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Burra Sound As the tide ebbs and flows through the north east entrance to Scapa Flow, the water is split into two streams by Graemsay creating a very strong current through Burra Sound. All the wrecks here are best started at slack water, but once underwater, the wrecks offer good shelter for the diver. The times of slack water roughly coincide with those of Stromness if you are planning dives before coming. The tidal race keeps the wrecks clear of silt and visibility in the sound is always the best in the Flow. The depth is roughly 18m for all the wrecks, so they make perfect second dives. A drift dive, whether just after slack or at mid-tide through here is certainly exhilarating. Marine life on the wrecks is superb, from shoals of Pollack to anemones and nudibranchs covering all available space. This is one area where both "wreck" and "beastie" divers are kept happy. With the clear water, photography is easy and the results often stunning. There are basically three ships left that are intact enough to be recognisable underwater, the Tabarka, Doyle and Gobernador Bories. The Inverlane used to stick up out of the water, a distinctive landmark clearly visible from the St Ola on the trip into Stromness, but she has now collapsed and only the bow sticks up at very low water. Popular in the past, the Inverlane is now rarely dived. In addition, there are several areas of scrap that once were the Ronda, Budrie, Urmstone Grange and the Rotherfield, but these ships were blown up by the Royal Navy to make way for the Inverlane and consequently are hard both to locate and to make out once in the water.
The Doyle, like the others here, was sunk by the Royal Navy as a blockship. She rests on her port side a short distance down from the Inverlane in about 17m of water. Some shelter from the tide can be found close in to the hull but not as much as the two wrecks above: divers venturing further out can be caught in strange eddies that circle in a confusing manner. The stern and bow sections are immediately recognisable, whilst the impressive propeller and rudder remain in place. Most of the ribs remain and divers can swim through several levels within the hull. Plenty of openings remain to allow easy exit and the wreck is robust enough to be reasonably safe. Slightly smaller than the other two wrecks in Burra Sound she is the least dived but is still an excellent wreck. When the Inverlane collapsed, her bow section was swept down the sound and came to rest not far from the Doyle. Divers exiting from the Tabarka are often carried over the Doyle by the tide.
The Gobernador Bories lies on her port side in around 17m of water a little way down from the Doyle. She is more broken up than the other wrecks in the Sound but what remains is fairly robust and easy for the diver to penetrate. The bow, stern and amidships remain recognisable with gaps between them: the propeller and rudder are still present. Around the mid ship section, where the shot is usually located, there is a good swim through past the boilers, exiting through a squeeze near the main engine. The Goby is a slack water dive though the window is slightly longer than the other two wrecks in the Sound, and the current less pronounced. Like the Doyle, the Gobernador Bories is covered in kelp with a large wrasse population hungry for urchins.
The Tabarka was seized in Falmouth in 1940 by the Royal Navy and initially sunk in Kirk Sound before the construction of the 1st barrier. She was subsequently moved to her present position in July 1944. The Tabarka usually ends up being the favourite dive of the week, being an excellent dive. She lies upside down in around 15m of water, so that when entering the hull, the diver is almost completely enclosed. The stern is open, a section in the middle and a small hole at the bow, consequently exiting can be tricky. Swimming along her length, the diver can choose one of two levels until the engine room is reached, where she opens up revealing her three boilers. All in all, the place is a giant underwater playground. Natural light enters all along her length so that a torch is not a necessity. Like all Burra Sound, this is a slack water dive. The top of the wreck is only just below the surface and there is no shot line. The accepted technique is to park the boat above the upturned hull so when the divers enter the water they can see the wreck beneath them. When the time comes to ascend, care must be taken in the strong tide so as not to be swept against the wreck. Decompression stops are to be avoided. The external surface of the hull is covered in kelp and barnacles. The observant will spot millions of tiny Ghost Shrimp being grazed by Pollack. Inside, most of the bulkheads are hidden under a carpet of multicoloured anemones and yet more Ghost Shrimps.
The bow and mid-section of the Inverlane were made watertight, towed to Orkney by the navy in WW2 and sunk in her present position as a blockship in 1944. Some divers that come to Orkney have also dived her stern section which remains down the East Coast (possibly the longest swim from bow to stern of any ship, anywhere!). She was a distinctive landmark at the entrance to Burra Sound, easily seen from the St Ola as the ferry rounds Hoy. In years past the dive boats used to moor alongside the wreck and divers jumped through an open hold into the hull. An old but large seal had adopted the bow area as a home and was often seen disappearing into the murk when the first of the divers appeared. Once inside, the diver could swim about more or less cut off from the effects of the tide. Storms over two successive winters took a heavy toll on the wreck and she is now well broken, with only the smallest part of the bow showing above water on a very low tide. 
Photo: Chris Wright The Ronda, Budrie, Urmstone Grange and the Rotherfield
These ships, all single-screw steamers, are hard to discriminate as discrete wrecks due to the blasting carried out by the Royal Navy in 1962 to minimise obstruction to shipping in the Sound. Wreckage can be made out on the sounder as the dive boat approaches the Inverlane from the north but all remains are well broken up and covered in kelp so they look like the rest of the seabed. A scrimmage around the remains of the Inverlane shows that she was actually sitting on the remains of another ship, with a boiler sitting upright about 15m south of her bows. This is probably what is left of the Budrie, but others will dispute this: Rod Macdonald sights the Budrie as lying further north. Truth be known, the remains will never be identified accurately.
Bob Anderson: bob@mvhalton.co.uk Tel:(01856) 851532
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