Location

Comments (See also photos - Littlehampton Marine Life and UK Wrecks)

Max Depth (approx)

Bryan dropped us in a good spot - drift was slow - just right to see more dogfish, cuckoo wrasse etc etc……Julian found some brass on the second dive as well…a great day out. (GM)

Well - the dolphins were missing but we could see the surface from the seabed at 24.5m….the weather was fine, the sea pretty calm and there were congers, wrasse and other fish in abundance and lobsters and crabs.…. - possibly the best dive I have had there with the viz so good. Only regretted I didn't have a camera with me. ! (GM)

The Gascony is located past the Outer Owers buoy and is a fair journey from the harbour at Littlehampton. The sea state on Saturday was quite kind for this journey whilst under the lee of Selsey Bill but became quite lumpy outside. However from an overcast sky the sun emerged and the sea turned blue.

Finding the wreck (sunk in Jan 1918) took a little longer than usual and in the lumpy sea a number of the crew began to feel sick as parrots and were looking just as green. However, everyone managed to don kit and roll off into the sea. One pair had difficulty with a strong surface current and abandoned the dive which was unfortunate as it turned out to be a lovely dive in clear water. Overall we were in position well ahead of slack water and the later divers had the better conditions, this is contrary to the usual order of things. 

The wreck is rather typical in as much as the stern and prow are quite proud of the sandy seabed with the rest rather flat with the exception of the large boilers and condenser. However the wreck is upside down in parts and quite confusing to orientate the various sections. It was noticeable that the wreck must be extensively potted with the amount of discarded pots, ropes, and other debris. I only saw one small edible crab and one lobster although this may have been due to the lightning pace set by my buddy. There were plenty of fish shoaling in various areas around the wreckage. 

The boat made good progress back to Littlehampton in a difficult quartering sea with only one crash landing surprise to report – pretty good considering the conditions. (TC)

A late start this morning, we were hoping to dive one of the big wrecks about 10miles south of Bognor but as we got out to sea it soon became clear that we would need to stay as close to shore as we could.

We had been to the HMS Pine in April this year but on a rough sea like that it was as far as we were willing to go and no one had written a report on that dive.

What a surprise to find at least 6 metres vis!  The Pine is normally dark.  We had a good 40 minutes to look around and it was like we had never seen this wreck before.

There were lots of fish about, conger eels, crabs, lobsters and cuttlefish so plenty to look at.

Even the ride in the boat back to the harbour was not too bad with the wind and sea pushing us back all the way.  A good day out for poor weather and a full boat as well. (JA)

Report in Diver magazine encouraged us to try this wreck and it was well worth it.  Shot wasn't quite on the wreck but a short swim along the sea bed brought us to the centre of the wreck.  Swam towards the bow finding the prop shaft with some of the tunnel still standing, past the engine to the 3 large boilers.  The wreck was a block of flats for conger eels - every hole we looked in seemed to be home to one!  Also shoals of bib and pollock over the wreck and crabs and lobsters under the plates.  Lots more of the wreck to explore but getting low on bottom time & gas so had to ascend. Unfortunately no time to do a second dive as the marina was closing and we had to get back!  (JH)  (See UK Wrecks photos)

Shirala

Comments from those who dived this?? 

Just why was Julian fixing the prop the following weekend before we could launch the boat??

Malcolm Kirk - First sea dives for trainee Ocean Diver 

Got call late Saturday, get your full dive kit and meet 7am (!!!) at Littlehampton marina. Lovely day, sun's out, so after the training, theory and Wraysbury it was off to meet the fishes at last.

So with a nervous twitch and wet suit on off we went skimming the waves and hanging on for dear life over to the Mulberries.

Kit on, detailed instructions given and roll backwards into water and down the chain, then managed somehow in about 1 min to loose my buddy!!!! First lesson learnt,

Second dive (a drift dive) went well did not loose my buddy this time, but short on air so cleared to ascend and what did I forget – yes safety stop, another lesson learnt.

Despite all this enjoyed my time below and learnt some important lessons which will not be forgotten and gained valuable experience and help from others.  Now looking forward to more dives to complete my Ocean Diver qualification and then onto Sports Diver if my instructor will have me!

Thanks to Andrew, Jenny, Tim, Sue and especially (a very patient) Julian for my first sea dives.

