SAUSAC May Island Dive Guide

Fife and May Island Dive Information courtesy of SAUSAC - St Andrews University Sub Aqua Club


Fifeness

Our corner of Fife only has a few areas suitable for shore diving and although Cellardyke and Elie have easy shore dives, we do most of ours at Fifeness. Although shallow and prone to bad visibility if you go at the wrong state of the tide, this site has lots to see, easy access and is very safe since the local Coastguard station overlooks the dive site! .

The submerged rocks leading out from Fifeness point itself form an underwater peninsula reaching out a considerable distance. The general depth in the area is around 10m at high water and you have to go a long way out to get any deeper. Areas of kelp, bare rock with hidey-holes and sandy patches allow a fairly diverse ecosystem to exist.. Swarms of hermit crabs roam the whole area, but larger crustaceans such as common lobsters, squat lobsters and edible crabs are all found in abundance. Sea urchins and starfish are the other
obvious residents but various nudibranch can also be found if you look carefully enough. Depending on the time of year and the conditions, there is also a wide variety of fish to be seen including Pollock, huge shoals of sprats, wrasse, the occasional topknot and some really ugly but well camouflaged scorpion fish.

Fifeness is a notorious area for shipwrecks and many sizeable pieces of wreckage can be found all around the area. Since the area is relatively shallow the wrecks receive a severe pounding during bad weather and no longer resemble most people's concept of ships.
Recognizable parts such as mast sections and winch assemblies are there however but can be hard to spot due to growth covering them.
The Isle of May
Anstruther N56 13.089 W02 41.748
Isle Of May West Landing N56 11.335 W02 33.774
Isle Of May Kirkhaven N56 10.931 W02 32.672

Although we can dive all along the coast here, one of our more regular destinations is the Isle of May. This ancient volcanic plug sits roughly 4 miles off Anstruther and has been declared a nature reserve. Its massive sea cliffs are home to thousands of seabirds and their chicks during the summer and the low-lying parts of the island are occupied by resident gray seal colony. The Firth of Forth has been a busy area for shipping for centuries and a large lump of volcanic rock does prove to be a bit of a navigation hazard so the island has several
foghorns and a rather impressive lighthouse perched at it's highest point. There are also signs of more ancient occupation in the form of various ruined buildings.

Both the north and south ends of the island experience strong currents on the incoming and outgoing tide promoting the growth of filter feeders and soft corals on the walls and gullies in these areas. A good proportion of the island's seal population tends to hang out at the North Ness and any dives near this area tend to be in the company of at least one or two of the inquisitive critters. Although we can dive this area throughout much of the year, it is off limits to us during the pupping season in the late autumn and winter months. The South Ness has a
series of underwater gullies that run for a considerable distance and are so narrow that it can be a tight squeeze to get two divers swimming along them side by side. For much of their length they have near vertical sides which are occupied by a variety of anemones, sponges, soft corals and the occasional cup coral. You can also expect to encounter large shoals of fish in the area and we?ve seen seals hunting them in the channels.






On the mainland side of the Island is the West Landing and the highest cliffs. This area is sheltered from the worst of the tide although there can be a gentle drift running along the shore at the top of the tide. The cliffs have many nooks and crannies and you can swim around some very scenic stacks. On the east side of the Island is the Kirkhaven harbour which is a natural harbour that is ideal for trainees making their first boat dives. The area is sheltered and shallow with the channel leading out of the harbour gently shelving away making it easy to pick your maximum depth. There are two barge wrecks in the channel and it?s south facing wall is usually covered in life making it an excellent site for people wanting an easy but interesting dive.

To the north and south of the Kirkhaven and all along the west side of the island you can dive boulder slopes and rock shelves where, you can find crabs, lobsters, wrasse, conger eels, octopi, nudibranch, star fish, sea urchins, angler fish, lumpsuckers, plumose anemonies and more!

The Victory, Mars, Scotland, Island, Anlaby, Primrose and many other vessels have come to grief around the island. Unless these vessels went down in deep water or sheltered areas, the sea has taken a heavy toll on their structures, leaving only scattered plates, components and heavy items such as boilers and winches. Broken up wrecks can be found all around the island with pieces of wreckage being seen on most dives but unless an identifying item is spotted it is often difficult to know precisely which wreck you?ve come across. As well as the wrecks of steel ships, signs of wooden vessels can be found if you know what you?re looking for. Off the North Ness for example, there is a cargo of slate which was being carried by a schooner and closer to the Island there is a medieval stone anchor. Whatever type of diving you?re into, there should be something around the Isle of May to interest you.


Wrecks in the Firth of Forth

SAUSAC practices responsible wreck diving with every effort being made to leave wreck sites as we found them out of respect to those who may have lost their lives during the sinking and to allow others to view the wreck as we did.

