Through
the centuries the British coastline has lured countless unfortunate vessels and
mariners to their doom. Throughout history, fierce winter storms have dashed helpless vessels onto rocks and sunk others without trace far out to sea. Reefs and rocky pinnacles rising menacingly from the seabed have snared the unwary, tearing open fragile hulls and consigning both ships and their unfortunate crews to the sea. Two world wars in this century alone have sent legions of vessels to their doom, easy prey for German bombers, mines or U-boats as the convoy's rounded our coasts. British waters now conceal countless wrecks lying scattered around our beautiful shores.
As the Armistice of World War I ended the fighting in November 1918 and negotiations towards a lasting peace were commenced, the mighty German High Seas Fleet was taken into internment by the Allies at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of northern Scotland. The Fleet was disarmed and manned by skeleton crews but remained a potentially potent fighting force, one which the Allies were keen to have under their close scrutiny and power in case the peace negotiations broke down.
After
seven months of internment it appeared that the negotiations were about to fail
and so, in the greatest act of maritime suicide ever, the German Admiral Ludwig
von Reuter ordered the entire Fleet of 74 warships to scuttle. Over
the coming decades in the greatest marine salvage operation ever most of the
sunken Fleet were raised from the seabed and broken down for scrap. Seven
colossal vessels were not raised and today they lie in the cold dark depths of
Scapa Flow. The 26,000 ton battleships Markgraf, Krönprinz Wilhelm and
König and four 5,000 light cruisers Dresden, Cöln, Karlsruhe and Brummer.
The lure of these sunken giants draws thousands of divers to Scapa Flow each
year, eager to explore these vast testaments to an era of sea power and majesty
that has long since passed into the history books.Dive Scapa Flow was first published in 1990 and soon established itself as the essential guide to the scuttled German High Seas Fleet that lies in the dark silent depths of Scapa Flow. To illustrate the book, Scottish artist, Rob Ward of Illusion Illustration, Bridge of Muchalls was commissioned. Working from photographs of the vessels afloat and diving surveys of the wrecks themselves, Rob was able to create accurate impressions of the vessels lying on the seabed. For the 1998 third edition, the book has been updated to include diving details of the HMS Hampshire and the HMS Strathgarry, wrecks beyond the safe reach of air divers but which today's technical divers can now explore.
In 1993 Dive Scotland's Greatest Wrecks was published covering ten of the greatest wrecks around Scotland's shores. Again Rob was commissioned to illustrate the wrecks lying on the seabed.
Now, in 2003, Dive England's Greatest Wrecks has been published. With ten of England's greatest and most popular wrecks described in detail. The history of the vessel, the story of its loss, diving details together with Rob's illustrations of how they lie today make this book a must for any diver intending to dive south of the border.
With
total sales of 15,000 these books and paintings have become indispensable aids
to the diver. They have never previously been available for sale.
Now for the first time here is a chance to acquire a vivid reminder of our
maritime heritage. Low resolution black and white scans have been included
as thumbnails here - for obvious reasons - the actual colour prints of the
illustrations are outstanding in their detail and when framed, make an excellent
addition to any diver's wall. For more detail of these go to the
prints
page. All of the information on these pages is taken from the three books. These pages cannot adequately convey the detail contained
in over 600 pages of text, drawings and photographs. The books contain
details of how to find the wrecks, accommodation and local diving services and
as such, are a must for anyone intending to dive on them. They are the
most comprehensive dive guides available on these wrecks. However,
the books are not only for divers, they will appeal to any marine history
enthusiast or simply anyone who likes a good old story. For some further
detail on the books go to the books page. If you want to buy the books or prints, there is an on-line order form.
For summary information on the wrecks detailed in the books go to the wreck page and follow on from there. Alternatively, use the various chart pages to see the wreck details by location.
Last, but certainly not least, I have included some links to other great related sites. Not many, there aren't many out there.
The darkness beckons.......