Duo-Divers

View two of a bilge sieve, these were fitted to the open ends of bilge pipes to make sure that no large crud which may block the pump could be drawn into the system.

A Common Starfish (Asterias rubens) this one was digging deep for I guess a cockle or similar that he had 'sensed'.

The upper mounting position where the pin would fit

More dulse covered iron-work, this time a Ballan Wrasse is heading off at a rate of knots!

Part of the stern section of SS Mistley, there is a small area where the girder construction is still present and maybe 1m above the seabed.

By late summer the once bare stems of the kelp are little microcosms of weeds and small animals, the winter storms smashes everything up but twelve months later it's all back.

The boiler..... usually the only thing visible!

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.

You get two colours of Plumose Anemone (Metridium senile) white and orange, both look like cold willies when closed up but very pretty when open and feeding!

The Staple Sound side of the site is a wall smothered in Dead mans Fingers (Alcyonium digitatum) and is a great scenic dive!

An 'A' frame located adjacent to the stern of SS Mistley, not surprising bearing in mind that she was a steam trawler.

A more conventionally coloured Bloody Henry (Henerica oculata)

Not sure what these sections are or did but there are several on the site so unless they form an integral part of a gun carriage we can say that the pipes are not cannon

The back end of a shaggy mouse slug, or sea mouse or more accurately Aeolidia papillosa, this one was spotted quite early in the season.

This site is home to a multitude of Common Hermit Crabs (pagurus bernhardus) and they do seem to be involved in a never ending squabble or 'pagger', the behaviour possibly derived from its latin name?

The sandstone bed-rock slowly steps up towards teh cliffs, in this case it is worn away in tiny steps, probably the equivalent to the layers that were laid down over time.

Oh and of course our old friend the blue fiend or common lobster (Hommarus gammarus) loads live ion the rough ground but mainly smaller 'wiggies'

This is about mid-ships by my reckoning, could be the top of a capstan or similar, again this hasn't been visible for a number of years.

I think part of a mast, I did think prop shaft from a smaller vessel but winter storms revealed that at least one of the ends is sealed.

This sponge, sometimes known as Goose Bump sponge (Dysidea fragilis) are are over the site, you can see them on the general topography photograph in this album

A scenic of the bow, due to the previous salvage operation it has 'snapped' and fallen away from centre to left of the photograph