DIVER INFORMATION · PROTECTED WRECK SITE
Dive The Coronation
Experience one of Britain’s protected historic wreck sites. Whether you’re visiting with a club, using your own boat or joining a local charter, the Coronation Wreck Project can help you plan your dive.
Before You Visit
Permission is required
The Coronation is a fully protected wreck site and diving without the necessary permission is against the law.
Please contact the project before planning your visit. We require as much notice as possible to process your visit, ideally 14 days.
We welcome all responsible visitors, and we understand that tides, weather and individuals can cause your plans to change. If you decide that you would like to dive at shorter notice or vary the day you have booked, please email us with ideally 24hrs notice and we will do our best to accommodate you. It cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our very best to accommodate your visit to these special sites.
Importantly, divers must wait until approval has been confirmed before diving the site.
Plan
Choose how you’ll visit
Dive from your own boat, arrange a local charter, or contact the project if you’re an individual diver looking to join a trip.
Permission
Arrange your visit in advance
1. Where possible allow 14 days for permission to dive the Coronation (we will respond to confirm receipt and send additional instructions)
2. The week before your planned dive - contact us again with your finalised group names.
Protect
Help safeguard the wreck
A strict no-take policy applies to the sites (Artefacts, seabed elements and marine life). Anchoring on the wreck sites is not permitted. Please follow all the guidance provided with your dive permission.
DIVE DIARY
Check Availability
Check the Coronation Dive Calendar before planning your visit to see when other groups are already booked.
If another group is diving on your preferred day, visits can often be staggered. To allow everyone plenty of time on the site, the project would normally accommodate no more than two groups per day.
If your group requires additional time, please mention this when arranging your visit.
Visiting the wreck
Ways to dive the Coronation
There are several ways to arrange a dive:
- Visit using your own boat
- Arrange a visit with the site licensees
- Join a local charter boat
- Apply as an individual diver, even if you are not part of a club or organised group
Individual divers can contact the project and ask for a place on a boat. They can then provide details of local charter schedules. If enough individual divers are interested, the project may also organise a boat specifically for the group.
During the summer, the project has also run “Coronation Evenings”, offering groups a more detailed visit to the site.
RESPONSIBLE DIVING
Explore it. Respect it. Protect it.
A strict no-take policy operates across the Coronation wreck sites.
Nothing may be removed — including archaeological material, other objects or marine life.
There is also strictly no anchoring on either wreck site. Boats must use shot lines placed at the specified coordinates; the relevant details are provided following a successful application to dive.
The Coronation was one of the first shipwrecks protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.
Please do not attempt to dive the Coronation without permission.
OFFSHORE SITE · DIVER TRAIL
Navigate the wreck
The Offshore site
The Offshore site lies at around 18-20 metres making it accessible to divers of varying experience levels, and contains a concentrated collection of cannon and anchors. It forms part of a much larger debris field, with wreckage spread over more than a mile and depths ranging from around 5 to 30 metres.
The Diver Trail is divided into 10 buoyed stations, each marked by a suspended trawler float and a large stainless-steel disc with the station number cut out near the seabed.
The recommended route is anticlockwise, beginning at Station 1, Anchor A.
Coronation Offshore Diver Trail
Diagrammatic plan · Not to scaleTrail Highlights
Station 5 — Anchors:
One anchor stands proud of the seabed, with remnants of two more below.
Station 7 — The Gun:
The largest gun on this part of the wreck, resting almost in firing position.
Station 8 — Marine Life:
Traditionally home to the site’s resident conger eel, with plenty of other marine life around the wreck.
A map for discovery, not disturbance.
The Coronation is a protected wreck site. This public interpretation helps visitors understand the trail, but approved dive information and current navigation instructions must always come directly from the project team.
Visitors Guide
Take the Coronation guide with you
Download the Coronation Visitor Guide for an introduction to the wreck, the Offshore Diver Trail and some of the features and marine life you may encounter during your visit.
Offshore Site Conditions
Plan around the tidal flow
The tidal flow at the Offshore site can be quite strong for divers. You can use this chart to plan your dive. In the table shown here, the direction and strength of the tidal flow is shown for each hour before and after the time of High Water at Devonport.
| Time | Direction | Springs | Neaps |
|---|---|---|---|
| HW -6 | 236° | 0.7 kn | 0.4 kn |
| HW -5 | 264° | 0.6 kn | 0.3 kn |
| HW -4 | 316° | 0.6 kn | 0.3 kn |
| HW -3 | 031° | 0.5 kn | 0.2 kn |
| HW -2 | 047° | 0.7 kn | 0.4 kn |
| HW -1 | 053° | 1.0 kn | 0.5 kn |
| HW | 081° | 1.0 kn | 0.5 kn |
| HW +1 | 111° | 0.8 kn | 0.4 kn |
| HW +2 | 129° | 0.3 kn | 0.1 kn |
| HW +3 | 235° | 0.3 kn | 0.1 kn |
| HW +4 | 242° | 0.8 kn | 0.4 kn |
| HW +5 | 236° | 0.8 kn | 0.4 kn |
| HW +6 | 232° | 0.9 kn | 0.5 kn |
SUPPORTING THE PROJECT
Cost of Diving & Diver Trail Maps
There is currently no charge to dive the Coronation, although the project asks visiting divers for a contribution of £2.50 per diver, per day.
These contributions help support the ongoing maintenance, research and outreach work connected with the wreck site.
Printed Diver Trail guide maps are also available to help divers navigate the Offshore site. For every two £2.50 contributions, the project can provide one trail map.
If you would like maps for your group, please request them when arranging your dive. They can either be posted out in advance or collected locally in Plymouth.
TAKE A TOUR
Explore the Coronation Wreck Trail
See the Coronation from a diver’s perspective with a guided video tour of the wreck site.
The film follows the trail around key features of the wreck, helping visiting divers become familiar with the site before getting in the water and giving non-divers a chance to experience what lies beneath the surface.
The wreck trail video was created with support from Historic England, with footage from Street Sub Aqua Club and the Plymouth University Professional Diving Team.
HELP BUILD THE RECORD
Have you dived the Coronation before?
Please send us your photographs and observations after your dive. Every visit can help build a better understanding of the Coronation, and there are opportunities for individuals and clubs to get involved in ongoing research and discovery — diving with a purpose.