and examine the life.

Unfortunately I missed gulley you are talking about. Be careful of fishing line, it is often fished, I brought up what I thought was a small bottle with the letters "Champ" visible, turned out to be a old Champion spark plug that a fisherman had used as a weight!

I took my camera down and have photos plus movie clips on the wreck, I also have digital photos from when I dived the wreck in 2005, if you want I can burn them onto a cd and post them to you if you email me your address. Maybe useful if you are looking at the wreck for archaeology, could also help you plan your dive/ survey.

Regards
Michael Moore

[Mark Holbrook]

Thanks Michael a CD would be brilliant if you don't mind. I really do appreciate it. I'm the DO of Ramsbotton Branch and am hoping to use the survey idea as a Club project to bring everyone together. As well as the survey I think it would be an ideal opportunity for our newer divers to practice boat handling, navigation, dive planning etc etc. We plan to dive it for the first time on the 9th so some pics would be superb and help our planning. I'll email my address very shortly.

Thanks again,

Mark.

[Mark Holbrook]

Michael,

Thanks for the CD. The pictures and video were just what I needed. There seems to be a lot of wreckage around, certainly more than I was expecting. Consequenly it looks ideal for what we need, plenty of life too from the pictures. Have you ever dived the Kimya just down the coast. That is absolutely crawling with those big spider crabs.

Thanks once again

Mark