Scubamoose

Date : 4th June 2008 Time : 47mins

Depth : 15.5m Temp : 13 C

The Inverclyde is a shipwreck lying about 3 miles southeast of Brighton Marina. This trawler saw service in both the first and second world wars and sank under tow in 1942. Nowadays it is scattered over the sea bed with parts appearing and disappearing as the sea bed shifts around. The boiler always stands proud of the bottom though, probably about 3m or so. On this dive I spotted a nice sized lobster hanging out under steel plates at the foot of the boiler but he was too smart for me!

The plankton bloom is still very evident, though I think it has now reached the final stage of stringyness before hopefully disappearing soon. The viz drifted in and out mostly due to the 11 or 12 divers that were down there kicking up the bottom. Cleared nicely to about 4m around the boiler though where we saw a lovely big plaice free swimming slowly across the wreckage. I decided to leave him alone…. maybe I am becoming a pacifist!! There were plenty of other fish hanging around plus a big colourful wrasse and a couple of cod.

We went out on a dive boat called Brighton Diver II. This is a great diving vessel run by the skipper Paul Dyer who in my opinion is an excellent dive skipper. He is a thoroughly experienced diver himself and has dived the area extensively. It shows in the dive and saftey briefings he gives and in the way that he takes care of the needs of everyone on board. Check out Paul’s services here www.brightondiver.com. And if that ain’t enough there is ample space on deck to have a game of football on the way home!