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.
Dive/vis reports: Thursday 12 June, and it’s out first evening dive of the season. In bright, fine weather, we headed south west to dive the wreck of the Dutch schooner Fenna in 23 metres. Although we were diving on low water springs, when we don’t expect the best water clarity, vis has finally improved (about a month late), now giving around 3 metres in ambient light. Masses of shellfish and congers on this wreck. Next day, Friday 13 June, our target was the wreck of HMS Swordfish in 40 metres, south of St Catherine’s Point. Diving the high water slack, vis was an easy 6 metres in ambient light. And good news – a lone crawfish was spotted on the hull, showing they’re spreading east, in few numbers so far but they could establish themselves to a resident species – let’s hope so. A second dive was on the wreck of the Greeke steamer Joannis Millas, where the ebb tide had reduced the vis to about a metre. The weekend of Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June was, you’ve guessed it, blown out by strong winds.
Dive/vis reports: Tuesday 17 June, running out of Haslar, we headed south to dive the German U-boat, U-1195. Calm seas, no wind and bright sunshine – just ideal. We dived the afternoon slack. The shot went in and everyone dived the wreck, which is a large WWII era submarine. Vis wasn’t quite as good as it was on the Swordfish a few days earlier, but still a good 5 metres in ambient light. For the next two days, Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 June, we were berthed in Sparkes Marina, Hayling Island, in order for marine archaeologist trainees to dive a number of sites assosiated with the wrecking of HMS Hazardous in 1706. Divers examined recently exposed barrels, large cannons and parts of the gun deck. Vis was great at an easy 6 metres, and with the water temperature creeping up to 15 or 16 degrees, everyone enjoyed some good diving. Friday 20 June, where were again due to dive HMS Hazardous, was blown out by strong easterly winds.
Dive/vis reports: Saturday 21 June was another day blown out, but on Sunday 22 June, despite continuing strong winds, we were able to dive in shelter in the western Solent. The first dive was a drift off Gurnard Head, followed by the main dive on slack water in a depression on Hamstead Ledge. Although it was low water, vis was 2-3 metres in ambient light, and various species were recorded including numerous sea urchins. Water temperature has increased inshore to around 18°. The next two days, Monday 23 June and Tuesday 24 June was spent on the River Itchen at Southampton, surveying the bridge supports of the Itchen Brisdge and Northam Bridge. At Northam, the river bed was competely covered in a dense layer of oysters, and also covering the bridge supports. When our anchor dragged in the breeze and was pulled up, it had snagged in a rusty old bicycle someone had thrown off the bridge in the past.
Dive/vis reports: What a windy season it’s been – just one complete weekend’s diving so far, the rest having been blown out by strong winds. Saturday 28 June was blown out, but on Sunday 29 June, the wind died and the seas flattened right off, and we headed south-east of the Needles to dive the WWII wreck of the Empire Crusader in 30 metres. Divers described the vis in the upper 25 metres as being good, but the bottom 15 metres still has the remnants of dead and dying plankton, which reduced the vis to around 3 metres. Not great but not too bad, and a torch was needed. Nice gun at the stern, and the boilers were prominent, but the engine still remains hidden under plating.
Dive/vis reports: On Tuesday 1 July we were filming in the western Solent for a forthcoming Channel 5 programme, following which we headed for Hayling Island for an overnight berth, before taking out SeaSearch on Wednesday 2 July. That day divers explored Utopia Reef to record flaura and fauna, followed by a second dive inshore in Bracklesham Bay. Vis on the first dive was 3-4 metres. On Friday 4 July, once again with marine archaeologists on board, we dived various sites on Bouldnor Cliff. The current neap tide has improved water clarity close inshore, with vis of 3-4 metres. Unsurprisingly, the weekend of Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 July has been blown out by strong winds, as was Monday 8 July.
