Sound of Mull · United Kingdom · Wreck
Thesis
Bow at 14 m, stern at 31 m, dived end to end
Area photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0
A 378-ton iron steamer that ran onto the reef at Inninmore Point in October 1889 and sank about four hours later. She lies along the slope with her bow at roughly 14 m and her stern at 31 m, so the dive is a run down the hull and back, with depth decided by how far aft you choose to go.
Also known as SS Thesis.
Where it is and how deep
56.5003° N, 5.6916° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The shallow end is the bow, at about 14 m. From there the ship runs down the slope: the further aft you swim the deeper you get, until the stern sits at 31 m. It is a simple dive to plan and an easy one to get wrong, because the depth changes gradually under you rather than in steps, and the deepest part of the dive is also the furthest from the line.
She is a small ship by the standards of the Sound, 167 feet or about 51 m from bow to stern, and she was launched in January 1887, so the hull is iron rather than steel. Working her end to end and back is one dive rather than a tour: go down the outside to the depth you planned, turn, and spend the rest of the gas up around the bow.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Thesis
- Type
- Iron steamer, 378 GRT
- Length
- 50.9 m (167 ft)
- Built
- 1887
- Sunk
- 1889
- Cause
- Ran onto a reef at Inninmore Point in the Sound of Mull
- Lies
- Along the slope with her bow at about 14 m and her stern at 31 m
The Thesis was launched in January 1887 and lasted less than three years. On 16 October 1889, heading down the Sound of Mull — a narrow, dangerous strip of water for a coasting steamer — she ran onto the reef at Inninmore Point. The captain and ten crew abandoned ship, and she sank around four hours after grounding, coming to rest on the slope where she is dived today.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Sound of Mull: Apr–Oct is the season; visibility is often best in early spring before the plankton bloom, and winter gales stop the charters.
Dive videos
Diving on the wreck of the SS Thesis (Mull) · Dory Video on YouTube
A few moments inside the SS Thesis · Dave Walker on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Thesis?+
Her bow is at about 14 m and her stern at 31 m, so the depth of the dive depends on how far aft along the hull you swim before turning back.
Sources
- SS Thesis — Wikipedia
In The Logbook
- Cold-water diving: is it worth the drysuit?Cold water · 8 min read
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