0:00:33 > 0:00:37This is a wild and moody island, and so too is the sea.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44I'm taking a stroll to the exposed cliffs at the East Lighthouse with Wes Forsyth.
0:00:47 > 0:00:53Wes is a marine archaeologist who knows that tragedy haunts this treacherous shore.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57For as long as people have been coming here, Wes,
0:00:57 > 0:01:02that tidal rip that races round the side of the island has been posing problems, hasn't it?
0:01:02 > 0:01:05They're really quite dangerous waters, really.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Right beside Rathlin, the whole of the Irish Sea is being filled up and being emptied every single day,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and this creates some very strong currents, and of course, before the lighthouse was built,
0:01:14 > 0:01:20mariners travelling at night or in a sea mist really had to be very, very careful they wouldn't be wrecked.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23This place is quite strategic, isn't it?
0:01:23 > 0:01:26In the two World Wars, it was very strategic,
0:01:26 > 0:01:31because the United Kingdom and the Allies really needed the lifeline with North America,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34so there would have been large convoys heading across the Atlantic from this point,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38but there also would have been U-boats,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and as a result, there's thousands of wrecks off the north coast here,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45and the south coast, that date to the two World Wars.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49And, of course, evidence of that in the graveyard here as well.
0:01:49 > 0:01:55Yes, but amazingly as well, there are people interred in the graveyard that maybe come from ships
0:01:55 > 0:01:59that were sunk far out, even as far as Donegal, and the bodies have washed in and onto the island,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01and they're buried in the graveyard now.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06That's a testament, if you like, to the nature of what's out there,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09the elemental power of what washes the doorstep here.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Very turbulent area, and a very, very dangerous North Atlantic,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16a very dangerous environment to be in for any length of time, really hard to survive at all.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Our next dive proves the point.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Rathlin's worst maritime disaster happened under these cliffs.
0:02:25 > 0:02:31We're sailing half a mile off Doon Bay to the wreck of the troopship the SS Lochgarry.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37It's a spectacular dive for the team, and a real challenge for a novice like me.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43We need a bit of discipline on this dive. It's deeper than you've been before, right?
0:02:43 > 0:02:48We've got tidal conditions that won't bend to us. We have to work with the tides.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52This is a classic example of time and tide wait for no man. All right?
0:02:52 > 0:02:56- Yeah.- Anything goes wrong at all, you're out of there. All right?
0:02:56 > 0:02:58- Are you sure I want to get into the water?- Yeah!
0:02:58 > 0:03:03This is what diving is all about, Darryl. It's that little extra bit.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06This is not beyond you, this is well within your capabilities,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11but it's a little bit beyond what you've done before, and that's exciting.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14It's really exciting, actually. I'm all geared up for it.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19I'm not going to be diving in the full face mask, I'm on ordinary scuba.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24It's your first dive on the Lochgarry as well, so, yeah, it's going to be good fun.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Another dive club has just arrived at exactly the same time that we're hoping to get into the water,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37so we're going to let them get in first, and it's going to be really interesting,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41because whenever we're down there, there's going to be lots of divers in the water, and they'll all
0:03:41 > 0:03:43need to get up and down at the same time, so it's going to be really busy.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01We're dropping 30 metres, or 100 feet down to the deck of the Second World War wreck.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07She once played a part in the troop evacuations at Dunkirk,
0:04:07 > 0:04:13but now she lies upright on the seabed, a rusting hulk, a living reef.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23We're swimming into the past, touching history in the cold Atlantic.
0:04:38 > 0:04:45This enormous troop ship sank in 1942, after hitting rocks off the Mull of Kintyre.
0:04:45 > 0:04:51Helpless and drifting in a storm, she finally disappeared off Rathlin's east coast.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58There was time to abandon ship, but tragedy struck when one of the lifeboats hit rocks.
0:04:58 > 0:05:0223 lives were lost when it capsized.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05This ship is silent witness to their fate.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17The scale of this gigantic vessel is incredible.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22She was built in Glasgow in 1898,
0:05:22 > 0:05:27as a passenger ship for the Belfast to Ardrossan route, and later converted for the war effort.
0:05:32 > 0:05:38She's now a popular dive destination for underwater tourists like us,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42specks of humanity marvelling at the life that cloaks her bows.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57We press on, and among a forest of feathery hydroids,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00bright buttons have replaced the rusting rivets.
0:06:04 > 0:06:11Cup corals, with their delicate stinging tentacles, investigate the tide for food.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Their mouth is in the centre of a calcium carbonate skeleton.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21These translucent creatures are our only common stony corals.
0:06:30 > 0:06:37There is never enough time down here, and as we head back towards light, warmth and air,
0:06:37 > 0:06:43I'm struck by how lucky we've been to share an encounter few people will ever experience.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55It's like hanging in space, being in air.
0:06:55 > 0:07:01It's all laid out in front of you, and the thing is entirely painted in life, you know,
0:07:01 > 0:07:07all those anemones and hydroids and fish swimming everywhere,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09it's like being in some giant aquarium.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11It's wonderful!
