WreckfinderBritish steamship · Sunk 15 January 1918
Spital wreck
The Spital is a British steamship wreck lying roughly 3 to 10 nautical miles off Falmouth in Cornwall. The top of the wreck is about 53 m down on a 59 m seabed. She sank on 15 January 1918. The exact GPS mark is in the Wreckfinder app.
- Top of wreck53 m
- Seabed59 m
- Nearest harbourFalmouth
- ConditionIntact
Get the exact mark for the Spital
The Spital is one of 3,012 wrecks in Cornwall waters in the Wreckfinder app. Premium shows the exact GPS position to put in your chartplotter, plus your distance to it at sea.
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Are you fishing or diving the Spital?
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Fishing the Spital
What you might catch
- PollackAll year, best late summer to winter
- Conger eelAll year, best on summer nights and neap tides
- PoutingAll year
- LingAll year, bigger fish in deeper water
- CodMostly autumn and winter
- Coalfish (saithe)Winter and spring
Typical for wrecks like this (draft, until we have catch reports). Caught something here? Tell us.
Tide and method
Tide: Deep wreck. Neap tides and the slack water around high or low tide give you the best chance of holding bottom over it.
Method: A standing wreck. Anchor uptide and fish baits back into the wreck and scour for conger and ling, or drift over the top with shads for pollack.
Snags: Survey notes say the wreck is covered in old nets. Expect snags and take spare rigs.
Report a catch
Fished the Spital? Tell Dusty what you caught, when, and what worked. With your OK we'll add it to this page so other anglers know what's biting.
Diving the Spital
The dive
The top of the wreck is about 53 m down on a 59 m seabed. That is technical diving depth: mixed gas, decompression and a dedicated dive boat.
Condition: Intact, bows sw, covered in nets (from the last survey).
Before you dive
- Anything you recover from a wreck must be reported to the Receiver of Wreck.
- Plan around slack water and check the weather. Skippers who know the wreck make all the difference.
History of the Spital
Built in 1907 at Greenock. Carrying coal from South Shields to Savona in Italy, she was torpedoed by U-93 on 15 January 1918.
| Type | British steamship |
|---|---|
| Sunk | 15 January 1918 |
| Tonnage | 4,718 tons gross |
| Length | 119 m |
| Beam | 15.9 m |
| Cargo | Coal |
| Top of wreck | 53 m |
| Seabed | 59 m |
| Area | Cornwall (nearest harbour Falmouth) |
Where is the Spital wreck?
The Spital lies roughly 3 to 10 nautical miles off Falmouth, in Cornwall. We don't publish exact positions on the website. The GPS mark is in the Wreckfinder app.
Other wrecks in Cornwall
- Ben ReinBritish steamship, 1941
- HMS RinoviaBritish trawler, 1940
- HMS CometBritish tug, 1940
- EskdaleNorwegian destroyer, 1943
Spital wreck: questions
How deep is the Spital wreck?
The top of the wreck is about 53 m down on a 59 m seabed.
Where is the Spital wreck?
It lies roughly 3 to 10 nautical miles off Falmouth in Cornwall. The exact GPS position is in the Wreckfinder app.
Can you fish the Spital?
Yes. Wrecks like this typically hold pollack, conger eel, pouting, ling. A standing wreck. Anchor uptide and fish baits back into the wreck and scour for conger and ling, or drift over the top with shads for pollack.
Can you dive the Spital?
The top of the wreck is about 53 m down on a 59 m seabed. That is technical diving depth: mixed gas, decompression and a dedicated dive boat.
How do I get the GPS coordinates for the Spital?
Download Wreckfinder, search for Spital, and Premium shows the exact position to enter in your chartplotter.
Got a question about the Spital?
Ask Dusty, our Cornish pirate AI assistant. Arrr, he knows his wrecks.
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