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There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of unidentified shipwrecks on the seabed around the British Isles. Many of them are from the two World Wars and are a result of German submarine activity.
Nearly 75 metres underwater, this wreck had been dived previously but resisted attempts at identification. On this technical dive, I located the maker's plate proving that it was the SS Lucent, built in Sunderland in 1879, and then sunk by the German submarine UC-66 in 1917.
I dived using a@ApdivingUK Inspiration Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) with trimix mixed gas diluent. My buddy was on a @divesoft_tv Liberty Closed Circuit Rebreather
*Highlights*
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Getting in
5:00 Arriving at wreck
08:55 Finding the maker's plate
12:05 Mysterious cargo of wheels?
14:20 Ship's "bell"
19:16 Punctured dry glove
21:30 Large helm
24:00 Battle with lobster
29:25 Ascent
*Kit I Use*
Note, some of these are affiliate links so help support making my videos:
- Gloves are Ansell Alphatec 87-063 - https://amzn.to/4jDHhX4
- Main torch is an Orcatorch D630 - https://amzn.to/4jlT4tA
- Backup torch is an Orcatorch D710 - https://amzn.to/4jhddRk
- Drysuit is an O-Three Ri200 - https://www.othree.co.uk/drysuit-range/ri-2-100-drysuit/
- CCR is an AP Diving Inspiration (XPD) - https://www.apdiving.com/
- Backup computer is a Shearwater Perdix v2 - https://amzn.to/42FXZOW
- Reels are by Kent Tooling - https://www.divingproducts.co.uk/
- Cameras are Paralenz Vaquita
- Video light is NiteScuba NSV60 - NiteScuba NSV60 - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_onHEKQZ
- Phone housing is Divevolk Seatouch 4 Max - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_omJlNKL
- Strobes are Prozhaozhu 3000 Lumen Diving Strobe - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oBMRF3X
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
it isn't every day that you get to solve a 100y old mystery before I found this maker plate the wreck was just one of
0:07
the many hundreds maybe thousands of unknown ships that lie on the seabed off
0:13
the English Coast we're now able to say that it is definitely the SS Lucent sunk
0:19
in 1917 by the German submarine UC 66 as well as finding the maker plate
0:28
you're going to see other stuff in this video such as capturing this tasty
0:33
Lobster surface conditions weren't the greatest for the dive but it was a wreck
0:38
none of us on the boat had done before so you're always pleased to get in the water myself and my buddy with a second
0:45
pair in which meant we got the task of taking the lazy shot that's the Rope I've got in my hand as soon as we got in
0:52
the water though I could look down and see that the visibility was excellent that's always a good start to
0:59
any dive first thing I need to do is get the lazy shot clipped onto the main shot
1:05
that's the thing in front of me with the boy on and you can see I'm swimming along to it I'm also starting my descent
1:12
no reason to hang around the surface I just need to intercept that rope at some point and that's what I'm going to
1:18
do my buddy's already on the way down he's standing by ready to help me though
1:24
if I need the assistance but this a fairly straightforward task and something I've done many times
1:30
before you can see I'm getting deeper not only is the depth increasing on the right hand side but the water's changing
1:37
color really rapidly going from that lovely blue at the surface down to a much more gloopy green here I am about
1:46
15 M I've got the lazy shot on and I'm dropping it down the main shotline I'm
1:52
actually using the weight of it to pull me down as well no point in hanging around on a dive like this you just want
1:59
to get down and get everything set up as I'm heading down I'll just tell you a bit more about the SS
2:05
loosens it was built in 1879 in Sunderland as were a vast number of
2:10
ships at the time approximately 1,400 tons 76 M long and 10 m wide so many
2:18
ships of this era with a similar sort of size it was built to move coal around so
2:25
it wasn't a particularly special ship in any way shape or form but perhaps the
2:30
most interesting thing about it was the way it was sunk everyone expects ships sunk by submarines to be
2:37
torpedoed but in the first world war this was surprisingly uncommon the Skippers liked to save
2:44
Torpedoes which were expensive and also unreliable so often they'd come
2:49
alongside ships get the crews off and then either sink them using gunfire or
2:55
by placing charges on board them in this case the Lucent was sunk by gunfire and
3:01
there were no casualties the lazy shot is only about 40 m long so I'm getting
3:07
to the point where I'm going to run out of rope this is just happening so as you
3:13
can see I'm going to take the PRC Loop off one of the
3:18
clips I'm then going to wrap the PRC loop around the main shot and reattach
3:23
the lazy shots using the PRC this means that the lazy shot will
3:29
stay at the depth where the PRC has been attached to the main shot it won't ride
3:34
up due to either divers pulling in on it or the current picking up getting this set up is an important
3:41
job we're going to spend an awful lot of time next to the lazy shot once we've
3:47
completed our dive I've no idea why they've given it to me then the snap shackle is designed
3:54
so that it can be released under tension that might become important once again if there's lots of divers hanging on the
4:00
