A hugely successful dive trail on a 17th century wreck!

Divers from all sides are almost storming the waters near Plymouth to dive the recently opened dive trail on the wreck of the legendary English vessel Coronation.

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The wreck, which was under protection and a total diving ban until April, has opened its doors to recreational divers, providing them with a unique opportunity to dive, on one of the largest ships in the history of the British fleet.

Even before the dive site was opened to the public, a lot of interest was expected from the bookings made by dive clubs and centres, but what is happening now is astounding everyone and confirms that the right decision has been made to put HMS Coronation at the disposal of visitors.

“ We got a really great response to our efforts to open the trail,” says Mark Pearce, who is in charge of diving licence allocation at the site.

“In May alone we had 194 divers and 20 organised groups visit! We have had to recruit more guides from among the local divers to help us cope with the interest in the wreck! This is just the beginning and the rest of the season promises to be even busier!”

“One group complained that the organiser of their outing had only booked one dive and they had already booked another date for themselves on site in July.”

“We have also introduced the possibility of visits for people who are not members of clubs”

HMS Coronation was a huge shipIt had 90 guns on board and more than 600 crew members lost their lives when it sank in 1691. It was one of the first shipwrecks to be banned for diving (1973).

Source: www.coronation.co.uk
Photo:imagesoflife.co.uk