Guides
SS Thesis re-visited
Although the original guide for this wreck is contained in the general overview guide it has really changed beyond belief and as such I have produced a new guide which is much more relevant.
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Latest Photographs
A general 'look' at the topography, in this case shallow troughs and loads of kelp
A 'fresh' Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus) that was washed up at Embleton. Great was my joy at being able to tell the guys at St Andrews University that this specimen had washed up and it was sweetened by adding that we had already toild Newcastle University of the stranding
The propellor from SS Abessinia, due to the absence of a shaft was it lost 'mid-salvage' or was this the spare cast iron part?
More girders and struts, this is a good distance from the main lumps of superstructure but the shallow water and big seas does increasingly move stuff about
More bits in the jumble of machinery
In the centre of the top deck as you swim back towards the funnels there are only the occasional uprights left, not sure how long before everything starts buckling.
As you approach the debris field you will find little lengths of lead coated wiring sticking out of the sand or protruding from under stones.
A close up inside the mantle of a Lions Mane Jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) in this case it was obviously on the way out with no stingers and a large hole where something had tried to eat it. This allowed me to get quite close and get some nice shots of the structure around the mantle. By the start of October the beaches up here are covered in dead jellies, sad and potentially dangerous for children.
The point where the gun meets the turret
This section is the only bit commonly found south of the boilers, you might find some bits of bow but its a swim and they may be covered in sand
An Edible Crab (Cancer pagurus), there a few of these critters about but most if not all are of a size that would mean little or no meat, that said technically they would be legal...
This smaller donkey boiler is standing on one of the flate ends and large sections of the outer case have, over the years, come adrift meaning that you can look in on the various tubes and pipes.
A male Cuckoo Wrasse (Labrus bimaculatus), this one was very interested in what I was about, approaching the camera dome for a good look-see.
The horizontal boiler, again quite good condition, I assume that its relative depth saves it from most of the pounding damage
A Tompot blenny (Parablennius gattorugine), this one was hiding in his hole and almost attached to my camera by a piece of string.....as the camera got close he retreated into his hole!
A close up of some 100 year old teak decking, in the shelter this decking has lasted remarkably well and is still 'tough' and not at all spongey and falling apart.
Plates and spars towards the stern of the wreck
You can now look along the prop-shaft tunnel
One of the attarcations is a boat, a good place to write general abuse and look for things to remove and keep (why?)
Head up the slope from the boilers in a south westerly direction and you will find a jumble of winches and machinery
A Common Hermit Crab (Pagurus bernhardus) this one is in a winkle shell and was quite happy trying to stare me down, cheeky little blighter!
A very large, well the largest that I have ever seen Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris), she was probably a tad larger than the size mentioned as a maximum on the species, with her mantle certianly bigger than 30cm
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