Nature

The underwater mysteries surrounding the Isle of Man were once only accessible to those willing to pull on a wetsuit but recently they have been seen by even the most adamant of land lovers at a conference at The Manx Museum.

Diving a wreck off the Isle of Man

Some of the world’s most amazing diving sites were unveiled along with the latest news on local shipwrecks delivered by Adrian Corkill, author of Isle of Man shipwrecks. He explains how his fascination has developed over the years.

"My interest in shipwrecks around the Isle of Man stemmed originally from angling. Fishing a wreck called the Ballina off Laxey I wanted to know more. Trawling through the records at the Manx Museum I stumbled across over 150 shipwrecks before I found the Ballina.

The wreck had never been dived before and the experience of being the first person to see her for 80 years was tremendously exciting and quite awe inspiring.
 
Equally exciting was a dive on the German U-boat U246 off the south of the Isle of Man. She is fairly intact but some live torpedoes lie strewn across the wreck. It is sobering to think that her 44 crew are still trapped inside, their grave since 1945.”