Christine Rose.
The broken remains of a small Second World War patrol drifter lying on her port side on shingle, about 100 m east-south-east of the Knap Rock beacon. The keel, the stern with its rudder and propeller, the engine and the boiler can all be made out, and the deck gun lies upside down and half buried at the bow.
What's down there.
- Boiler and engine amidships
- Stern with rudder and propeller
- Near-intact keel
- Deck gun upside down and half buried at the bow
- War grave context: five lives lost
- Encrusting sea life covering the wreckage
Lies at 10–12 m on shingle; the boiler stands about 2.3 m high.
Shallow but exposed to swell and current, so it is best dived at slack water. The depth suits all levels of diver in calm conditions.
How it got there.
Steel steam drifter of about 91 gross tons, around 24 m long, possibly built in France or Belgium as 'Christiane Rose'; her early history is not documented. She was seized at Southampton on 3 July 1940 and served from Oban, first as an examination vessel and then as an armed patrol vessel. On 10 September 1941, in strong north-westerly winds and rough seas, she ran aground on a submerged reef just south of Knap Rock in the Sound of Jura, then rolled off and sank. Five of the 15 crew and scientific staff died, including the skipper, R. W. Griffiths. Three of the dead are buried in Pennyfuir Cemetery, Oban.
4 dives.
From the reconstructed log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.