Saturday dawned a hot, sunny day with little wind and kind tides – a rare treat for 2007.  Even the wreck appeared in the sonar spot on, with plenty of time for slack water.  Everything was going right - time for the DO to get involved (see separate report for what happened next and full details of the dive!)

A great dive with lots of life – congers, lobsters, tompots, crabs, fanworms, shoals of fish around the prop, boilers and plating. (AH)  (See UK Wrecks photos) 

Just another wet and windy Sunday at Wraysbury Quarry.

We had two instructors to one student this morning!  After a quick cup of tea and a chat about what we would be teaching underwater we got ready to get in.

After a buddy check we all got in and went down one of the lines to a platform and all went very well.  We were down for twenty-five minutes and had managed to finish one whole lesson.

After another cup of tea and a bacon and egg sandwich, we did a bit of work on the deco tables before going in again.  Lesson two was not so easy but we got a lot of it done before we got low on air and decided to call it a day.

The water temp was a nice 21c and the visibility was about two metres, which is very good for a Sunday morning in Wraysbury. (JA)

Weather had deteriorated by afternoon and quite lumpy on surface.  Had to change dive site as a fishing boat was right over the area Markus originally wanted to put us down on.  Downs SMB to virtually nil visibility.  Drifted along and are sure that it would have been a nice dive if we would have seen something!!   Pity, but that's UK diving - at least we had been able to see in the morning.

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12 August (1)

Out of Eastbourne on 'Inspiration'

This the one of the biggest wrecks in Sussex waters! The 13,405-ton, 520-foot Cunard liner was built in 1913 and hit a mine on her way from New York to London in October 1916.  Viz was about 6m so were able to see quite a bit of the wreck.  Large shoals of fish swimming around and over the plates and large winches.  Ended up at huge boilers before ascending.  Nice dive - pity it is so deep which limits bottom time. (JH)  (See UK Wrecks photos)

The sun was shining and the sea looked fairly calm.  Slack was a bit short so we got out early to find a boat had already put in a shot on the wreck.  As divers were not yet in, we put in our own shot and then waited for slack.  First 2 pairs went in and had a good dive.  Vis could have been better, but loads of life: crabs, lobsters, conger eels, shoals of bib and pollock.  Last pair unfortunately had a tougher time going down the shot as tide was running.  Fitted a lifting bag to the shot and then enjoyed their dive (only one crab could be captured!). (JH)  (See UK Wrecks photos)

See separate report

The second dive on Black Ledge was a drift dive with just as good vis if not better.

Another boat showed up while we were there, so as we watched the surface marker buoy of our other pair we could let the new divers see how a big commercial dive boat put in and recovered it’s divers.  This was the type of boat we will be diving from next weekend.

 The trip back to the marina was not so smooth but the wind and sea were behind us so it was not to bad.  We stopped at the chip shop along side the river before putting the boat away, which always makes a nice end to a days diving.  (JA)

After a lot of looking at all the different weather forecasts for Sunday we decided it was worth a trip to the coast to see if it was good enough to dive.  As it turned out the four of us that did drive down for the 7.30 start had a lot of luck.

The trip out to the dive site, the outer Mullberry, was on a near flat sea and we had the dive site to our self’s.  Today’s dive was a training exercise for two new members who will be coming with the club on our Plymouth trip next weekend.  As the first pair in we got only 30 minutes on the bottom as we had to make sure the other pair got a good bit of the slack water but a very nice half an hour it was.  With the vis at 4 metres plus and lots of life about it was worth getting out of bed for. (JA)

The weather has not been good to us over the past month, too rough to enable us to take the boat out.    However, some training took place at Wraysbury Lake.

Always a good second dive with a lot of life about. (JA) 

The sea was a little bit rough this morning, so it took us a bit longer to get out to the wreck site than we were hoping.  We had not dived the site before and had some trouble finding the wreck.  After a twenty minute search of the area we dropped the shot on the only wreckage we could find.

Six of us did the dive but no one found the main part of the wreck, just bits of metal and debris - no boilers or anything like a ship.  We all spent about 30 mins on the bottom at 24 metres.  There was some life around: lobster, crab and some fish, but we will need some better GPS numbers before we try this wreck again. (JA)

The vis here must be easily 10 metres, just the thing we needed after missing the wreck.  Not a bad days diving as it turned out, we will just have to take more care with the line next time. (JA)

9 June (1)

Basil

A nice flat sea as we left Arun mouth and headed out to the wreck of the SS Basil.  It took us nearly 40 mins to get there and when we get in the water we find the shot line  has got tangled.  This has meant the shot is no longer on the wreck! 

