East Rutts (50º13.452 ’N, 003º58.922 ’W) 

The East Rutts are an offshore formation of several pinnacles of limestone rock that descend to a depth of 40m and rise to within 8m of the surface.

You can have a good drift dive here and the boulders allow shelter if you want to get out of the tidal flow, whichever way it’s running. However, many divers will choose to catch slack water as currents can be strong especially at springs.

Silt can sometimes be a problem, but there is lots to see like pollack, lobsters and football sea squirts. Sea fans are quite common here and there’s a lot of marine life amongst the kelp in the shallows. The high abundance of marine life is due in part to the unusual nature of the bedrock. Limestone is easily bored by piddocks and they in turn provide holes for other attached creatures to get a foothold.

East Rutts is quite a long run but the Plymouth Sound Dive Club RIB’s get there and back in a morning.