Donegal Coast · Ireland · Wreck
HMS Wasp, Tory Island
Two cannons from an 1884 Royal Navy gunboat still lie on the seabed
The wreck of HMS Wasp, a Royal Navy gunboat built in 1880 and lost off Tory Island in 1884. The remains rest at about 15 m (50 ft) just off the island, and two of her cannons are still visible. It is one of the highlights of diving Tory Island.
Also known as HMS Wasp, Wasp.
Where it is and how deep
55.2644° N, 8.2372° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck lies just off Tory Island at about 15 m (50 ft), and two of her cannons are still visible on the seabed. The gunboat ran aground on a reef near the island in the early morning of 22 September 1884 and sank within fifteen minutes.
The wreck
- Vessel
- HMS Wasp
- Type
- Banterer-class composite screw gunboat
- Built
- 1880
- Sunk
- 1884
- Cause
- Ran aground on a reef near Tory Island
- Lies
- Just off Tory Island at about 15 m (50 ft), with two cannons still visible
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Donegal Coast: Diving runs all year with no marked peak; winter seas can stop the Tory Island ferry on some days.
Know before you go
- Tory Island is remote and its weather can turn extreme, so the wreck is reached only on days the sea allows.
Sources
- Ireland's luckiest dive sites — PADI Blog
- HMS Wasp (1880) — Wikipedia
- Tory Island — Wikipedia
- OpenStreetMap geocoding — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Donegal Coast
Pinnacle
A pinnacle cut by large gullies, from 4 m below the surface down to 40 m
A chimney cave at the tip of the headland makes a swim-through
A cavern off the north corner of Arranmore, near Tor rock
A huge boulder at the cavern mouth opens into a room of swim-throughs
Similar dives elsewhere
Boilers in 7 m on the rocks that took a 1907 steamer
Wreck
Anna Katrina Fritzen
Klaipėda & Curonian Spit · Lithuania
A torpedoed steam freighter, pieced together from scattered wreckage
Wreck
Anna Maria
Stockholm Archipelago & Dalarö · Sweden
An Amsterdam-built fluit that caught fire and sank at the Dalarö quay
A century-old cargo wreck open to French Level 1 divers