Whitsand Bay lies south-west of Plymouth Sound, in south-east Cornwall, with Rame Head forming its eastern boundary and the small village of Portwrinkle to its west. Polhwan cove is in the east of the bay, then long stetches of sandy beaches run to the west interspersed with rocky headlands and small bays, over Sharrow Point through Freathy beach to the wide expanse of Tregantle beach. Fort Tregantle overlooks Tregantle beach, still occupied by the Ministry of Defence, and Tregantle beach itself is closed when the firing ranges at the fort are in operation. The holiday settlement of Freathy, a collection of chalets, huts and shacks forms an haphazard settlement stretching along and down the cliffs, quite an eyesore to an otherwise dramatic view. The bay is popular with scuba divers because of its marine life and in 2004, HMS Scylla, the former Royal Navy frigate was scuppered nearby an existing World War II wreck, the Liberty Ship James Eagan Layne, to provide a new underwater reef for divers. The James Eagan Layne was built in 1944 in the United States of America. After only three month's war service, on 21 March 1945, she was torpedoed and sunk in Whitsand Bay by U-1195 whilst on a voyage from Barry, in Wales bound for Ghent in Belgium. Thankfully there were no casualties and the wreck has become of the most popular diving sites in the country.