Diving Page

The Diving Page...

The Diving is mainly from Selsey, West Sussex UK. It covers a lot of the dive sites from Worthing to the west side of the Isle of Wight. The infomation has come from diving friends and my own personal diving experiences over the years of this area. There is diving here for all, from beginners to technical divers. The diving down here is excellent.

Dive Eclipse with it's great Skipper (Dave Applin) opened up diving from Selsey. But now that Dive Eclipse has moved to Portland in Dorset, which is a great loss of a purpose built dive charter boat and a good friend, both of which are sadly missed.
You see, as we have no Harbour here at selsey being able to beach the boat to get divers on and off is one of the many things which made it the ideal Charter Boat for Selsey. Visit Dive Eclipse Please, someone go down to Portland and bring Dive Eclipse back to Selsey...

Have a dive off the beach. There is the Dive Shop which has everything you need for diving down here at Selsey, and its open seven days a week. There are places where you can get something to eat and drink and the parking is all free.

You have only to look at the geographical position that Selsey is in. Selsey is already out to sea, which puts you closer to the wreck sites.

There are more than 200 wreck sites, which are accessible from Selsey.

Selsey is down on the south coast of the United Kingdom. It has two beaches east and west facing, looking out into the English Channel.

The coastline has changed here over the years, between 1900 – 1955 the east coast line has eroded by 520 meters, until the sea defence wall was built in the 1960’s. East beach is the only spot for shore diving, and under the Lifeboat Station is an excellent dive with water depth around 4-6 meters, making it a must for beginners, the sea life is great, but be aware of the strong tides, dive only at slack water, unless experienced.(Always check the slack tide times)

Some of my Favorite Wreck Sites.

Basil: A Steamer of 3220 ton lies in 42 metres of water. Sunk after collision with a French Steamer on 11th November 1917. She was armed with a 4.7 inch gun on the stern which is the highest point 30 metres. The bow is almost torn off, she lies south east-north west with the bow to the south east, the Cargo of ammunition comprising of 18 pound shells and howitzer cases. There are tons and tons of them. This is another of those great dives with so much to see. .

HMS Northcoats: An armed trawler of 277 ton lies in 28 metres of water launched in 1919. In 1939 was requisitioned for mine sweeping duties in the second world war. She sunk on 2nd December 1944 whilst under tow. Bows to the SE sitting upright with a 12 pound gun on her foredeck.(The foredeck gun today) The “A” frame arrangement on the bow, which was used for minesweeping, is down on the sea bed, an excellent wreck to dive I've lost count of the ammount of times that I have dived this wreck, it is so good and last year(2003) the best vis was 15 meters.(see photo of HMS NORTHCOATES, amongst the diving photos)

Shirala. A 5306 ton liner lies in 24 - 26 metres of water. She was launched in 1901 to carry passengers and cargo. She made her last voyage with a cargo of African elephant tusks, cases of wine, marmalade in stone jars, spares for lorries and model T cars, telescopes, binoculars, shells, detonating heads and bombs for aircraft. She was sunk 2nd July 1918 by a German submarine. Lying North - South with bows to the south. Her holds are open and the highest point being the stern about 8 metres off the sandy seabed. Good for souvenirs.

HMS Sapper:A lovely wreck, not very big, she’s well broken up, as with most WWI wrecks, all that time down on the seabed takes it toll, but still boat shaped.Sank on 29th December 1917, cause of sinking unknown. She lies east to west, Bows to the west, the stern is at an odd angle to the rest of her, the prop is iron, boilers are proud and full of Conger Eels. All the crew were lost and went down with her, she lies in approximately 30 meters of water, the fish life on this wreck is stunning, and the viability generally is good. I’ve dived this wreck 12 times and just love it. If anyone has any photos of the Sapper before she was sunk please send me one.

The U90: WWI German submarine and protected by very large conger eels with attitude, what a dive x 6.

Gascony:A British Steamship of 3133 ton lies in 30 metres of water. Torpedoed on 6th January 1918. Carrying a cargo of hay, charcoal and guns. She was for many years upside down, but the hull has now cracked apart and the bow section has turned almost upright. It is possible to swim inside part of the wreck where the wheels of army gun carriages can be seen.

Hedwig Lunstedt:A 424-ton West German ship, which sank on 28th January 1974 whilst on voyage from Rotterdam to Cork. In tact, tho She is starting to rust out in places, there are still patches of green paint on her and there is glass in some windows, you can get into the bridge and her holds with care. She lies on her port side in 40 meters of water on a high water slack dive.

Briggita (otherwise known as the Teapot) - sunk 1917 and laying in 16M of water, a very popular dive site and easy to find, her bow is upright and stern upside down, plenty of easy wreck penetration and always covered in marine life.

Patch Landing Craft - a second world war casualty, lying upside down in 18M of water, broken into 3 sections.

Divered Diving:

crab

The Fishing industry of Selsey has been here for a very long time and must be respected by divers. Do not interfear with any of the fisherman’s gear, especially Lobster and Crab pots. lenny

Divers and fisherman can get along and help each other.

This web-site was built and is maintained by divered.

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