With a calm sea being a prerequisite for diving this wreck and shallow water, you can expect much better visibility than that found in Milford Haven or the nearby Skomer Marine Nature reserve.The Nicolaou Virginia was a 6,800 ton steamship that ran aground off the Pembrokeshire coast in 1946. The wreck has been salvaged down to the bottom of the hull, leaving just the boilers and assorted machinery standing proud of the seabed.
The outline of the bow can easily be picked out from amongst the debris. Despite the flattened state of the wreck, the anchor winch and two smaller winches rest upright and pretty much where they would be on a plan view of such a ship.
With a calm sea being a prerequisite for diving this wreck and shallow water, you can expect much better visibility than that found in Milford Haven or the nearby Skomer Marine Nature reserve.
Heading stern-wards on the starboard side of the wreck, the first few metres are just the flat base of the double-bottomed hull. Some patterns of girders could be the remains of a hold surround, but could just as easily be random girders that have fallen in this position. It is worth keeping right to the starboard side for a bit, because there are some nice shiny brass pipes sticking out from under the wreck.
It is about here on the centre line of the hull that a row of upright girders sticks up slightly from the wreckage. As this is just forward of the boilers, it may indicate the area where a split coal hold was located.
The first of three large boilers stands upright by itself on the starboard side of the wreck. Towards the centre line again a similarly curved plate with rivet holes could be a section of skin from a salvaged boiler or perhaps a condenser.
The other two boilers are also upright, but closer to the port side of the wreck and leaning slightly together.
Behind the boilers, the engine lies splayed out from its base, with one piston and connecting rod fallen to starboard and the other pistons and rods fallen to port.
The actual propeller shaft lies well away on the starboard side of the wreckage. My guess is that it ended up over this way during salvage work, but it would also have been pushed in this direction during storms from the southwest.
Where the propshaft ends the wreckage fizzles out, with the main area of debris from the stern further to port. In the centre of the stern is another large winch, several times the size of the smaller cargo winches.
Just behind this winch is a very obvious rudder post and steering quadrant. There are no signs of the rudder or propeller in this area, though the outline of the stern is marked by broken girders and a row of three small bollards.
A little way back towards the boilers on the port side of the wreckage, a solid pin with three hoops on one side lying along the wreck is the hinge from the rudder. Immediately forward of that is an area of debris that could be the broken outline of the rudder itself. There is no sign of the propeller, but that would no doubt have been one of the first things to be salvaged in 1946.
There is sparse but easily visible debris either side of the main area of wreckage, but if you have seen enough of the wreck and want to wander off a bit I would recommend inshore and to the east. Two other ships have been wrecked just over this way, though they are more thoroughly broken up and the debris fields are mixed together. If that is not enough to keep you busy, there are always the huge caves cut beneath the cliffs to explore.