Breakwater Beach

Many divers, including me, who live within a couple of hours drive will have had some of their very first open water experiences at the beach situated at the foot of Brixham Breakwater. The close proximity of the car park to the beach, toilets, cafe and safe diving ensure it's popularity with dive clubs and schools throughout the year. As a training venue it is ideal but once qualified there is much better shore-diving to be had around Torbay; that said, it would be remiss of me to not have placed Brixham Breakwater Beach on my shore-diving list.

Because of its popularity you may want to consider getting here early in your diving day to get a decent car-parking place, as not only does the car-park serve the beach, but the busy slip-way into the harbour and marina too. The cafe opens early or the town centre is a short 10 minute walk along the harbour-side if you want to go for a stroll. As in all of the bay's harbours diving is not allowed inside the breakwater so all your activities will be based from the pebble beach.

You can have three fairly different dives here or if your navigation and air consumption is good, do all three on one hit! At it's most basic, you can go left, right, or straight out from the beach. I'll run you through all three options:

Left: Along the Breakwater.
For me this is the most interesting dive on offer, but also one with the most potential for hazard. The breakwater is about half a mile long and constructed with a base of large limestone boulders. Being this long it is a haven for anglers who for the most part try to get out towards the end to get into the deeper water. That said, quite often (and especially at high water) some anglers do pitch up closer towards the beach and this should be taken into account before planning to dive along the outer edge of the breakwater. A SMB can be both a help and a hindrance - it will help to warn anglers of your presence, but it might well get caught in their line (as happened to me a few years ago)!

Entering the beach in the left (western) corner is easy, but if there is a slight surface swell is can get a bit 'swirley' in that corner so you may want to enter the water some yards away from the wall. Navigation here is a classic 'left shoulder out, right shoulder in' routine so a good one for novices to practice taking the lead. Following the boulders along the sea-bed on your outward journey will get you to a maximum of 11m of water at high tide with no current to worry about at all. The life on offer is surprisingly varied and will range from Crabs and Lobsters to small Boring Sponge, Devonshire Cup Coral and Light-bulb Ascidians. Take a torch to peer in between the rocks for the best chance of seeing something interesting. Try to keep off the sea-bed because it is mostly a very fine silt which is easily stirred up. Once you reach your agreed half-way time/air point, turn round and cover your tracks but keeping 2-3m shallower than on your way out to see more of the Wrasse, juvenile Pouting and Blennies that lurk amongst the rocks. You'll also avoid any silt you may have kicked up on your outward journey.

Right: Around the Rocks Towards Shoalstone
This is a dive for kelp lovers - following the rocks at the right (eastern) side of the beach towards the sea pool of Shoalstone. There is less chance of angler/boat traffic on this one, but for safety a SMB should be used. Starting at the far end of the beach you will have to swim north for a few dozen yards initially before turning east (right) to get in amongst the rocks and gullies of the cliffs. Don't let the kelp put you off because there is an amazing amount of life that calls this environment home including Nudibranchs, Goldinney Wrasse, Two-Spot Gobies, Blue-Rayed Limpets, Velvet Swimmer Crabs and Pipefish to name a few. The further north you head the less kelp you will encounter but eventually the rocks will disappear under the sand/mud/pebble mix of the sea-bed.

This is a slightly more challenging dive to navigate but essentially north is out into deeper water (at most 10 - 12m), east takes you along the cliffs towards Shoalstone pool, south is heading into the cliffs and gullies, west or south west is back to beach.

Straight Out: Into the Big Brown
Heading straight out from the beach will give you an easy bimble over a varied  sand/pebble/mud sea bed. Depending on the substrate there will be sea-weeds, Snakelocks Anemones, Masked Crabs, Scallops, Pipefish, Sea Grass and Nudibranchs. If you're looking to practice some navigation techniques this is a great place to go. Using a SMB to warn off the odd boat/kayak is advisable but apart from that there are no real hazards of note here. Depth will be a maximum of 12m with no currents to worry about. If you venture too far west you will eventually bump into the boulders of the breakwater, and too far east you will enter the kelp zone on the rocks below the cliffs.

All in all this is a great training site but not one I would choose to visit for a pleasure dive. That said, if you've come off a charter/club boat and you've got enough air & parking time why not go for a relaxed shallow dive at the end of the day?

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