On September 16, 1950, the meteorological frigate Laplace sank on a mine in the Bay of Fresnaye, west of Saint-Malo, and 51 sailors disappeared. Its wreck is now listed among the exploration sites of a Saint-Malo diving club.
The previous version of this page mentioned a club called “Saint Malo Diving.” As of early October 2026, no organization under this exact name has been found.
Clues from the old page lead to Saint-Malo Plongée Émeraude, located at the Centre Bleu Émeraude. Here is what this center itself publishes, with the consultation date, and what you still need to ask them.
Does the Saint Malo Diving club really exist?
Not under that name. As of early October 2026, no official site, tourist office listing, or diving directory mentions a club called “Saint Malo Diving.” The center matching the details from the old page is called Saint-Malo Plongée Émeraude, often abbreviated SMPE, and some travel guides translate its name as “Saint Malo Emerald Diving.”
The cross-check is based on precise details.
The club’s website publishes a page titled “Commémoration LAPLACE,” dated May 22, 2021. It announces introductory dives starting from age 8 and dives with air or nitrox. These are the points the old page mentioned, without ever naming the center. But nothing proves it definitively. It is therefore presented as the most solid lead, without certainty.
If an intermediary sells you an outing under the name “Saint Malo Diving,” ask them for the exact name of the organizing structure, its address, and its federation affiliation before paying, because an active center provides this information without hesitation.
What does Saint-Malo Plongée Émeraude offer, and from what age?
The center presents itself as an associative and professional structure founded in 1996, an FFESSM school, located at the Centre Bleu Émeraude on the Naye terre-plein since 2001. It offers introductory dives in a pool and at sea, training from Level 1 to Level 4, nitrox, dry suits, snorkeling, and guided explorations.
| Activity | Minimum published age | Published 2026 price |
|---|---|---|
| Pool introductory dive | 8 years | €49 |
| Sea introductory dive | 10 years | €85 |
| Snorkeling | 8 years, able to swim | €35 |
| FFESSM Level 1 | 14 years | €460 |
| FFESSM Level 2 | 16 years | €640 |
| FFESSM Level 3 | 18 years (16 years on the price list) | €690 |
| Exploration dive | According to your level | €43 (€39 member), air included |
The age of 8 applies only to the pool.
At sea, the introductory dive starts at 10 years according to the participation conditions page, and Level 1 starts at 14 years at SMPE. For Level 3, the same page indicates 18 years while the price list states 16 years, a discrepancy resolved by a message before registration. Training requires an FFESSM license. It costs €70.50 with membership for a diver aged 16 and over. According to the tourist office sheet, the center has a heated pool at 27 °C and heated changing rooms, accessible to people with reduced mobility, and holds the Qualité Tourisme label.
Thus, an adult aiming for Level 1 counts on €460 for training plus €70.50 for license and membership, totaling €530.50 before possible extras. 2026 price list consulted on October 3, 2026. The center celebrates its 30th anniversary starting September 26, 2026.
Which wrecks and sites does the club announce in the bay of Saint-Malo?
The club’s “Exploration” page lists rock heads, drop-offs, plateaus, and wrecks, between 3 and 45 meters. The Bizeux plateau, a sheltered cove from 3 to 15 meters, is used for baptisms and training. The wrecks go deeper, down to 45 meters for the Princess Ena.
Regarding wrecks, the club mentions the Laplace around 20 meters, a 92-meter meteorological frigate turned over on the sand. It also announces the cargo ship Fetlar around 20 meters and the sandglass Frémur between 20 and 30 meters. The Hilda and the Skeldon, around 20 meters, have a fixed mooring. Deeper, the patrol boat Claus Bolten (V213) rests around 40 meters. These depths come from the club’s page, and they say nothing about the current or visibility on the day you dive.
The Laplace is also a burial site.
