Fyne Pioneer, Loch Fyne

Site Name: Stormlight - Islay & Jura

History

The Stormlight was a steel motor vessel of the puffer type built by W J Yarwood of Northwich, Cheshire, and launched in 1957. Her dimensions were 26.8m x 6.4m x 2.7m. She was lost on 15th December 1973 when carrying a cargo of telephone cable from Campbeltown to Oban.  She ran aground at 7.10pm in gale force winds at the entrance to Craighouse, Jura. The crew were taken off by Islay lifeboat which had responded to her distress calls.

 

It was hoped that the wreck could be saved as she was still visible the next day from Craighouse Pier. As the tide flooded she refloated but she became trapped between the reef and rocks below the lighthouse on Eilean nan Gabhar, bumping hard along the seabed. The waves rolled Stormlight onto her port side,  and she became a total wreck, jamming her even further into the gap between the island and the reef. Her starboard gunwhale was visible above the surface, making the site of the wreck for some time. She was eventually washed off the rocks into deeper water where she now lies today. 

 

 

Dive Site Info

The wreck of the Stormlight lies in a maximum depth of 12m on a rock and sand seabed. The wreck is broken into two main parts, bow and stern, and she is very broken up midships. The stern lies towards the shore, upright in a gulley running south from a small cave in the islet, with the bow lying on its side at an angle in 5 metres. She has been very broken up by the waves so there is a lot to look at, although there is nothing particuarly large. The shallowest part of the wreck almost breaks the surface even today. The kelp on the reef is just visible at low water. The site has plenty of life hidden in the kelp and many fish about the wreck.

When to dive

This site is very sheltered and provides an interesting short dive at the end of a day of deeper diving.

Map