Coronation Wreck Project

26/04/2026

Coronation Wreck Project: Blog Number 2

Well, that’s Easter over!

It has been a busy year so far for various members of the Coronation Wreck Team.
- Right on the turn of the year planning was underway for the 2026 dive season
- January saw updates and improvements to the Coronation display at Devonport Naval Heritage Museum (Now known as Devonport Naval Heritage Centre) – well worth a visit – details here: https://devonportnhc.wordpress.com/
- In February, some of the team attended the Protected Wrecks Association AGM in Plymouth.
- February also saw a flurry of publicity for the project following the 2025 discovery of the captain’s chamber pot. This was managed mainly by our Trail Coordinator and Team Diver, Mark Pearce. Cornwall live maybe won the best headline competition “Rare 17th century captain's pot to p*e in found in wreck off Cornwall” Publicity continued in March including a feature in SCUBA Magazine
- In early March the now famous chamber pot took a place of honour in the Coronation display at the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre

And them came April, and Easter. While a few of us are crazy enough to dive all year round in the UK, for many divers, Easter heralds the start of the dive season. While some diving has continued all year, this has also been the case formally for the Coronation Dive team

As with all diving of course, preparation started long before the first dives, kit to be checked and serviced – the responsibility of everyone individually on the Coronation team.

Then of course there is the paperwork for the dives and dive safety. Ginge – our Principal Licensee and Project Lead can be seen in the picture making sure all is on order – Safety always comes first.

The plans had been two-days of diving – on the ever-reliable Red Alert, skippered by the ever-laughing Danny Daniels.

As the picture shows, conditions were promising at the start of day one and the team had a good couple of light duty shakedown dives.

During these dives, we relocated and repaired the survey lines and also cleaned the trail underwater station markers replacing any damaged ones.
We also completed more diver surveys of our many unvisited magnetic anomaly locations identifying and recording a variety of interesting metallic objects including a small unchartered barge.

However, as all UK divers know well, the best laid plans…
…After the record-breaking rain over the early part of the year, recent weeks had been a little more settled with slightly warmer than average temperatures but as ever during spring in Plymouth the winds were, at the very least, brisk and there was a significant swell on the wreck site. This, coupled with poor visibility forced the decision to cancel day two.

“Dive another day” is always the sensible approach.

And so, with a good couple of dives and basic diver and equipment shakedowns completed we now look forward to our next dives and a productive and exciting dive season.

Watch this space for more news and updates on future dives.
If you are interested in helping with the project, then please get in touch via the website or page.

If your group or dive club want to dive the site, then please contact us here: https://www.coronationwreck.org/divers.html

10/04/2026

First opportunity on Saturday to see the current display collection 👌

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KhRghfdbA/?mibextid=wwXIfr

04/04/2026

With the new dive season upon us, what will be your focus this year?
Perhaps volunteering to help on a protected wreck site, or visit sites around the uk?
Or use the methods of ethical treasure hunting to identify new wreck sites and discover more about the history of our island

Thanks to Scuba magazine for the article 👌 enjoy the article

15/03/2026

Today marks our Patrons Birthday. Happy Birthday Peter. Thanks for all your dedication to the Coronation research over the decades. Here's to many more.

08/03/2026

How is new guidance helping protect shipwrecks?

Police say they are able to act more quickly to prevent damage and theft at underwater sites.

05/03/2026

Funding Secured to Safeguard the Coronation Wreck Archive for Future Generations

We are delighted to announce that Coronation Wreck Project and MSDS Marine and MSDS Heritage have been awarded funding through the Heritage Science Data Service (HSDS) Small Grants Programme to digitally preserve the archive of the Coronation Protected Wreck site.

The project, titled “From Sea to Screen: The Digital Preservation of the Coronation Protected Wreck Archive”, will ensure that nearly fifty years of research into one of England’s nationally significant shipwrecks is secured, organised and made publicly accessible for the first time.

Why This Matters
The Coronation was a Second-Rate Ship of the Line, launched in 1685 and wrecked in 1691 off Penlee Point in Cornwall. Today, it is one of only 57 sites protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. Since its discovery in 1977, generations of dedicated volunteer divers have worked tirelessly to research, monitor and protect the site.

Over decades, an extraordinary archive has grown — photographs, dive records, site plans, research notes, scanned historic documents and more. Much of this invaluable material is currently held by members of the volunteer licensee team, including original discoverer Peter McBride, who has cared for the archive for many years.

However, like many long-running community projects, much of the archive exists in single copies — stored on personal computers or in paper files. Without action, there is a real risk that unique knowledge could be lost.

What the Project Will Do
Thanks to this grant award, the Coronation Wreck Project will work alongside the MSDS Marine team to:
• Organise and catalogue the full digital archive using recognised heritage standards
• Identify and digitise paper records not already preserved digitally
• Create detailed metadata to ensure the archive is searchable and usable
• Deposit the completed archive with the Heritage Science Data Service for long-term public access

The project will also create training and volunteer opportunities, helping to share skills in digital archiving and heritage data management with students and community members. If you would like to get involved, then we would love to hear from you! Please email us on [email protected].

A Model for the Future
Volunteer licensee teams play a vital role in protecting England’s underwater heritage. However, many of these teams are ageing, and their archives are often privately held. This project will not only safeguard the Coronation’s history — it will provide a practical roadmap for other protected wreck teams facing similar challenges.

By working with the Protected Wreck Association and sharing the learning from this project, we hope to inspire and support other groups to secure their own archives for the future.

Ultimately, this project is about access. By moving the Coronation archive from private storage into a professionally curated digital repository, we are ensuring that researchers, divers, students and the wider public can engage with this remarkable story.

The Coronation may lie beneath the waters off Plymouth— but its history will soon be available to all.

We look forward to sharing updates as the project progresses.

18/02/2026

2025 will see the installation of a new display at the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre called 'Found in the Sound' if you have interesting finds that you would consider loaning to the display please contact [email protected]. All items need to have been declared to the RoW and if displayed will credit the finder. Limited space so items no larger than a shoe box can be displayed. For the sarcastic amongst you that means approx 12" x 12" x 6".

07/02/2026

Best of luck from the Coronation Wreck Project team to the organisers and speakers at the IMASS conference today. Some interesting and entertaining speakers lined up. A great follow on from the PWA meeting yesterday. Have a great weekend of maritime enlightenment.

06/02/2026

A really well attended PWA meeting today showcasing the work of divers on the Protected and Scheduled Wreck Sites across the Uk. Audrey (French lady PADI OWSI) you gave me your email but unfortunately in the clean up post the event the hotel staff took my notes so I have lost your contact email. If you pick this up via this post please get in touch.t

01/02/2026

Latest News: The exciting chamber pot find has featured in the media yet again. This time on Cornwall live.

The 'special and exciting find' is one of only six of its kind in the whole world