Macro
down to 18 m
Petticowick (The Wick)
A sheltered bay beyond St Abbs Head with little or no current, 9-15 m deep, where tiny Atlantic cuttlefish are common.
- Open Water
- Cuttlefish
Experienced≤40 m
SS Somali
Dive site in Farne Islands & St Abbs, United Kingdom
A WWII cargo ship lying in 30 m off Beadnell, where a large shoal of pollack can often be seen swimming above the engine.
- Usual dive
- 30 m
- Deepest point
- 30 m
- Level
- Experienced
- Best months
- Aug–Oct
- Entry
- By boat
- Current
- Strong
The story
The cargo ship Somali was heading for Hong Kong in March 1941 when Heinkel 111 bombers attacked her. About a mile off Beadnell Point a colossal explosion blew off her bow, and five minutes later she went down upright.
Source: divernet.com
The dive
A wreck dive from a boat.
Who it's for
Experienced≤40 mSource: tynesidebsac.co.uk
Recommended minimum: Experienced (Deep Specialty, N3).
- DepthThe usual dive goes deeper than lower certifications allow.
- CurrentCurrent can be strong; you need good air management and buoyancy.
- Strong current: dive with a local guide and carry a surface marker buoy.
Conditions
- Dive type
- Wreck
- Environment
- Open water
- Water
- Sea water
What you might see
- Cod
Season in Farne Islands & St Abbs
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Best months: Aug–Oct.
Source: divessi.comWhere is Farne Islands & St Abbs?
The point shows the Farne Islands & St Abbs area, not the exact dive site.
More dives in Farne Islands & St Abbs
Wall
down to 18 m
Big Green Carr (Amphitheatre)
A shore dive from St Abbs harbour wall into the Amphitheatre, a bowl of high vertical sides cut by narrow ledges.
- Open Water
Reef
down to 24 m
Blue Caps
A relatively sheltered Farnes reef with very little current even on a spring tide, and fleeting encounters with curious seals.
- Advanced
- Seals
Rock formations
down to 15 m
Cathedral Rock
The most popular shore dive in the St Abbs marine reserve: a huge underwater archway with a smaller arch, the Keyhole, above it.
- Open Water
Wreck
down to 20 m
Knivestone wrecks
Wreckage on the Knivestone reef in the Farnes, from a 3-5 m kelpy plateau among the seals down to hull sections at about 20 m.
- Advanced
- Seals
Kelp forest
down to 5 m
Knoxes Reef
A sheltered 0-5 m kelp bed off a Farnes seal colony where hundreds of mature grey seals haul out on the nearby rocks.
- Open Water
- Seals
About this page
Values marked “Estimated” come from our original catalogue and are being checked against published sources one by one. Sourced values link to where they come from. Conditions change with the season, the weather and the tide: confirm with a local dive centre before you dive.