In another entry from SCUBA magazine's 2025 writing competition, A Dive to Remember, Dr Craig Holdstock on why he's a big fan of Plymouth’s signature wreck, the SS James Eagan Layne.
Briefing:
Looking back at my logbook I have dived the SS James Egan Layne many times over my diving journey since 1997. For more than 25 years, it has remained a special dive which never disappoints. For me it is the epitome of UK wreck diving, allowing divers of many different levels the chance to see this superb wreck and the life it shelters. The ‘Layne’ sits in about 20-25 metres in Whitsand Bay, Cornwall and is one of the most popular dive sites out of Plymouth.
The dive:
The SS James Egan Layne was a World War II Liberty ship which was launched in 1944 and torpedoed off the Eddystone in March 1945. Although the ‘James’ was only afloat for a short period, it has been dived since 1954 when the sport of diving started to break out in the UK. The intact nature of the wreck and its accessibility is what allows this dive to be one of the most popular wreck dives in the UK.
I first dived the James back in 1997 and since then I have returned many times over the years. It has been constantly changing over the years, but remains a superb wreck, firmly connected to our heritage and history. The James is one of over 200 Liberty ships that were sunk during the war. Fortunately no one lost their lives when she was torpedoed or later beached. However U-boats inflicted a huge cost throughout the war.
The wreckage is host to an abundance of life. On most dives you will find pollock, bib, conger eels and tompot blennies in abundance. Occasionally you may be lucky and see monkfish usually seen on deeper wrecks and one of my favourites, the John Dory.
In 2022 I met up with Kim Vaudin at Deep Impressions Underwater Paintings and we discussed turning some photographs of the James that I had taken and using them to inspire a stunning piece of art. Today I am lucky to have a painting in my office which captures the essence of the James and my own dive on this signature dive of the South Coast. So whenever I am in my office I can just look up and reflect on my own ‘dive to remember’.
Kim Vaudin’s painting of the James
Debrief:
What makes the James so memorable for me? I think it lies in its accessibility, with its abundance of life and the character of light that beams down through to the holds. Some sections feel slightly eerie, others feel bright and lit. On some dives I have my camera with me and the juxtaposition of wreck, sea life and light can create stunning imagery.
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This article was originally published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 159, October 2025. For more membership benefits, visit bsac.com/benefits.
Images in this online version may have been substituted from the original images in SCUBA magazine due to usage rights.
