100 Best Wreck Dives
THE FORFARSHIRE - 88
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| Number 88 |
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270-ton paddlesteamer, built 1834. 180ft x 22ft. Cargo: cloth, hardware, soap, boiler plate and spinning gear. Hull for Dundee. Position: 55 38.40N; 01 37.25W. Depth: 8m.
Sunk: 7 September, 1838, by engines' breakdown, storm winds and striking the Big Harcar Rock, Farne Islands. 18 survivors out of 63. Nine were saved by William Darling, keeper of Longstone Lighthouse, and his daughter Grace.
Diving: Wreck is on south-west tip of Harcar Rock; little is obvious amid kelp; some timbers, plates, air intakes, steel ladder, and anchor. Some experienced divers use strong north-south tides in Piper Gut to 'fly' over the Grace Darling wreckage, which is mixed with cannon from other ships.
Launch: Seahouses, Beadnell, Bamburgh. |
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