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The Diver's Guide to the Weymouth and Portland Area by Weymouth & Portland BSAC
The Diver's Guide to the Weymouth and Portland Area by Weymouth & Portland BSAC
With its long history as a naval base, Portland has more than its fair share of military wrecks within easy reach of RIB or hardboat. Unfortunately, Weymouth is possibly the most heavily dived part of Britain and some of these sites, such as the submarine war grave M2, can get very crowded at weekends.
That's why it's important to know how to get the best from the wrecks and also what the alternatives are, and for non-wreckies there is plenty of scenic diving a short way along the coast at Purbeck.
The Diver's Guide to the Weymouth and Portland Area might be randomly organised and poorly presented, but somewhere within its 52 pages this booklet contains everything a diver needs, short of tide tables.
A yellow highlighting pen is essential equipment where advertisers and scallop recipes take priority over Coastguard and hyperbaric chamber information, and important details are buried in text. A list of vital local emergency phone numbers, for example, is tucked away in the middle of page four with little thought for instant access.
But the gold is there for those who persevere. The excellent section on launch sites is comprehensive and supported by practical advice on ease of entry and exit, local features to look out for and facilities. The tidal stream atlas for Portland is also reproduced, with a table of the best diving periods for different areas off the Dorset coast.
There's a good summary of what's on offer inside Portland harbour itself and whether dive permits are needed for the various wrecks. Even better, a list of more than 70 offshore wrecks is included, with GPS co-ordinates generously provided. Colin Wilde |
| The Diver's Guide to the Weymouth and Portland Area by Weymouth & Portland BSAC (Weymouth Angling Society, Commercial Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8NF). Softback, 52pp, £5 |
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