EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS ARTICLE 1 SEP. 2010

This article appeared in Edinburgh Evening News 1 Sep. 2010 about my forthcoming book Wrecks and Reefs of Southeast Scotland.

Mike Clark

THEY have lain undisturbed and mostly forgotten at the bottom of the Forth, giant hulks of vessels destined to languish forever in a watery grave.

• The U12's conning tower
Until now only the most intrepid few willing to dive into the estuary's chilly and murky waters were able to witness its long lost secrets.

There, lodged deep in the silt on the estuary floor, the remains of ships, submarines, fishing boats and even aircraft.

Among those to venture below the surface, lifelong underwater photography enthusiast and diver Mike Clark, who has spent the best part of a decade exploring the waters of the Forth.

Now he's sharing stunning photographs of wrecks he's encountered there, in a fascinating book which reveals a seabed rich in colour.

In one striking scene, the distinctive coning tower of a wartime submarine is easily identifiable - it's surrounded by a passing shoal of darting silvery fish, the wreck itself adorned in flowery anemone-type growths.

In another, the blades of wrecked steamer The Glanmire's propeller juts out from the seabed.

Its surface is decorated in the pretty yellow, white and orange of the eerily-named "dead men's fingers", another type of anemone.

Many of the wrecks here date back over a century, and each has its own fascinating history, yet according to Mike, 42, it's only recently that divers have started to properly explore what lies on the floor of the Forth.

"The shipwrecks in the Clyde are really well known, but the Forth has been practically unexplored until about eight or nine years ago, when a couple of companies started doing diving expeditions," he explains.

"The Clyde is an easier dive as it's sheltered water, and quite stable and calm.

"The Forth is open to the sea so can be very choppy."

Mike, a father of two from Musselburgh who, when not diving works as a civil servant, adds: "We've discovered some fantastic wrecks, many of great historical significance."

Among the vessels in his book is HMS Pathfinder which sunk off St Abbs in 1914, the first ship ever to be destroyed by a submarine fired torpedo.

• Mike dives between the blades of the Glanmire's propeller

"The position of this ship was well known but it lies 64 metres down so it's only accessible with specialist diving gear, which only became available when the new diving companies started," says Mike.

"It's a very impressive wreck. You can see the guns, torpedo tubes and shells still lying on the deck."

There is also the SS Exmouth, which lies near the Isle of May, a German U12 submarine, some K-Class submarines and a Grummen Avenger aircraft.

Then there's HMS Campania, the world's first aircraft carrier, which sank four days before the end of the First World War

"How many people know that the world's first aircraft carrier is lying there?" says Mike. "It slipped an anchor and drifted

out of position,

and collided with a battleship. It was a bit of tragedy when it went down."

The U12 before it sunk in the Forth

He adds: "That's the beauty of this book. When I first started researching I realised there was practically no information, let alone pictures, about these wrecks. So I decided to do it myself.

"I've been diving since my mid-teens and got my first underwater camera on my 21st birthday.

"I recall being really excited about photographing some anemones, off Eyemouth. I caught the bug and I've been diving ever since."

Some 500 wrecks lie on the bed of the Forth - from the Kitty, a 105ft trawler blown up by a submarine in 1917, to King Charles 1's treasure boat, The Blessing of Burntisland, which is believed to be laden with royal riches, but has not yet been found.

• Wrecks & Reefs of Southeast Scotland, by Mike Clark, published in October by Whittles Publishing, priced £18.99