We have good vis today, 5 to 6 m and we keep coming across bits of debris but we cannot find the main wreck.  After 15 minutes on the bottom we start the slow ascent from 40 metres back to the surface. (JA)

40 m

2 June (2)

Worthing Wall

Our second dive today is a drift dive over Worthing lumps -  lots of dogfish about and a good dive was had by all who did this one. (JA)

2 June (1)

Ore Wreck

We had a full boat today, which is unusual as it was not the best of tides and a number of the club members are away on the club's Red Sea holiday.

We left Littlehampton on a flattish sea and, as we had time, we went to see if we could find a wreck that we are hoping to dive in three or four weeks.

Then over to today's dive, the iron ore wreck, or as it is now called the Concha.

We drop the shot in and down we go, 18 metres to the seabed.

Lots of life and some big lumps of metal to look at.  After half an hour my trainee of the day needs to deploy a DSMB and we head back to the surface. (JA)

18 m

26 May - 

2 June

Northern Red Sea

See separate report 

26 May (2)

Black Ledge

The second dive of the day was at Black Ledge a drift dive over a rocky area straight out from Bognor Regis.

Back at the marina by 3.45pm, fuel the boat ready for the next trip out, give it a wash down, put the cover back on and leave for home at 4.45pm.

26 May (1)

Gascony

Meeting time at the marina café 9.00am. 

When we got out to sea it was not as bad as I though it would be, so a good ride out to the wrecks.  Today we visit the wreck of the SS Gascony, a victim of the first war when she hit a mine.

A nice surprise was the amount of visibility, a good 3 to 4 metres, just a bit dark as there was no sunshine today but after the plankton bloom we had three weeks ago this was perfect.  We do the dive in three pairs, the last pair down put a lifting bag on the shot with some air in it to make it easy to recover.

5 May (2)

Worthing Wall

Descended down lobster pot line (got hook in my finger!).  Tried to swim to wall, but current was strong so drifted.  Vis poor due to plankton and silt.  Got to a small rock wall - some marine life - but current forced us off over flat seabed.  Got bored so ascended. (AH)

17m

5 May (1)

Froud

29 April

Mulberry Harbour

Excellent weather if a bit blowy. Only trouble was all the other dive boats thought that this would be a good first dive for the season!!  Vis not bad at c 3m and water temp about 13c.

Lots of marine life (especially divers!). A friendly lumpfish at the bottom of the line. Lots of fish shoaling around the far end and a little blenney hiding in a crevice. Andrew and Jenny even saw the (huge) resident conger!

After the first dive we lolled around whilst trying to communicate with the coastguard. This proved incredibly difficult and although Tim eventually sweet talked the irascible coastguard into adopting a more genial tone, it still seems that we had a loose connection somewhere.

To cap it all Andrew managed to complete his dive without performing his seasonal tradition of 'change the drysuits'!  (JJ)

10m

A rather broken up wreck. (further comments from those who dived?)  

Fishing nets laid across the ledge meant that it was too risky to put divers in for a drift dive on the ledge itself.  However, the divers were dropped in just north of the marks and although the drift was across fairly flat terrain, the dive was enjoyed by all and enabled some to get signed off with using an SMB.  (JH)

First dive from the boat this year.  Water was not as cold as it could have been, sea was flat calm and the sun shone.  Could this really be a Bank Holiday!!!  Sports Diver trainees practised deploying DSMB.  Last year's resident conger eel appears to have departed, but a large pink lumpsucker was perched at the bottom of the shot. (JH)

17 March (shore)

Wraysbury Lake

First training dive of the season -

A quick briefing and buddy check, then a stride entry off the pier.  We did a buoyancy check at the pier then paddled out to the nearest platform. 

On the platform the visibility was a murky 2 metres, water temp of 8c, pretty good for this time of year.  We did a mini lift first then each pair did full lift twice.  Tow to shore, drop weight belts and de-kit victim.  Once up onto dry land put casualty in recovery position.  End of test. 

All went well so all the pool practice paid off.  Then a quick debrief over a cup of tea and bacon butty.  (JA)

6m