Stromness, Scotland, United Kingdom

Doyle Blockship

The Doyle, also written Doyle, was an American coal hulk scuttled in Burra Sound on the western edge of Scapa Flow in 1940 as part of the early WWII blockship programme designed to seal off the secondary entrances of the Flow against German U-boats. The wreck has been thoroughly broken apart by the strong tidal currents that surge through the sound but the remains still form a recognisable hull line in 8 to 14 metres of water on a mixed shingle and rock bottom. The Doyle is dived only at slack water because the tidal stream regularly exceeds three knots. The structure is now covered with plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, sponges and hydroids and supports a healthy population of edible crabs, lobsters, ballan wrasse, pollack and conger eels. Grey seals are commonly encountered. Because of the shallow depth and the tidally limited dive window the Doyle is usually combined with the Tabarka or Inverlane in a single boat schedule from Stromness, and is suited to advanced open water divers in drysuits.