THE MORRIS ROGUE

If I was a fish, and quite often I wish I was, I would want to live here – the reef called Morris Rogue. I don’t know how it got it’s name, but perhaps the ‘Rogue’ element (no pun intended!) alluded to the shallow reef-top that might have been a danger to ships coming in and our of Torquay Harbour.

The Morris Rogue reef is a large lump of rock sitting in muddy sand 600m from the beach at Meadfoot. Being this far out it is swept by the tidal currents which in turn make it a very densely populated site for anemones and sponges. I remember this site from my earliest diving days, but sadly because we mostly missed the reef and ended up having a crap dive over the flat sand! Not any more! I can now get bang on-top of the reef-head with out even the aid of my little echo-sounder.

So, what to do with this site? It is way too far out to be tackled from the shore, and it is also in the busy commuter lane from Torquay Harbour, and to put things mildly, not every boat owner knows what an A-Flag means! So my recommendation would be to dive from a boat, but my personal method of attack is by kayak. I’ll let you know how to locate the reef later, first to the description.

You can dive this rock in any fashion you want so I won’t take you on a tour, but simply point out the relevant features for you.

At it’s shallowest point there is only 2m of water above the rock on a low tide. This is quite a prominent feature, as when approached from the North the water depth will go from 14m to 2m in about 50ft. If you plan the dive right, this pinnacle also provides a shield against the current in which you can do your safety stops. This pinnacle is at the leading North-West point of the reef, behind which (to the South-East) is quite a large plateau at about 7 – 9m. Surprisingly for it’s shallow depth, only the upper reaches of the pinnacle are covered in kelp, with the plateau totally covered in Mussell beds and Daisy Anemones. And I literally mean covered!

North of the pinnacle is a steep wall that runs parallel to Meadfoot beach (East/West) and is favoured by Boring Sponge, Elephant’s Ear Sponge, Dead Men’s Fingers, Plumose Anemone and (less commonly) Mermaid’s Glove. Dotted all over the reef are some of the most colourful Dahlia Anemones in Torbay, even on the steep wall.

To the west of the pinnacle the reef slopes at a 45-degree angle down to the sea bed. The plateau behind the pinnacle is actually very large and has numerous rocky outcrops that give shelter to crabs and lobsters. Plaice also find this area good for hunting. It is also possible to see feeding hoards of Common Starfish that obliterate the Mussels underneath them. As usual keep your eyes peeled for smaller critters: Hermit Crabs, Nudibranch (I’ve seen a huge Tritonia Hombergi here – though we called it ‘Dave’), Pipefish, Wrasse and Devonshire Cup Coral.

The plateau eventually slopes into the seabed to the south and the East where you can always find more Plaice and numerous King Scallops. But don’t stray too far from the rock or you will be missing the best bits!

I’m not sure that you could swim around the reef in one dive (and even if you tried you’d be swimming too fast to take in its beauty!), so you will want to come back again to see what else it has to offer. If you’re fortunate enough to see depths of 7 – 15m as no real challenge, then you could happily spend all day freediving the Morris Rogue, but remember some kind of surface cover is recommended. I anchor my kayak to the spot I’m investigating and never stray too far. It’s easy to pick up the anchor to move to a different area.

As a photographer this reef system truly is heaven on earth – but in some respects the very abundance of life can make it hard to single out your subject and offer you enough exposed rock to steady yourself on. Perfect buoyancy is a must here, and even putting one finger down can be a challenge because of the density of the anemones!

So, where is the reef? The transits are quite easy (see the accompanying photos) to line up with and will put you 20yds South-East of the pinnacle in 8m of water at mid-tide. From Meadfoot beach head South and line up the last (most Westerly) beach hut with the right (East) edge of Shag Rock. Follow this line out until the highest point of the Ore Stone is in line with the outer (South) most point of Thatcher’s Rock. Making use of an echo-sounder helps as the surrounding seabed is flat and the rock is prominent. If you see a flat 7-8m depth contour you’re probably on the plateau – send down a snorkeller to check ;-)

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