A Dive to Remember: Strangford Lough

In another entry from SCUBA magazine's 2025 writing competition, A Dive to Remember, James McKenna recalls one of his early open water dives at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.

Briefing:

In April 2023 I drove down to Ballyhenry Bay, located on the shores of Strangford Lough with a group of other divers. Our dive site was the Inner Lees shipwreck, the remains of the Empire Tana that, in 1947, ran aground while en-route to be scrapped. It broke into two parts; the Inner Lees and the Outer Lees.

The dive:

This was my first time diving at the Inner Lees. I had only been in the water a few times previously during my Ocean Diver training, but this was my first official dive as a qualified diver.

It was clear from the moment I jumped into the water that this dive would be unlike anything I had done before. I was still relatively new to the world of diving, most of which had taken place in a pool. I often felt overwhelmed in a drysuit, as if I was never truly experiencing what diving had to offer; but these waters were cool, welcoming.

Strangford Lough’s mosaic of land and sea

I had been told that visibility in Strangford Lough can be questionable, our marine life hidden in the sandy murk, revealing itself only in fleeting moments if at all, but this was different.

The descent to the Inner Lees was something I had never experienced. The water was unexpectedly clear, as if we and the shoals of pollock were flying and not falling down to the wreck below. The shadow of the Inner Lees rose out of the inky water, growing larger and clearer until it almost seemed to be coming for us. I had never encountered anything underwater at this sheer scale and its arrival will stay with me forever.

As we approached, I vividly remember the marine life that surrounded the Inner Lees. It was effortless, diving with the freedom to explore rather than be confined to a pool, feeling the cold crisp of the water around me as we explored the wreck. The sight of an octopus pulsing brown under the yellow light of my torch took my breath away and to see life thriving in the wreckage around me made me realise I was in an environment unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It was fantastic.

Debrief:

I was hypnotised by the octopus, awed by the Inner Lees, but what has stayed with me most from this trip was the camaraderie. I am privileged to be part of The Belfast Sub Aqua Club, but it was only after the dive, trading anecdotes over a post-dive feast, that I was struck by the warmth of my diving community.

This article was originally published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 158, September 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.