Dive/vis reports: It’s Wednesday 8 July and Thursday 9 July, and we’re back in the water on Bouldnor Cliff with marine archaeologists. Vis wasn’t bad, considering we’re close inshore in the Solent, but around 2-3 metres. On Thursday 10 July for an evening dive, a drift dive on the flood tide in a north-easterly direcvtion was done. Never put divers in this area before so it was very much an unknown. Vis wasn’t great, but drifting in a fast current across gravel gullies was an intersting experience! On Friday 11 July we decided to investigate an anomaly off St Catherine’s Point. I’d had a good magnetometer reading and something showed on the sonar, so the site was dived. It turned out to be a fairly large iron mast and iron spar, complete with blocks and pulleys. No other wreckage was see on the flat seabed of stones and gravel. Various theories were put forward as to what this site is – possible wreacge dragged and deposited by a trawler, or the remanants of a sailing ship swept by wire in the First World War. As the site was within a few miles of the iron barquentine Rose Hill, it was conjectured that the new site comprised one of her masts and spars, but how it came to be in its current position will remain unknown. On Saturday 12 July the weather continued to be reasonable and we’re off St Catherine’s again, this time on the wreck of the WW1 steamer Tweed. This is a good dive and though dark-ish on the wreck, it was possible to explore in ambient light, with vis around 3-4 metres on the wreck, despite the upper water column being silty. Next day, Sunday 13 July, we headed once again towards St Catherine’s, but there was a south-easterly breeze which was very uncomfortable, producing a steep sea with short intervals between waves. Despite this, the shot was placed directly on the target site, HMS Upstart, and everyone jumped in on slack. This is another good dive, with vis holding up to 3-4 metres. Monday 14, Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 July were blown out but the winds moderated for Thursday 17 July, when we headed south-west to dive the WW1 Steamer Britannia in 38 metres. Divers reported significant silt in the upper 7 or 8 metres. Quite what this is remains a mystery, since rainfall is far below average. Possibly persistent rough weather may be responsible. In any case everyone dives but later reported vis was poor at about 2 metres. Conditions improved for the next dive on Friday 18 July, when we visited a wreck believed to be the Gallia in 38 metres. Heading for the site in clear weather, we headed into a fog bank where visibility reduced to 1-2 miles, and then deteriorated further to, at times, about 100 yards. Fortunatley we headed through this into clear skies, which remained bright and sunny throughout the dive. One of the tasks was to try to establish whether or not the ship was armed with a stern gun, as this might help to identify the wreck. Gallia was an armed steamer – and there, at the stern, divers photographed an inverted gun pedestal, confirming the the wreck was defensively armed. Vis had improved to, at 4-5 metres, with the bonus of a couple of crawfish see in the wreckage. Finally on Saturday 19 July in fine weather and a flat sea, we headed south-west again to dive the steamer Vera in 46 metres. Vis had improved further, at 5-6 metres, but still with the silty water in the upper water column. And another crawfish was spotted. Sunday 19, Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 July were all blown out.
Dive/vis reports: Thursday 24 July, and we’re back in the water for an evening dive, this time drifting with the flood tide from the Needles. Divers firstly came across debris and wreckage, such as steel plating, washed from the Bridge Reef from the wreck of the Varvassi. Soon after, drifting across rough ground, divers came across a huge Admiralty pattern anchor, sticking up diagonally. Described as massive, it may have come from HMS Pomone, wrecked in 1811, or HMS Assurance, wrecked in 1759, both on the Needles. Vis was about 2 metres. On Friday 25 July we headed for St Catherine’s, to dive the 1884 wreck of the Simla in 40 metres. Vis again was about 2 metres, far short of what we’d usually expectg at this time of year. However, there’s so much to see on this wreck that low vis isn’t a problem, especially as it’s quite a safe wreck to dive. A second dive in Alum Bay rounded off the day. On Saturday 26 July we headed west to Poole Bay to dive the wreck of the Betsy Anna in 24 metres. Vis was better here at around 3 metres with ambient light. A second dive on the recently completed pier in Totland Bay finished the day. Finally on Sunday 27 July we steamed south-west to dive the WW1 steamer Venezuela in 27 metres. Vis wasn’t quite as good as the previous day, but everyone stayed down for the dive, later reporting masses of fish and some huge edible crabs. A second dive across Christchurch Ledge in low vis of about a metre rounded off the weekend. Water temperature is slightly above normal, at around 18° at depth.
Dive/vis reports: On Saturday 2 August, with SeaSearch divers on board, we took advantage of a very good neap tide to dive the Bridge Reef close to the Needles. For those who don’t know, it’s a chalk ridge which extends westwards as far as Old Harry Rocks near Swanage. The UK has a high proportion of the world’s chalk habitats. Divers were expecting to see a great deal of chalk but found the reef heavily colonised with Ross coral and tube worms, their calcium casings building up to create parts of the reef. Lots of other life to see – various crustaceans, sea anemones, dead men’s fingers, pollack etc. This dive was followed with another close to Old Pepper Rock, in very rough ground characterised by gullies, holes and overhangs. The variety of life here was different in the slightly deeper water as the chalk gives way to mudstone, but both dives were of particular importance because previously there was only limited knowledge about what life forms existed there. Vis was around 5 metres inshore. Sunday 3 August was another day blown out by strong winds.
