This group of islands off the North East coast offer a diverse collection of reefs and wrecks all within a relatively small area where close encounters with resident seals are common. Access to these sites is by boat and Deep Blue run popular trips the Farnes using its own RIB. Below are details of popular dives sites and the wrecks that can be dived during a visit to this impressive off-shore location.
Come Join us at we take out boat up to the Farnes on the 14th April, if you want to come along then let us know...
Scenic Dives
Longstone - This is the largest island in the Outer-Farnes group. The island is unmistakable, because it features the distinctive red and white-banded lighthouse. At the northeast side of the Longstone seals often lounge around a large flat rock called the "Hopper". Here the walls of the submerged reef are nearly sheer with wide cracks running all the way down to the bottom, at 20metres. Just to the south of this point there are some interesting deep canyons, which meander all the way, back into the "Brada" and they have plenty of interesting marine life in them. 
To the north the steep rock face is riddled with crevices and it makes a very picturesque dive. Visibility is often excellent, but the area is prone to swell from the open sea. Depths away from the cliff face drop away rapidly to 25metres plus and there can be a strong tidal run.
Bluecaps- A very nice dive at the eastern end of the Bluecaps offers an impressive overhanging cliff, dropping away to 23metres with large boulders against the wall at the bottom. Low water is the best time to dive as you can see where the Bluecaps drop away. The submerged cliff runs well out into Crayfords Gut and slopes down until it bottoms out around 28metres onto sand and stone. It is an excellent scenic dive and can be circumnavigated by passing through a narrow channel, which is a popular haunt of young seals. A good site for novice deep dives.
Crumstone - The Crumstone is the most southerly group of islands 
of the Farnes, lying one mile south of the Brownsman. The islands can be seen at all states of the tide and are home to a colony of Grey seals. Just to the south east of the Crumstone is a first class dive with a drop off to 25 metres where the cliff walls are covered in marine life. The site is best dived at low slack water as strong down currents can be present at or near the top of the reef. Horse Shoe bay is the position where the three islands of Crumstone are divided by narrow channels. The one which leads to the east is shallow but does have bits of wreckage strewn along the bottom. The gully leading to the south is a little deeper and leads to the drop off a few metres out. Any swell from the south or south-east creates a surge through the channel.
Wreck Dives
Somali - This ship was bombed off Blyth in 1941, she now lies upright in 30 metres of water off Beadnell Point. Most of the 450ft 
hull is still intact and is visited by many divers each year. This is a slack water dive and local advice should be sought before diving. The wreck is now owned by Stan Hall, but this has not prevented some indiscriminate salvaging. Never the less there is still much to see. The boilers are still there, and just forward, scattered on the seabed are many small jars containing hand cream along with, Pyrene hand pump fire extinguishers, and reels of film. It takes dives to fully appreciate this wreck, even after all the salvaging.
The St Andre - The St. Andre was a steel 1121-ton French registered steamship with a length of 70.1m by 9.88m beam and a draught of 4.19m. On October 1908 when on passage from Caen to Grangemouth with a crew of sixteen and a cargo of iron ore, the ship stranded on the Crumstone in dense fog. The vessel stood there for several days before being 
washed off and drifted across to Staple Island and sank against the cliff face. The wreck lies at the base of the cliff face in an east-west direction in depths between 17-23m. The vessel is totally collapsed and well broken up with ribs, steel plates, and her boilers and broken engine remaining. The wreck is sheltered from the main currents and you can dive the site at most states of the tide, however the area is prone to a lot of backwash from the island during strong south and south-easterly winds.
W 001 37 287 Chris Christenson - The Chris Christenson was a steel 1491-ton Danish steamship, with a single iron propeller, powered by a three-cylinder triple expansion steam engine. On 16 February 1915 the vessel was in ballast, on passage from Aarhus to Newcastle when she stranded in heavy seas on the southern end of the Longstone reef. The stranding had torn a massive hole in the bottom plates and she eventually slipped back and sank in deep water. The wreck 
lies just off the southwest tip of the Longstone in about 25-32m. She is totally collapsed and well broken up lying up against a small reef. Up until a few years ago her huge ships wheel stood vertically and proud of the wreck but was unfortunately left lying flat on the seabed when some divers attempted to move it! The wreck has a variety of marine life around it with the usual contingent of Grey seals. The current is very strong and at certain states of the tide, there is a pronounced downward flow, which can be very alarming.
W 001 36 195 Abyssinia - The vessel was a steel 5753-ton four masted German steamship. On 3rd September 1921 the vessel was in ballast from Hamburg to the UK when she stranded on the Knivestone reef and became a total wreck. The wreck lies in a north to south direction close to and parallel with the western side of the reef. Three broken boilers, two of which now lie on their sides, are almost up against the submerged western wall, on a sloping bank that eventually levels
out at 18m. The wreck is now totally collapsed with large sections of
plates, ribs, and broken machinery. This is an excellent dive with lots
of marine life, including lobsters, eels and the ever-present seals.
The dive site itself is really a slack water dive as she is in the middle
of the tidal flow of Seal-gut.