According to the Dinan Cap Fréhel tourist office, the frigate sank while trying to shelter from a storm, and an 8-meter granite monument, erected in 1952 at the tip of Saint-Cast, commemorates the 51 sailors lost. However, the old sheet mentioned the 2021 commemoration without saying what happened in 1950. Nothing is taken from it. And on a colonized hull, keep your hands away from the metal, for the reasons detailed in why you should never touch marine life.
The old sheet also promised blue lobsters, congers, and cuttlefish. This list has been removed due to lack of dated records, and because no club can guarantee an encounter. If plane wrecks attract you, our sheet on Diving Calvi A Piaghja and the B-17 of Calvi follows the same method.
What papers and level are required to dive with the club?
For any activity beyond discovery, the club requires a medical certificate of non-contraindication less than one year old, liability insurance (the FFESSM license includes it), and your level card with your skills. The dive director may require your logbook. For a minor, the club also requires parental authorization submitted on the online diver space.
All these documents must be up to date before the activity.
The skills set the depth. On the club’s page, a PE20 or Level 1 diver descends accompanied up to 20 meters, a PA20 dives autonomously up to 20 meters, and a PE40 remains accompanied up to 40 meters. The FFESSM Level 2 curriculum, published in February 2019, sets at least 16 years old for certification and only allows autonomy from 18 years old. Yet the Princess Ena, announced around 45 meters, is outside the PE40 framework. Only the dive director decides, on the same day.
For a baptism dive, however, the club does not require a medical certificate, unless you have a medical history to report.
And if you are starting from scratch, our guide to FFESSM Level 1 training details this first certification, which the SMPE opens from 14 years old and limits you to 20 meters under the supervision of an instructor. Keep your card with you.
What to ask before booking a dive in Saint-Malo?
The club states that the bay experiences the strongest tides in Europe. Its public pages do not provide the meeting time, the departure port, or the procedure to follow when the weather deteriorates. Ask these questions before paying, because they determine your day much more than the list of wrecks.
The current decides more than the photo.
Explorations are booked online, date by date, on the club’s schedule, and registration only becomes final after payment by card on the secure site or validation of a gift voucher. Baptisms and training sessions first require a request via the contact form. Ask at what point in the tide the outing is scheduled and how many divers are in each group. Also ask if your card from another agency is accepted as is. A precise answer is better than a photo of a drop-off.
The old sheet set the meeting time 45 minutes before departure, a figure that was not found anywhere on the club’s website (so it has been removed).
For comparison, look at the revised sheet of Argonaute near Toulouse, or that of CIP Glénan if you stay in Brittany. However, at €43 per exploration, the real cost of a canceled outing is counted elsewhere, in an entire weekend planned around a single tide without a backup slot. Plan for two possible days. Would you book it like that?
FAQ
Does the Saint Malo Diving club exist?
At the beginning of October 2026, no club publishes under this exact name. The elements of the old sheet correspond to Saint-Malo Plongée Émeraude, an associative and professional center affiliated with the FFESSM, located at the Centre Bleu Émeraude, terre-plein du Naye. Verify the name of the structure before paying.
From what age can you dive with Saint-Malo Plongée Émeraude?
According to the club pages consulted in October 2026, pool baptisms start at 8 years old and sea baptisms at 10 years old. Level 1 starts at 14 years old and Level 2 at 16 years old.
How much does an exploration dive cost in Saint-Malo with SMPE?
The club’s 2026 price list shows €43 per exploration, air included, or €39 for a member. Nitrox 32% adds €4, full equipment rental €12. Packages of 5 and 10 dives are available.
What happened with the frigate Laplace?
According to the Dinan Cap Fréhel tourist office, the meteorological frigate Laplace sank on a mine in the Bay of la Fresnaye on September 16, 1950, and 51 sailors disappeared. A granite monument was erected in 1952 at Saint-Cast. The Saint-Malo club announces the wreck around 20 meters.
Sources
- The Monument of the frigate Laplace (Dinan-Cap Fréhel Tourism, accessed 2026)
- Diver Level 2 Curriculum, autonomous diver at 20 m, supervised diver at 40 m (FFESSM, National Technical Commission, 2019)
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