The Wreck of the SS Beaumaris

The SS Beaumaris was a 2372 tonne tanker built in 1917 by Joseph T Eltringham of Willington Quay. She was torpedoed 2½ miles NW of the Longships on 7th February 1918 by the German submarine U-53 and hit on the starboard side in No 1 hold. The crew except for the Captain and a wireless operator left the ship in the lifeboats and were guided in by the Sennen lifeboat Ann Newbon. The Captain and wireless operator managed to run her ashore in Whitesand Bay.

To reach Sennen Cove take the A30 from Penzance following the signs for Lands End, as you enter Sennen Village you will see a sign on the right hand side for Sennen Cove. Follow the road down the hill to the bottom and park in the car park on the right hand side. Although you can launch a boat at Sennen the Beaumaris is easily reached as a shore dive. It is a bit of a trek over the beach but not too bad if you are reasonably fit. Anyone with a bad back may need to find a friend to help with their kit. It is best to kit up in the car park and walk down the steps to the beach, these are steep and can be slippery so take care and hold on to the hand rail, there are a few rocks to negotiate at the bottom but after this you are on the sand. The alternative is to walk down the slip, no steps but a little bit further to go.

Once on the sand there are two swathes of rocks either side of you and a flat stretch of sand leading down to the water, walk down to the water's edge and take a bearing of 330º. It is fairly shallow for quite a while. The wreck is about 30 to 50 m out depending on the state of the tide. But either on the surface or underneath a bearing of 330º should bring you straight to the wreck.

She lies parallel to the shore in a maximum of 10 m at high tide and has been flattened as she represented a hazard to shipping. There is usually a lot of fish life in and around the wreck with lots of big Wrasse living in and around the centre section and on the sand in front there a quite often enormous Turbot and other flatties. The eastern end of the wreck has a lot of interesting holes to poke around in and you can still find bits and pieces of pottery etc. lying around. There is still some brass here but most of it is very well attached, but you never know. Seals and the occasional dolphin have been known to join divers on a good day.

The sand does shift after big storms and it is quite possible to find that either a lot of sand has shifted away and there is more wreck to see or just the opposite. As she is quite shallow if there is any swell you are likely to feel it but there is plenty to hang on to, this also lowers the viz as a lot of sand gets blown around.

It is probably best to dive when the tide is dropping as getting out if the tide is coming in around the rocks can be tricky as you can't see where to tread and the swell will tumble you around as you try to get your fins off. Probably best to have some shore cover to help you out. Try to avoid coming up on the main section of the beach as this is popular with surfers and getting a board wrapped round your head can be painful.

After the dive why not have a pint in the Old Success Inn, the food is excellent too. Or take a walk down to the lifeboat station and be sure to drop something in the collection box!

Produced for Penzance Divers by Sally-Ann Hocking

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