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28 October 2014

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July 2004
Diving The Depths
Alex Bushill explores the South West's Underwater Treasures

Take a journey into the South West's coastal waters

Brightly coloured corals, bizarre and beautiful sponges, brooding eels and schools of fish - a typical scene on some of the world's most famous reefs.
But - believe it or not - it's far closer to home, as Alex Bushill has been finding out....

SEE ALSO

Outdoors Index

Seahorsing about

Sinking of The Scylla

WEB LINKS

National Marine Aquarium
Devon Wildlife Trust
British Sub Aqua Club
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

WATCH ALEX'S REPORTS

Diving The Scylla - Britain's first artificial reef:
	Video 1 (G2)
Protecting some of the country's rarest corals and sponges:
	Video 2 (G2)
Following in the footsteps of Jules Verne:
	Video 3 (G2)
BBC download guide Free Real Player

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The waters off the South West are alive with an abundance of marine life.

From the sinister sounding Dead Man's Finger to the giants of our waters - Basking Sharks - there's everything you could possibly hope to see.

I've been diving since 1999 and while I'm still a relative novice, I've been lucky enough to dive in the Red Sea and the Caribbean.

But nothing could prepare me for diving here in the waters around Devon, Dorset and Cornwall.

Sure the weather isn't comparable, but the sea-life spectacle is!

The waters around the South West are rich in sealife

There's plenty to see in the waters around the South West

It was with this in mind that I ventured underwater to film a three-part series looking at diving in the region with an aim to dispel the myth that exists that there's nothing to see around the South West coastline.

I wasn't disappointed!

"JULES VERNE EAT YOUR HEART OUT"

The first film is an in-depth report (no pun intended) on The Scylla. The former Royal Navy warship that was sunk off Whitsand bay in March 2004 to create Britain's first artificial reef.

It's proving a resounding success, with up to 600 people diving the wreck on any given summer weekend.

But a local dive expert is concerned about the safety of The Scylla - something the people behind the artificial reef scheme strongly deny.

Dead Man's Fingers

In the second film we take a look at the variety of plant and sealife in our waters and discover a conservation project off the Devon/Dorset coast, where fisherman and ecologists are working together to protect some of the country's rarest corals and sponges.

Finally, come with me as I fulfil a boyhood dream.

Fulfilling a childhood ambition

Weighed down with 200lbs of antique diving equipment, I follow in the footsteps of Jules Verne by diving in an old style brass diving helmet.

With an air supply to the surface, it proved to be much more than I bargained for.

To watch Alex's reports click on the links at the top right of this page.

The cameraman for this series was Alec Collyer.