The Firth of Forth contains a large number of wrecks ranging from fishing vessels to a WW1 aircraft carrier. Some have been commercially salvaged while others have been left as they sank but most are now artificial reefs that support a wide range of plant and animal life. We dive several of these wrecks on a semi-regular basis, the frequency of our visits being dictated by the tides and the weather more than anything




SS Anlaby GPS - 56 11' 15"N 02 33' 52"W

The Anlaby was carrying a cargo of coal from Granton to Danzig when she ran aground close to Aberstanes landing on the Isle of May in 1873. Her wreck lies with the bows towards the island in around 8m and her stern out to sea in about 15m. The main body of the vessel lies flattened out with her keel and ribs exposed with various pieces of machinery scattered around. The stern section, including the iron propeller and steering gear, is still recognisable and sits a couple of meters proud off the bottom. We've encountered some very friendly wrasse on the wreck that will follow divers around ? perhaps someone has been feeding them? The site is also fairly close to the North Ness where the seals tend to hang out so you can generally expect company when diving on this wreck?



Primrose N56 10.732 W02 33.457

The Primrose is a regular dive for SAUSAC due the close proximity of the Isle of May for a second shallow dive and the ease with which the wreck can be found. She was a steam trawler registered in Peterhead, which ran aground on the South Ness of the May Island in 1904.
She was not initially a total wreck and attempts were made to refloat her but she went down while under tow. The wreck is quite broken up now, but the boiler and tiled (!) engine room are still recognizable. The wreck is home to a lot of life including soft corals, butterfish, prawns and small edible crabs hiding in the boiler tubes. The visibility on this wreck is variable, but typically around 7m although on one occasion we had roughly 15m and you could see the whole wreck laid out before you as you went down the shot.
Lying near the South Ness, this is definitely a wreck to dive near slack water.



Northumbria N56 12.239 W02 34.633

Another steam trawler, but this one was larger than the Primrose and was in service with the Navy when she went down. She struck a mine just north of the Isle of May in 1917 and is now sitting around 35m on a flat bottom. Although the hull plates have fallen away, giving the impression that the vessel was wider than she actually was, the boiler, engine room and much of the deck gear are still recognizable. The wreck lies roughly east west with the bow to the east.



SS Mallard N56 11.792 W02 35.506

The Mallard was a small steam ship, which resembled a puffer (there seems to be some debate as to whether she was actually a puffer or not) and foundered to the north of the May in 1921. She's sitting in around 40 meters having settled upright. Club members who dived her several years ago reported her as being largely intact, but when we dived her in 2000 we found that most of her plating had fallen away leaving an almost skeletal structure. The boiler area and parts of the bows still retain their original form but the rest of the wreck now
provides a home to shoals of fish and large spiny spider crabs.



SS Islandmagee N56 17.535 W02 32.440 N56 17.548 W02 32.484
N56 17.520 W02 32.490 N56 17.480 W02 32.446
N56 17.481 W02 32.447

The Islandmagee was a dredger, which sank in the 1950s during a severe gin roughly 40 metres of water looking almoale. She's sitting upright st as if she was steaming towards Fifeness. Although she has been underwater for almost 50 years, she is still largely intact with her grab still on the deck. The area is very tidal making moving around the wreck a bit of a slog even around 'slack water' which doesn't seem to last very long!






SS Rolfsborg N56 08.271 W02 52.006 N56 08.267 W02 51.976

The Rolfsborg was a large collier, which sank in 1945 after a collision with another vessel. She's lying on her port side in just over 40m of water with her uppermost side being nearer 30m. This is a large wreck and is pretty impressive but not regularly dived by the club


SS Phaeacian N56 09.288 W02 51.655 (MAIN BODY)
N56 09.268 W02 51.658 N56 09.270 W02 33.457

The Phaeacian sank after a collision with a tanker in 1943 and broke into three parts, which are reported to lie in a line along the bottom of the Forth. We think (!) we've dived two of these parts, the bow section and the main bulk of the wreck, which lie in roughly 35m. The bow is on its side pointing towards the southeast while the main body is lying upside down. As with the Mallard, the wreck's integrity is failing - the main body was dived several years ago and the hull was reported to be largely intact, but when we dived it last summer the plates had started coming apart and the inside spaces of the vessel could be seen. Plumose anemones have colonised this wreck and look pretty spectacular hanging from the floor/roof of some of the compartments.




MV Arizona N56 10.203 W02 52.440 N56 10.148 W02 52.389
N56 10.198 W02 52.448 N56 10.201 W02 52.442

Sitting in around 20m of water, the Arizona lies a couple of miles south of Elie. She was a motor vessel, which struck a mine in 1939 and has been heavily salvaged. Although she is pretty broken up, she still has a recognisable layout and there is plenty to look at both in the way of wreckage and wildlife. The wreck has so many secure hiding places it's generally covered in life with almost every hole occupied by some beastie.
The depth of this wreck makes her an easy dive although the visibility can be poor at times.



There are plenty of other wrecks in the area and a good place to look for inspiration is Bob Baird's Wrecks of the Firth of Forth.
Much of the background information on the wrecks described above and many of the others can also be found in the local press.

NB. There are several notable deep wrecks in the area, but we follow BSAC recommendations and avoid going beyond 50m. Back to top