Dive Sites

 

 

ON THE DAY: Our boat operates from the Car Park in Beadnell Village. 
Beadnell is easily accessible from the A1. Follow the signs for Seahouses or Beadnell from the A1. 

On arriving at Beadnell simply follow the road around the sea front and you will come onto the car park at the end of the road. 
There is ample parking and the car park contains toilets and shower facilities (in season). We aim to depart Beadnell Bay at 8:30am, therefore customers need to arrive in ample time to kit up before departure. On arrival we will load your equipment onto the boat as part of the service. Once all equipment is loaded and all divers are ready the boat is ready to launch. 
Whilst the tractor is launching the boat the dive crew take a short walk down the beach to meet the boat in the water. The dive party then board the boat and we head off to the Farne Islands. The journey to the Farnes takes approx 10 minutes on our custom built 8m, 225hp RIB. 

 

THE SKIPPER: The skipper has dived the Farnes for over 30 years and still dives today. He has run charter boats in the area for 10 years. 

 

THE BEST DIVE SITES: There are hundreds of dive sites at the Farnes, however some are outstanding. It is those sites that we prefer to take our customers to. 

 

LONGSTONE: There are several great dive sites around Longstone Island:- 

THE HOPPER.
The hopper is a site that is populated by a seal colony. The seals are very used to encounters with divers and regularly come to investigate visitors. It is very common for mischievous young seals to nibble on divers fins. The Hopper is a scenic dive with three fantastic gullies, one of which runs into the Island some 30 metres. The max depth to the bottom of the shear cliff face is approx 25m 

KRIS KRISTENSON.
A Danish steamer that ran aground on the Longstone in 1915. The wreck lies at 30 metres and is a slack water dive. Close to the wreck, in about 18m against the reef wall lies a propeller and other wreckage from an unidentified wreck. The wreck is well scattered now, but lots of ships fittings are still recognisable. Naturally the wreck attracts lotS of marine life. Conger eels, Wolf Fish, Ling and Ballan Wrasse are frequent visitors to the site. 

NORTHERN HARES.
On the west side of Longstone island a reef face falls to 15 meters with boulders at the base and wreckage from the Lockleven. The steamer grounded on the Longstone in 1902 and sank shortly after. 

STAPLE ISLAND.
A popular dive site where the wreck of the St. Andrea lies. This steam Ship was carrying a cargo of pig iron when it struck Staple Island and sank. The wreckage lies on the south side of the island 100 meters from the wall at 25m depth. It leads up to the wall where a shoal of Ballan wrasse often congregate and can be fed. On the wall there is prolific marine life such as spider crabs, lobsters, plumrose anemones, sponge and dead men’s fingers. This is a sheltered spot which is a good for photographers with visibility often exceeding 20 meters. 

KNIVESTONE.
The outer Farne island known as the Knivestone is where the wreck of the German steam ship Abyssinia is located. The wreckage can be found on the north side of the island. The Abyssinia sank in 1921 and lies at a depth of 18m. Her large boilers stand proud of the sea bed and more wreckage lies in and around the gullies. By far the best conditions seem to be during neap tides on low water slack when visibility of 20 meters can be experienced. 

GLOVE CAR ISLAND.
just off the island of glove car is a dive site known as Bluecaps. A sheltered island with boulders and gullies abounding with life. The boulders fall away to approx 15M. Good visibility and lack of currents make this site ideal for training dives. 

DRIFT DIVING.
Piper Gut, located between the North Wames and Big harcar is an ideal site for a 2 mile drift dive which starts at 8 meters and finishes at 30 meters. Average speed is about 6 to 8 knots. For experienced divers only. 

WHIRL ROCKS.
Whirl Rocks is said by many to be the best dive site on the Farnes. Only to be dived by experienced divers, it is low water slack dive which consists of wrecks, gullies and copious marine life. Depth starts at 5m, dropping to 25m. The whole area is a dream come true to for the underwater photographer. Prize winning shots await the right f-stop/shutter speed! 

WRECK DIVING.
By far the most the most popular wreck at the Farnes is the Somali. The Somali, a 6809 tonne cargo ship was heading for Hong Kong when it was bombed by a German Heinkel 111 in 1941. It lies a mile off Beadnell point in 30 meters of water. Carrying a general cargo of gas masks, batteries, lead soldiers, fire extinguishers, small jars of cream and reels of film. Many of these objects can still be found today. Five boilers are still intact on the bottom and you can also see the engine and refrigeration units. This is a slack water dive for experienced divers only.