SS Volnay

The SS Volnay was a British steam merchant ship struck by a German mine off the Lizard on 14 December 1917 during WWI, attempting to beach in Porthallow Bay before sinking. The 122-metre wreck now lies on a sand and shingle bottom at 14 to 18 metres just outside the bay, very broken up but spread across a large area in shallow, accessible water. Cargo of munitions, brass shell cases, fuses and tinned food has produced the colloquial nickname the 'wreck of the brass' and continues to attract divers despite a century of removal. The Volnay is one of the most diver-friendly wrecks of the Manacles area thanks to its shallow depth and weaker tidal influence than the offshore sites. Visibility ranges from 5 to 10 metres in summer, and water temperatures sit between 9 and 16 degrees Celsius. Plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, sponges and hydroids encrust the structure, with conger eels, ballan wrasse, pollack, edible crabs and lobsters as residents. Charter boats run from Falmouth and Porthkerris.