A diver, who has been researching and locating shipwrecks off the Pembrokeshire coast for more than 40 years, has written of his adventures under the sea.

James Hedley Phillips has personally located more than 30 previously unknown wrecks and dived on countless more, recovering 100 year old bottles of wine in the process which he drank freely before discovering they were worth at least £1,500 each.

Now James has published his first book detailing some of the finds, and telling the stories of those who were on board.

“Sailing ships were just about the first form of transport, if you ignore horses, and man has been sailing the seas off Pembrokeshire for thousands of years,” said James.

“Until steam came along ships were at the mercy of the tides and winds and Pembrokeshire has always been infamous for the variety of sea and wind patterns.

“Add together dangerous rocks such as the Hats and Barrels and the Smalls and it is no wonder there are so many wrecks down there.”

In James’ first book, Pembrokeshire Trilogy--Volume 1--Tales of the Sea, he recalls diving on the SS Vendome, which sank off Strumble Head, near Fishguard.

“I was confronted by the biggest conger eel I have ever seen, as thick as a telegraph pole and with a head the size of an Alsatian dog’s. And it had teeth a Sabretooth Tiger would have been proud of,” said James.

“I thought the best option was to retreat. No-one can hear you scream under the sea.”

James also writes about Pembrokeshire’s own tsunamis, duelling mayors, body snatchers and drunken communities fuelled by shipwreck whisky.

James, the son of a master mariner, has dived off North Carolina, Florida, Israel, Corfu, France and Sir Lanka, but has not found anything to compare with the sea off Pembrokeshire.

“There are three thousand wrecks down there, maybe many more. I don’t think there is a coastline anywhere in the world quite like it,” he added.

James has spent years researching the ships themselves but it is the human stories that shine through, often involving great sadness but also outstanding bravery by local people who saved seamen’s lives.

“If you think you know Pembrokeshire’s maritime history you are in for a shock,” said James. “A lot of the stories have never been told before and, hopefully, readers will feel they happened yesterday and not hundreds of years ago.”

James, who now lives in Haverfordwest, plans to continue diving as he prepares Volume Two of the Pembrokeshire Trilogy.

Copies of the book are available from bookshops in Cardigan, Haverfordwest and Tenby, and from Amazon. There is also a website: www.pembrokeshiretrilogy.co.uk.