Scuba Diving

Into the deep
Jersey is a strikingly beautiful island, but first time visitors are often surprised by the diversity of its 45 miles of coastal landscape and its rich and varied marine life – much of it now internationally recognised and protected. Scuba diving is a fantastic opportunity to explore an underwater world bursting with marine life and shipwrecks. Whether you are an experienced diver or have yet to take those first special breaths in a deep sea world, Jersey can fulfil all your diving needs.

It’s a shore thing
Located in the bay of St Malo, Jersey has one of the largest tidal ranges in the world. This, coupled with the influence of the Gulf Stream, means that marine life is diverse and abundant and Jersey is home to a number of rare and indigenous species.

Bonne Nuit, Bouley Bay, Rozel Bay and St Catherine's breakwater are the best places for shore diving. These shallow rocky bays are home to many types of wrasse, as well as pollack, mullet and bass with pipefish hiding amongst the kelp. Green and purple snakelock anemones cling to pebbles, with pink and mauve cleaner prawns often hiding within their tentacles. Tube-worms, sea squirts and nudibranchs can be found amongst the rocks.

Divers may be able to find the local ormer hiding under rocks and boulders as well as crabs and lobsters. From summer onwards cuttlefish and John Dory are a common sight. In deeper water the rock faces are covered in anemones, fan corals and dead men’s fingers. Sea urchins and starfish cling to the underwater cliffs and flatfish, rays and dogfish lie on the seabed. If you’re lucky in the summer, you may spot basking sharks, seahorses, sunfishes and dolphins.

Local game laws prohibit the taking of ormers, lobsters and crayfish to protect stocks, but divers are allowed to bring up fish and crabs and you can get a permit to gather the sublime scallop.

How low will you go to find treasure?
The treacherous rocks and half submerged reefs surrounding Jersey, combined with swirling tides have brought many a ship to grief over the years. For the keen wreck diver there are plenty of shipwrecks from the German Occupation of the Channel Islands in World War II.

One of the most visited wrecks is the Schocklands, a 225 ft long Dutch freighter that sank after hitting a reef in 1943 whilst under German command. She now sits upright and almost completely intact on the seabed about a mile off Portelet Bay. Depths to the deck vary from 20 to 30 metres depending on the state of the tide and, like all the Island’s wrecks, must be dived at slack water.

The Kromwijk, a small-armed coaster carrying bricks, also lies off the south coast at a similar depth. She is upside down and while most of the hull is intact there is some damage amidships revealing two boilers. The Kromwijk was sunk in 1942 by two RAF aircraft, which are rumoured to have been shot down and lying close by.

The 64 foot long La Mauve, sunk by the Jersey Underwater centre in 1993, is about a mile off Bouley Bay. She sites upright on a rocky seabed and is surrounded by a huge shoal of pouting. The wreck of a small fishing vessel lies within feet of her stern.

On the Minquiers reef lies a German M343 minesweeper. She rests in just over 30 metres of water and is home to a variety of marine life including some huge conger eels.

Other wrecks around the Island include the tug Martinique and the Metropolis in St Aubin’s Bay, the Magazan, the ‘armed trawler’ and the Princess Ena, a passenger ship which sank southwest of Corbière lighthouse in 1953.

In case of diving emergency, contact can be made by:

1. Dialling 999.
2. Reporting to Accident and Emergency Department, General Hospital, Gloucester Street.
3. At sea, calling Jersey Radio on Channel 16.

Dive Operators
Whether you’re keen to start from scratch, fancy a fun dive, are experienced but need to polish your technique or want to brush up old skills, Jersey has several dive operators able to cater for your underwater needs. Dive centres will also be happy to rent out equipment, give advice and provide dive tables. There are age restrictions involved, please phone the companies for further information. Scuba Diving is available in Jersey year round.