UPY 2025

UPY  Wrecks - Highly Commended
'Stern of HMS Audacious'
Rick Ayrton

This is a view of the stern of the Dreadnought Battleship HMS Audacious. She was lost on 27th October 1914 to a mine laid by the SS Berlin. No lives were lost during the sinking and it took many hours for the 182.2 m (597 ft 9 in) long ship to finally slip beneath the waves. When she did she capsized and now lies upside down at a depth of 64m(210ft), her two impressive rudders can be seen above the hull. There were a number of photographers on this dive and videolights were placed in several locations lighting up the wreck to give is a more defined view. I was fortunate to capture this scene as divers were scootering around the wreck, helping to give scale to the view.

Judge's comment: Transformed by the additional lighting and complimented by three perfectly placed divers, this would have been difficult to co-ordinate at 20 metres, let alone 64. Big achievement, big wreck, big image.
- Peter Rowlands