Pentrych

SS Pentyrch – This 3.382 ton British Steamer with a cargo of coal was sunk on 18 April 1918 by a torpedoed from the German submarine UB 40, she sunk to a depth of 24mtrs.

She is a good dive for novices with parts of the wreck standing some 7mtrs high from the sea bed,

Although she is a well dived wreck, keep an eye out for the odd souvenir and have you seen the big gun on the stern. The stern lays on its starboard side with the gun laying level with the seabed and pointing backwards towards the prop.

The Canadian Corvette Alberni was 193ft long and had  a beam of 32ft, she had a top speed of 17knots, She    struck a mine and sank on 21st August 1944 with the  loss of 59 of her crew. Today she rests in 66mtrs and  is on her side, again due to the depth she is very  intact and stands some 12mtrs proud of the seabed.

The ‘Alberni’ is in the same area of the Channel as the  Osprey and usually has excellent visibility, again it’s a  long way from Brighton, some 42miles and as the osprey is best done on one of our I.O.W. trips.

The 1,383 ton British steamship Jaffa was sunk by torpedoed from the German submarine UB30 in the early hours of February 2nd 1918 whilst en route from Boulogne to Southampton

Today the Jaffa lies on her port side in a depth of 25mtrs, she has 4 boilers which stand 5mtr proud,

The wreck is 260ft long and lays NE/SW, shell cases lay in the wreckage but there is no sign of a gun as yet, it is probably buried in the seabed.

The Greek cargo vessel Aristos was built in 1937, She was a huge cargo ship and weighed in at 5189tons. She sank after a collision on 28th August 1967 with the vessel Linde. At the time of loss the two ships were 16nm off Beachy Head in dense fog. The Aristos was carrying unspecified general cargo.

Today the wreck of the Aristos lies 15nm due south of Brighton on the edge of the west bound shipping lane. She rests in a max depth 60mtrs with the top of the bridge at 42mtrs, she sits bolt upright and is incredibly intact.

She has a most impressive bow to her, very shipshape and with her two admiralty anchors still hanging in situ. There is a large split in her side where the collision took place, this is at the engine room area and it is possible to penetrate the wreck through this large opening, but do take care and line off as things can silt up pretty quickly.

The bridge area is also very interesting as you can swim along the companion ways and through the cabins and enter the bridge, large windows allow easy access.

The Aristos has 2 masts, the front mast lays across the wreck but the stern mast is still standing tall and reaching up to 36mtrs, as you get to the stern if you drop over the back you will see the stern gear still place.

This is an awesome dive but best done when the visibility is good inshore.

The Vale of Leven lies about 10 miles South of Worthing and is well worth visiting. Built in 1907 for Hall, Russell & Co. of Aberdeen. Yard No 442 223GRT ~ Draft 11ft 3″ x Length 115ft 3″ x Beam 22ft 6″ ~ 3 Cylinder engine

March 1915 Hired / Requisitioned by the Admiralty & converted to a Minesweeper / Escort Duties. She was armed with a 6 pounder gun deck gun ~ Admiralty Ship No 1188

On 10th July 1917 at 00:34 the Vale of Leven was in collision and sunk by the Military Transport troopship SS Londonderry. 4 crew were lost in the sinking & 8 recovered from the sea by HMS Beaver.

Lying on her  starboard side, the exposed port side has rusted through leaving large uniform holes, allowing divers to see inside the holds. Fish life is abundant with some very large bass hiding in the holds of the wreck. Also present are bib, poor cod, whiting, Congers, lobsters, spider crabs, edible crabs, common mussels & scallops. The wreck is covered in Dead Mans Fingers. Her propellor is clearly visible with one of the blades missing and her rudder is still in place.

Up on the bow you can enter the wreck with care, though she is slowly sinking in to the sand. In good visibility and with the sun shining, some divers have likened entering her to being inside a cathedral with the sun shining through the holes on the port side. Maximum depths are 24-28 metres.

The Inverclyde sits in a large self scoured hole and as it’s only 16mtrs deep at LW, she is well broken up with plates scattered around. The highest point is her boiler which stands 3mtrs high. With lots of fish covering the area and some congers living within the boiler, this wreck makes a good novice training dive with the option to drift off and search the surrounding area.

Built in 1920, this Admiralty requisitioned trawler was sunk when she struck a mine on 6th March 1941, originally a French minesweeper before joining the Royal Navy on 5th July 1940.  

The 252ton trawler now rests 10 miles south of Brighton in a depth of 38mtrs sitting upright but collapsed down, still very recognisable with areas to have a good poke around. Fish cover the wreck making it almost impossible to see.

The Lancer 11 was an Admiralty trawler and sank after a collision on July 18th 1918. The wreck rests in 27mtrs of water and is upright with the bows very intact & breaks down as you get to the stern, she is a small wreck of 275 tons.