lazy shot and the current is picked up significantly if that doesn't work an
4:06
absolute push comes to the shove the last pair can always chop the pric which isn't expensive and nobody's going to
4:13
get care if it gets lost that's all set up now so carrying on The Descent and
4:18
you can see there the strobes from the first pair of divers are clearly visible
4:24
below us that's another good sign means visibility is really good just a quick
4:29
look up there wondering where my buddy is but actually he's there just alongside me he's diving a liberty
4:36
rebreather which is why it's got that nice little flashing bulb on the top of it makes it really easy to see
4:43
him now getting closer to the bottom I've turned on my main torch I can see
4:48
the strobes and I've just got my own strobes out ready to go I'm going to
4:54
attach him about the similar point
5:22
you can actually see there's so much ambient light down here on this dive you can actually start to make out the wreck
5:27
without even needing a torch that's really good news at 70 M you
5:34
normally expect it to be pretty dark and not able to see anything without a torch
5:39
one of the great things about visibility like this is it makes it really easy to orientate yourself on the wreck I can
5:46
see directly underneath me there that is the drive shaft so I'm in the stern of
5:52
the boat almost certainly the engine is either to my right or my left I have to
5:57
make a decision trying to figure out which which way to the center of the boat to the engine as it turns out I
6:03
guess correctly and go
6:16
right underwater visibility is great although the wrecks really broken not
6:22
surprising when you consider it's been underwater for over a 100 years this part of the sea has very little
6:28
protection from the prevailing winds which are Westerly so it will also have been battered by storms every winter for
6:36
those 100
6:49
years I'm coming on to the top of the wreck now you can see the uh engine
6:54
drive shaft and then the actual engine itself there's Lo of Nets but also loads of
7:02
fish it's actually really nice little wreck and I'm really enjoying the dive at this
7:08
point anytime you R the engine it's always worth having a good look around there's all sorts of interesting things
7:14
that brass Circle although I don't think it's anything particularly
7:20
notable and I'm just swimming around the wreck having a quick look around see if
7:25
there's anything catches my eye
7:31
most steel and iron on a wreck is furry from the corrosion so anything that's got straight edges is worth a look this
7:40
below me this plate is clearly not steel or iron almost certainly non Ferris so
7:47
bronze or brass I decid to get it out and have a look at it
8:03
it's kind of stuck in there so it's difficult to get out I can also see that it appears to have been worked so it's
8:10
probably a piece of material that was used for doing repairs on the engine or
8:17
perhaps other parts of the ship still interesting to see anyway I'll leave it
8:23
and move on
8:53
then I spot something else just there under a bit of girder
8:59
under a few bricks it's also got straight edges although unlike the other one doesn't appear to have been
9:05
clipped I'm going to pull it out and have a look at it like all these wrecks there's loads
9:12
of silt soon as you move anything it all kicks up but then get it out and this is
9:18
much more interesting what's interesting about it is it's a nice regular shape it's also
9:25
got those two studs on the front and on the back almost certainly it's been mounted on
9:32
something this looks as though it's important I'm going to have a look and see if I can see anything on it I get my
9:38
knife out and scrape off I'm hoping that it'll reveal some letters although I don't know why I'm doing it on what's
9:44
clearly the bit that was facing the wall in a moment I turn it over and have a look on the other
9:56
side there we go I'm looking to see if there's any markings if I can see any
10:01
writing uh anything once again I scratch again hoping that it's going to reveal
10:07
something even with a bright torch like that it's surprisingly difficult to pick things out underwater and I can't see
10:13
anything even though I feel intuitively that it's got to be something important
10:19
because of the fact it's being attached to something I can't see any any writing on it which is what I'm expecting to see
10:26
this makes me believe that maybe it isn't what I think think it is even
10:31
though I do feel that this is probably a maker
10:36
[Music] plate you can hear me talking through my rebreather at my
10:42
buddy trying to maybe get his opinion I'm not getting any feedback so I carry
10:48
on scraping hoping that will reveal something but it doesn't
10:53
unfortunately it's quite frustrating I'd love to see something really obvious at this point
10:59
but I know that it's difficult to see things underwater quite often so I
11:04
decide I'm going to stick it in my bag bring it up to the surface and then have a look when we get up there
11:11
obviously there's always the danger that you pick something up you bring it up turns out to be nothing and then you've
11:18
just got to handle having the Mickey taken out of you all the way back fortunately for me this one turns out to
11:24
be a really really good decision about the only bad bit is that this is quite early on in the
11:31
dive so I'm going to have to carry on with this bag carrying it the whole time for the rest of the dive but hey it's a
11:39
small price to pay
