Diving in the Bay

Torbay, as well as a popular family holiday resort, has, over recent years, become very popular with the diving community, both as a place to learn the sport, and for the more experienced diver, as a place to enjoy spectacular shallow , and more challenging wreck diving.
For those not yet qualified, but with a hankering to do so, Aqualearn offers fully inclusive PADI courses for the beginner, and for those wishing to increase their level of qualification.

For those already qualified, and looking for some interesting shore dive sites in the area, probably one of the safest actually within Torbay, has to be Fairy cove. This site can be accessed on foot from Paignton harbour, is quite shallow. Swim out from the beach until you reach the edge of the rock shelf, and descend to about 7 or 8 meters, you will find yourself on a golden sand sea bed, with rocky inlets to explore, and a variety of sea life. Keep the shelf on your right, and follow the shelf for some 100 meters, and you will stumble on the wreck of the E.Boat T.289. She lies in about 8 meters of water, and is worth the effort of finding.

Brixham Breakwater is also a good, safe dive for the newly qualified, or not so adventurous amongst you. Again, this site is accessed from the beach. Drive into Brixham and follow the signs for Berry Head, Breakwater car park is on your left. Once in the water, keep the Breakwater on your left, and you can safely dive as far along as you like. The shelf on the left is the base of the pier, and to your right is open water, the majority of which is flat sand. This dive is good for a night dive, as you are, or should be, always within sight of the Breakwater, which gives you a good fixing on location.

My personal favourite shore dive in Torbay is Babbacombe beach, this is a lovely little cove accessed from Babbacombe Downs road. A steep drive down through the woods, takes you into the beach car park, try to ignore the beachside pub, The Fisherman’s Arms, until after the dive.
Enter the water from the pier, dive down and follow your nose out to sea, until you reach the ledge, where the rocks drop off and give way to a sandy sea bed, at most, on a high spring tide, you won’t have to cope with more than about 10 meters of water. If you follow the ledge to the right, you come across quite a kelpy area, and this way is full of life, I’ve seen some fairly big congers in the weeds, and it is also home to some crustations. If you elect to go left, you can swim across the sandy bed until you reach the cliffs, this provides a good area for exploration, and some good holes to poke around in.
Try and arrange this dive for a Sunday morning, and after the dive, a good finish to the fun is a drink and lunch in the Fisherman’s. What could be better?

For the more experienced diver, the deeper waters offshore really need to be accessed from a boat. Shag Rock and Shoalstone reef are two very popular dives, with an abundance of sponges, soft corral and anemones.
Slightly more adventurous are Thatcher Rock, the Orestone, Berry Head and the Morris Rogue. All these sites are great for drift diving, and provide some spectacular scenery and wildlife.

Off Torbay lie many wrecks, some very accessible, others more tricky. The Bretagne lies in 28 meters, she is fairly upright, and in not bad condition. This is a fantastic dive, but you will need direction in finding it. The Galicia lies in 16 meters, and is quite well broken up, but does provide a home for some very large conger eels.

As well as the abundance of underwater life to be seen in the seas around Torbay, a lot can quite often be seen on the surface, either from the shore, or from a boat on the way to or from dive sites. Regular visitors to the area include Dolphins, Porpoise, and the occasional Basking shark. {That’s definitely something to run into on the way to the surface.}

If you are visiting the Bay, and are looking for diver friendly accommodation, give Lisa Sawtell a ring, At the Inn on the Green, Paignton. They offer reasonably priced accommodation, with access to facilities suited to divers.
01803 557841

If you are looking to do a PADI course, and would like to find out more, or even if you just want to come down as an experienced diver and do some diving, contact Mike Ingham on 01803 523195.Mike runs Aqualearn, And also arranges guided dives. Aqualearn have two very well equipped dive boats, and know the local area very well.

If you are coming down, and would like just to buddy up with someone experienced for an occasional dive, Geoff Sharp, the owner of Venture Sports in Paignton, is more than likely going to be able to help. He can be contacted on 01803 523023

If you do come down, have a great time, and stay safe