British dive boat sinks

Two crew and ten diving charterers abandoned successfully into the boat’s liferaft, before being picked up.

The 12m-long Nelson-class vessel had left its base in Plymouth and was on its way to Salcombe’s Maine wreck, with a group from London’s Wimbledon Divers. The wind was blowing at Force 4-5 from the south-west, with moderate seas.

Without warning, the boat started taking in water near Bolt Head at a rate too fast for its bilge pumps to manage. The cause was likely to have been a broken skin fitting.

Allen put out an emergency call and let off flares, and the liferaft was launched. Fortunately the divers were already kitted up in their suits, ready to dive. All abandoned successfully without injury, before Aquanaut went down within, it was estimated, 10 minutes of first taking on water.

A nearby yacht, Dutch Angel, came over and took aboard two people. Salcombe Lifeboat arrived to recover the remaining ten. A rescue helicopter was scrambled but was not required.

Following the sinking on Saturday, five divers from Plymouth’s Barbican-based Aquanauts Dive Centre returned yesterday to dive the boat, which lies in 18m. They were able to recover from the cabin personal effects for the London group.

They noted some damage to the wheelhouse and stern area - probably caused, thought diver Brian Allen, by “wave action overnight”. The boat was still rocking back and forth in the swell.

More dives were planned for today. It is too early, centre manager Noeleen Allen told Divernet, to know whether salvage of the vessel will be feasible.