12:05
I'm now swimming forward up past the bridge and into what must have been the
12:10
forward cargo hold it's absolutely full of stuff when it sunk the Lucent was C
12:18
carrying government stores and then there's these things there's a load of them I've no idea what
12:25
they are perhaps some sort of tires maybe or Wheels it's difficult to say what they're made
12:58
of
13:28
for for
14:21
I'm really close to the bow now and anytime you near the bow you've always got to look out for the Bell especially
14:28
if you don't think it's come off a wreck so when I spot this I get quite
14:33
excited unfortunately as soon as I touch it I realize it isn't the Bell but more
14:39
out of Hope than anything else I just give it a bit of a fan to see if I can
14:45
see any more about it it's far too thin to be a bell though so I quickly move
14:58
on for
15:49
that's the capston for raising and lowering the anchors there's also various other bits of chain and other
15:56
sort of paraphernalia that you associate with a bow it's all around
16:27
here
16:57
for
17:27
for
17:57
for for
18:36
I'm heading back towards the bridge now so this is the forward cargo hold once again you can see that by all these big
18:43
wheels or tires or whatever they are
19:14
you might be wondering what's going on here with my glove it doesn't come out particularly well on the video but I've
19:20
actually torn a hole in the dry glove so it's flooding to stop the water going up
19:25
my sleeve I've got to remove the small piece of tubing on the inner seal that allows the gas
19:31
inside my dry glove to
19:53
equalize then something else catches my eye it's really quite distinctive
19:58
that's clearly the boss of a Helm so I've got to go over and have a look at that takes me a while to figure out
20:05
what's going on here but the helm is actually that big Iron thing in front of me so often these are brass on ships but
20:15
this is a relatively cheaply made ship so they've used an iron one in this
20:23
case I'm going to remove as much of the uh netting as I possibly can to get a
20:29
better look at it unfortunately all that does is confirm what I
20:57
thought e
21:33
still a Helm's not something you see every day so I'll try and let the other divers know it's here so they can come
21:40
over and have a look and I then use the universal symbol for this is a Helm I'm not sure that's
21:48
anything many diving agencies teach you but it seems to work
21:57
okay
22:27
e for
23:02
I'm just to the port side of the bridge now that looks like a valve that somebody's dug out and left there for
23:09
other people to have a look at
23:27
him for
23:59
you tell this wreck hasn't been dive very much that Lobster doesn't seem to know that divers are bad for
24:06
him almost inviting me to come and grab him which obviously I do as I quite like
24:18
lobster for those who've never grabbed a lobster this is the recommended
24:24
technique get them behind the head where they can't reach you with the claws
24:30
grab them anywhere else and you're going to get a really nasty nip it's also useful to have a buddy particularly one
24:36
with a goodie bag mine's actually got a maker plate in it at the moment so I'm going to need another one and we're
24:42
going to work as a team to get this Lobster into the bag already this is proving to be an
24:48
excellent day for me a makers play and a lobster it is actually my birthday so
24:54
that seems wholly appropriate
25:01
too late the lobster realizes that we don't mean him any good he's proving quite Troublesome to get in that bag
25:09
neither of us is very keen to get nipped so we're both being very
25:27
cautious
25:57
for
26:27
e e
27:21
on a wre this size I'd expect there to have been more Port holes this is the
27:27
only one that I se on the dive I pull it out and put it where people can see
27:57
it for
28:46
All Too Soon bottom time is nearly up I'm just heading back along the drive shaft now heading towards the shot
29:18
I don't always dive with a buddy on technical Dives but when I do it's great to have someone around we both know the
29:25
dive is done and time to go up bit of admin first got to take off
29:32
your strobes and actually all of a sudden it seems as though the sea is alive with
29:37
divers seems everyone else has turned up back at the shot at the same time
30:11
as always I don't hang around on a sense once I've made the decision that it's time to come up I'm going to get up as
30:18
quickly as I
30:26
can for
31:00
[Applause] next thing to do is to remove my tag
31:05
this is a lazy shot that we put in earlier and you can see it's under quite a bit of strain almost
31:12
certainly the tide is picked up a bit on the surface and that's what's pulling
31:19
it as I look down I can see almost every other diver on the boat it's really
31:24
unusual to get this many people together at the lazy shot at the same time I
31:30
guess it's just one of those things you do enough diving it's bound to happen
31:40
eventually anyway I've hope You' enjoyed following me through my dive for me it's
31:45
been a cracker underwater visibility is awesome and I've had two great results
31:52
not only have I got a maker plate but I've got a nice lovely Lobster to have for my dinner as well
31:58
if you've enjoyed this video I'd love to hear from you in the comments section it'd also be great if you could like it
32:05
share it with other like-minded souls and of course it's always great news when somebody decides they want to
32:11
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