Dive Site: James Egan Layne, 7,000 ton wreck
Length: 130 metres (427 feet)
Location: 50°19.54N; 4°14.65W
Depth: 24 metres (79 feet)
Visibility: 15 metres (50 feet)
The James Egan Layne lies shotted in Whitsand Bay, Plymouth, and is an
extremely popular British wreck because of its depth. It sank in March
1945 after ferrying men and materials across the world for the war
effort. At the height of World War II, it was clear that cargo vessels
were being sunk at a rate faster than which they could be built. In an
effort to maintain the supply of food, vehicles and other equipment to
the troops, the Americans found a way of welding aptly called 'Liberty'
ships together that were 400 feet long weighing in at around 7000 tons
in just 24 hours by an almost entirely female workforce. After being hit
by a torpedo from a German U-boat near the Eddystone reef, the James
Egan Layne was towed towards Plymouth in order to save as much of her
cargo as possible. However on the way back, her stern collapsed causing
her
to sink in Whitsand bay, where she still sits upright, pointing north
towards the shore.
After sinking her masts and funnel still stood proud out of the water
and making it an easy dive location to find. However, in the late 1960's
it was deemed a hazard to the local shipping traffic and so the bridge
and the masts were razed to the seabed where they can still be seen to
the port side. Most of the cargo was removed before she sank, but there
are plenty of pick axe heads, pulleys and locomotive parts in her five
holds.
If you only have the chance for one dive with a 12l cylinder, I would
recommend you get the skipper to put you down on the bow (there is
sometimes a buoy here if you are lucky). Descend down the bow to the
seabed at a maximum of 23m and look back up. The silhouette of her
intact bow is one on my favourite underwater views. Swimming up the port
side then allows you to see the vast wall of her hull, covered in
deadman's fingers and anemones, as well as the bridge and forward masts
that now lie on the sea bed, home to a large variety of fish.
Thanks to the Editors: Sue Mace, Wendy Munday, Phillipa Cresswell, Lin
Noakes
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