Dive/vis reports 2025
The season started with long spells of sunshine, clear skies – and unwanted episodes of north to north-easterly winds. The extended sunshine has produced a proliferation in plankton which has come earlier, lasted longer and has been denser than usual. All April dives were lost to strong winds but the season got going in early May. On Thursday 1, Friday 2 and Saturday 3 May we dived a newly installed artificial reef at Hengistbury Head. It’s close inshore so vis was not expected to be anything special, but at about a metre it was adequate for survey purposes. Sunday 4 and Monday 5 May were lost to strong winds.
On Tuesday 6 May the winds had died and we dived one of the protected wreck sites on the north-east Shingles. The intention was to conduct photogrammetry in order to obtain a fuller view of the site, but with vis of only 1-2 metres conditions weren’t good enough, so we’ll have to wait until better conditions arrive.
On Saturday 16 May, in flat seas and bright sunshine, we headed for a first, shallow dive on the wreck of the War Knight. Unfortunately, vis was very poor and the dive was aborted. Usually at this time of May vis is good, but the plankton has, unusually, been very thick. For the main dive we had a look at the Spyros, where vis was better at about 2 metres. Next day, Sunday 17 May, we did a first dive across Christchurch Ledge, where vis showed signs of improvement at 2-3 metres. However, when we ventured out into the bay to dive the wreck of the Clan Macvey, vis proved to be poor again.
With a neap tide coming on, and with marine archaeologists on board, on Tuesday 20 May we had a look at the protected Yarmouth Roads wreck in about 7 metres. Weather was fine and sunny. Diving on low water vis wasn’t expected to be good but it was sufficient for some photography to take place. Later we dived the bow section of HMS Pomone in Alum Bay. Vis on the surface looked OK but as the plankton is now beginning to die off, the seabed was silty, but the dive was completed. On Wednesday 21 May, in grey skies and rain, we dived the stern section of the steamer Serrana with the intention of producing photogrammetry, but vis wasn’t good at about a metre and a half. Neverthless, one of the howitzer guns was fully surveyed and assessed, and this will eventually produce a good 3-D image. Following this we returned to HMS Pomone to clear away sand etc in order to conduct photogrammetry of the site, which had not been done before. Finally, on Thursday 22 May, once again in fine weather, we firstly examined a seabed anomaly in 10 metres. Three objects are there, obviously man-made, one of which is a huge stockless anchor. The site needs further investigation. On slack water at the Needles a survey was conducted on what is thought to be one of the masts from HMS Pomone, measured at 13 metres in length. When this was concluded, two more dives were done, first on HMS Pomone again, and also on the wreck known as Alum Bay II, which is an area of rounded planking, indicating an uptured wooden wreck. Water temperature is now up to around 14 degrees.
The May BH weekend of Saturday 24, Sunday 25 and Monday 26 was blown out, but the wind moderated on Sunday 31 May and we were able to head south to dive the wreck of the clipper ship Smyrna in 54 metres. Although the forecast wasn’t great, with a strong wind warning in force for later in the day, seas were largely flat, though thick fog was a constant risk, especially heading down the Solent in 100 metres visibility. Visibility wasn’t as good as we usually experience on this wreck at 4-5 metres in ambient light, when double that is normal. At least the plankton is dying back and settling on the bottom. Sea state on the way back gradually deteriorated as the breeze picked up. Next day, Sunday 1 June, the official start of summer, was again blown out by strong winds. Perhaps a blessing in disguise as the inshore vis is still affected by plankton.
On Monday 2 June there was a weather window, with sunshine and light winds, and we were able to dive one of the protected wreck sites on the north-east Shingles. On the LW slack, visibility was around 2 metres, at last showing signs that water clarity is improving. Samples were taken to establish whether forensic marking had survived on the bronze guns. Tuesday 3 June was blown out by strong winds.
Dive/vis reports: On Wednesday 4 June and Thursday 5 June, we were diving with marine archaeologists in the western Solent. The first day was fine and sunny though breezy, and at long last visibility is improving, with vis of 2-3 metres on low water. Sediment samples, taken for analysis, were obtained, and the site at Bouldnor cliff photogrammetried to assess the rate of erosion. The second day was grey and gloomy, still breezy, but water clarity is definitely improving now, much later than usual. The weekend of Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June have all been blown out by strong winds.
