SPECIAL ISSUE

Main photograph: guns of the wreck of HMS Limboune which lies at a depth of 85m 1 scattered bottles on the wreck of a sailing ship, later identifi ed as the Smyrna 2 a diver prepares to use a scooter to survey a wreck
THE GREAT UNTOUCHED

Deep wreck photographer Leigh Bishop believes we are currently in the middle of a golden age in shipwreck discovery. Here, he shares the secrets of the leading wreck detectives, and explains why diving on an undisturbed wreck is the ultimate rush

It was a long swim but it was worth the effort. The anchor line had hooked itself close to a huge propeller (obviously at the stern), so we swam the entire length of the wreck – no mean feat when you’re at a depth of 85m. Conditions were superb, with 30m visibility and an extraordinary level of ambient light, which allowed me to look up and admire the towering structure of the wreck above us. Sitting on its port side, the vessel’s deck fittings and layout were already familiar to me from the research I had carried out. To my delight, I realised the shipwreck – at that point unseen and untouched since the

day of its sinking – was that of the famous Flying Enterprise. With my dive buddy of the day – the renowned technical diving exponent Richard Stevenson – I had the privilege of being the first to swim the decks of a ship that had become immediately famous at the time of her sinking back in January 1952, when her captain had battled heroically to save her from sinking. As the marketing men at Coca Cola say: ‘You can’t beat the feeling’. Though for me, the feeling is diving on a virgin shipwreck rather than knocking back a sugary drink. This dive had kudos levels that were, frankly, through the ceiling. To be the first to dive on

a wreck is special indeed, but to be the first on a famous wreck – well, suffice to say that the adrenaline was still making my heart thump even as I surfaced after a long decompression, 45 miles from land. The dive vessel Loyal Watcher was buzzing with excitement, not least skipper Steve Wright, the man who had really found the wreck and made it possible for us to dive it. That was back in 2001, but the memory is still fresh. Today, the Flying Enterprise is a popular technical dive out of Plymouth and remains as exhilarating an experience as the day the wreck was found. Standing 20m off the sea bed, a diver can gaze up at the intact

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