UPY 2025

UPY 2019 Wrecks - Commended
'Bow of the SS Justicia'
Rick Ayrton

The iconic WW1 wreck of the liner SS Justicia is a challenging technical dive, lying in over 70m of cold Atlantic water off Donegal, Ireland. I was diving the wreck in early June 2018 during a week blessed with calm winds and exceptional underwater visibility. In spite the complexities of conducting a dive at these depths, I had entered the water with this image in mind. Once at the bow of the wreck I placed 2 video lights to illuminate the point of the bow and the port side anchor. What was fortuitous was the presence of a fellow diver who was lighting the upper part of the bow in a perfect position to give scale to the magnificent structure. My dive was conducted using a closed circuit rebreather, for a little over 40 minutes on the wreck I had to complete over 2hrs of decompression before I could surface.

Judge's comment: This image jumps out whatever size it is viewed at and I can feel the excitement of the photographer as the diver top right glided into the perfect position. What a great image and well worth the 2 hour decompression.
Peter Rowlands