0:07:13 > 0:07:18As a marine archaeologist, is that, like, as good a wreck as you've been on?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21It's in great condition, but then of course, you know, it's only 60-odd years old,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25but it's fantastic to see so much structure still there, you know.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28A lot of the time, it's just flattened down in the sea bed after a while,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30all wrecks kind of collapse in on themselves,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34but the fact there's still upstanding decks and different levels, very interesting dive.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48The waters around Rathlin never fail to surprise and delight,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and on a perfectly airbrushed summer evening,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53we're heading out into Church Bay,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56to explore another shipwreck, in the dark.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01The emotions on a night dive are entirely predictable.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05I don't care who you are, on your first night dive, you're going to be apprehensive.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08- Yeah, got that.- If you're not, I want to know why!
0:08:08 > 0:08:11And the second one is elation. You don't go anywhere on a night dive,
0:08:11 > 0:08:18because your attention is focused entirely on that bit in front of you that's lit.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23On this night dive, you're going to see what's in front of you, and it will be magic.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29As the light fades, so too do our chances of making a dive.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41While the islanders are tucked up in bed, just beyond the harbour,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44the sea is still wide awake at midnight.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51The tide refuses to slacken, despite hours of waiting.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Principal thing now is to test this and see if it's diveable, right?
0:08:55 > 0:08:58And if it's not diveable, you two are out of there, and we're out of here.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03We'd love to do it, we're all excited about it, but if it's not on, it's not on.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06- I see.- We don't want to look back on this after the event and say,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09"We knew we shouldn't do it," and all the rest of it.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14The divers head into the crystal clear water to check it out.
0:09:14 > 0:09:20The kelp on a huge gun barrel tells a tale. The current is still running.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23It's borderline, but we're in business.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31We're going to send the guys in, they're going to descend to the bottom,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33pulling themselves down on the rope.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38OK, guys, this is it. Just go for it. You can see the bottom.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- It's worth the wait. - It's like the Caribbean!- It is.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49We've had to wait for quite a long time, actually, for the current to ease off sufficiently
0:09:49 > 0:09:53so that we could get into the water, and we're using this enormous
0:09:53 > 0:09:56light over the wreck, and I just can't believe it, looking down there.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58It looks almost like a swimming pool!
0:10:08 > 0:10:10In a silent, torchlit world,
0:10:10 > 0:10:15the ship is barely recognisable, smothered in kelp.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22It looks like a ghost ship.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28One o'clock in the morning, the gun stands silent here.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34All of the kelp waving in the current.
0:10:34 > 0:10:3919 sailors lost their lives when this ship went down.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50The HMS Drake was torpedoed in 1917, and simply being here is a privilege.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55This is really what you'd call a deep sea adventure.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59Who would have thought it? Wonderful!
0:11:02 > 0:11:06How are you doing down there? It's beginning to run quite fast up here. Over.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14We had planned to film the nocturnal creatures here, but the conditions won't allow it.
0:11:16 > 0:11:22The tide is really beginning to run. I have no more time down here.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29Darryl, if you're coming up, make sure you come up that line, because it's going like a train up here.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34I'm scared, terrified I'll be swept away and lost in the darkness.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42I'm so much happier now I have my hand on the rope to the surface.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I'm with Jim, everything's fine.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48You're hanging on to Jim, are you, Darryl? Over.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Yes, I'm going to hold onto Jim coming up.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57I'm scared, it's really beginning to rip through here.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02Hang on to that line, we're ready up here. Hang on to that line, hand over hand. Over.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08We've got a boat stationed downstream, we've got ropes out, you hang on.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Hang onto Jim, we're ready to grab you when you come up. Over, Darryl.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22It should have been an easy dive, but Rathlin's infamous tides caught us out.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26That was really very scary at the end there,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30because the tide started to run,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34and I had to take Jim's hand and be led out of it.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43- Jim.- All right there, man? - Thanks a million, mate, really.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48My life's in that man's hands! That was serious, wasn't it?
0:12:48 > 0:12:52There's relief all round, and frustration for Doug.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55In a way, it was disappointing, because I started picking up shots of pollock coming through.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00- Did you?- You know, those that come in just the edge.- Really?
0:13:00 > 0:13:05- And I thought, if we could have spent an hour there, and just really soaking it up.- Yeah.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08I'm ever so pleased to see you lot back.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11I could see you all from up here, and it looked fantastic,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14but I'm just thinking, "I want them out, I want them out, I want them out!"
0:13:16 > 0:13:23At last, we find the jetty, in a pea soup fog. It's been a long, hard night for everyone.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26With the searchlight, we could just see both piers and no more,
0:13:26 > 0:13:32and then the distant, the green, bleeding light of the harbour, and that was the only way in.
0:13:32 > 0:13:38We couldn't see that green light for more than about 100 yards out. I'm glad to be in and safely in.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49We came to Rathlin in search of adventure, and at half past three in the morning,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53I'm off to bed, humbled and happy that we did just that.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
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