The Isle of Man has a fantastic choice of exciting and colourful dive sites.  Our ideal placement at the southern tip of the Island means that we can shelter from any rough weather, except in Gale Force winds.  We do our very best to work around the weather and during 2008 all our charter parties managed two dives per day.  Sometimes this meant early start times or late finish times, but if you travel over the Isle of Man to go diving, then we’ll try to ensure that’s just what you do.  In some cases we may pick up divers from Port Erin or Douglas to avoid you having to endure the worst of the weather.  If this is necessary we will give you as much notice as possible and assist in transporting your party to the pick-up point.

Top destinations for visiting divers include:

The Sugarloaf Caves - with a clear overhead to surface into so no additional training is required.  There are usually seals playing around at the entrance to Fairy Hall, and a large male is usually found resting on the rocks at the back of the cave.  A torch is a must for this dive so you can explore the small crevasses where squat lobsters hide away.

Garden Rock – A pinnacle rising up from the seabed at 18m.  Loads of nooks and crannies to explore.
Fenella Ann – a fishing trawler lying in 40m (2002 wreck).

The Citrine – a wreck site which makes a good second dive in 15m water.  Well broken up and a nice introduction to wreck diving.  The boiler stands proud and the winches and davits lie on the seabed.

The Stack – another good scenic dive.  Highly tidal.  Delayed SMBs required.

Port St Mary Ledges – rock gullies with overhangs and lots of lobsters.

The Peveril – 40m wreck of a Steam Packet ship sunk after a collision one moonlit night in 1899 en route from Liverpool to Douglas.

The Liverpool – 35-40m steamship, which struck a mine in 1916.  The steamship Ruby took her under tow, but the weather deteriorated and the Liverpool listed to starboard and the towing hawsers had to be cut to save the Ruby.  Ten minutes later the Liverpool slipped beneath the waves.  Look out for the intact china plates and bowls tucked inside the hold. 

Calf Sound – a drift dive for the brave!  Forget anything you have ever read about tidal streams, for here the tide flows in one direction for 10 hours and slack water is the 2 hours that it flows back again.  Standing waves are common as the tide meets the wind.  Delayed SMBs are a must.  The Isle of Man’s largest seal colony lives on Kitterland in the middle of the Calf, and young seals frequently come down to see what’s happening.  Endeavour will see you on the other side.

The Afton – a scenic wreck in 22m of water, this 140ft steamship sank in 1896.  She now sits on top of a scenic reef so once you have explored the wreckage take time to have a look around her too.

Clan McMaster – nestled into the rocks in the Calf Sound.  Boilers stand tall and the prop shaft runs the length of the wreck.

Thracian – A steel barque sunk under tow.  Three of the four masts lie visible on the seabed.  The keel is uppermost, but as the plating is starting to break up, you have a chance to look through the ribs.

The Burroo – a beautiful scenic dive with rock gullies and overhangs sheltering loads of life.  Anemones cover the surfaces and the planking from a wreck are visible at the base.

All of these sites are weather and tide dependent, so the actual dive plan for the day will only be decided much nearer the time.  If you have a burning desire to do a specific dive, please tell us at the start of the week, so that we have the maximum opportunity to try and get you there.

The skipper and crew of Endeavour have dived around the Isle of Man for many years.  They know many sites that are not in the dive guides, and many more for which details in the books are not totally correct (including locations, slack times and the identity of some wrecks).  Feel free to take their advice and grill them for information.  During your trip with us, they will do their best to get you on the dives that you want to do, but as we can’t guarantee the weather sometimes fall-back plans are necessary.