Dive/vis reports: Monday 4 August and Tuesday 5 August were blown out thanks to Storm Floris, but one of those dates was rearranged for Wednesday 6 August when marine archaeologists returned to Bouldnor Cliff for further exploraration, and then to the bow section of HMS Pomone in Alum Bay. Vis at Bouldnor was good at 4 metres despite the previous strong winds which tend to destroy the vis. The evening dive planned for Thursday 7 August was also blown out – this must be the windiest summer we’ve had in many years. However, the forecast for Friday 8 August indicated that the wind would die and the sun would shine, so we set off for the WW1 wreck of the minecarrier Eleanor in 38 metres. Grey skies and a westerly force 4, neither of which featured in the forecast the day before, made for an unpleasant sea state, but vis was quite good at 4-5 metres in ambient light. Typically at this time of year, corresponding to the first neap in August, vis is usually excellent, but this year, despite warm and sunny weather, we’ve been plagued by these strong winds. A second dive on the western side of Christchurch Ledge ended the day. Saturday 9 August, due to go mid Channel, and guess what – we’ve been blown out.
Dive/vis reports. The wind died away completely for Sunday 10 August and with bright sunshine we headed south-east to the mid-Channel wreck of the steamer Dungrange, torpedoed by E-boat in 1944. Now lying in 65 metres, the wreck is upright with the boiler and engine fitted about as far aft as possible. Vis wasn’t quite as good as it ought to be in this position at this time of year, but around 4-5 metres and somewhat dark it was quite acceptable. We drifted with the ebb tide while decompressing, covering more than 2.5 miles.
Dive/vis reports: With no bookings between 11 and 15 August, and with an ominous forecast for fresh easterly winds, we nevertheless went out on Saturday 16 August with divers from SeaSearch. The wall-to-wall sunshine forecast failed to materialise and instead we had overcast skies. For the first dive we continued to survey the sea grass east of Yarmouth, but though we were on a flooding tide, vis was poor. Clearer water began to arrive afterwards as we headed towards the Needles. Wind against tide made life slightly uncomfortable but this eased as the tide slackened, and we dived the western end of the Bridge Reef. There’s an astonishing amount and variety of life here, that it was a pleasant surprise considering it’s such a dynamic site, especially as I was expecting clean, bare chalk, knowing how hard the tide runs here. Vis was better here at 3-4 metres.
Forthcoming dive spaces: There are spaces to dive the wreck of the Spyros in 30 metres on Friday 22 August. Meet 0845 to leave 0915. Second dive included – either a shallow wreck or reef/drift dive. Anyone who would like a space please contact Jaki on wilson.jaki19@sky.com
Dive/vis reports: Sunday 17 August was another day blown out, but for the following four days operating in the eastern Solent and beyond, was successfully concluded. Firstly, on Monday 18 August, in a fresh easterly breeze, trainee marine archaeologists dived on the 1759 wreck of HMS Invincible on the Horse Tail Sands off Portsmouth. Conditions topside were uncomfortable but just about do-able. We returned to the site the next day, Tuesday 18 August, where the sea state had improved somewhat, but still less than ideal. Vis was around 3-4 metres. Steaming out of Hayling Island on Wednesday 19 August, the weather settled down in a north easterly breeze to give calm seas and sunny skies, as we dived the 1706 wreck of HMS Hazardous in Bracklesham Bay. Vis improved dramatiacally to a minimum of 8 metres, the water was crystal clear. Divers could be seen from the boat swimming over the wreck. A final day on Thursday 20 August saw us again on the Hazardous, where the vis had held up to be extremely good. A significant find was in the recovery of a brass hand-held sundial. Returning to my home port for Friday 21 August, and we returned to a favourite site, the steamer Spyros in 30 metres. Despite calm seas and sunny skies, vis was a disappointing 3-4 metre, though everyone enjoyed the dive. A second dive on the inshore wreck of the War Knight followed, with vis in the region of 1-2 metres. I can offer no explanation for the poor vis this year – we’ve had fine weather, hardly any rain, but lots of wind and higher temperatures.
On Saturday 23 August the wind continued to be virtually non-existant and we headed south-east to dive the wreck of the steamer Daylesford in 46 metres. Expecting vis to be better, in fact it wasn’t, being in the region of 2-3 metres and dark. Nevertheless, everyone stayed down for the duration. Sunday 24 August and we were due to go mid-Channel, but with a south-east breeze forecast decided against it – it’s no fun steaming over 20 miles in a south-easter. Also, due to go off St Catherine’s on Monday 25 August, decided against that one as the inshore vis has become so poor. Can’t win this year!
Dive/vis reports: Nothing to report except we’re blown out again on the weekend of Saturday 30 August and Sunday 31 August, courtesy of a low pressure system affecting the country. More dives blown out for Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 September, with south-westerly gales blowing.
