Accame

 The Accame was a possible replacement for the Guisepena Accame, A four-masted steel barque built  in 1891 by the Continental Lead & Iron Company  Ltd., Pertusola, Italy, for Fratelli Accame fu E, Genoa.  Her dimensions were 82,92×12,34×7,62 meters  [289’0″×40’5″×25’3″] and tonnage 2142 GRT, 1843  NRT and 3000 DWT. Both are similar.

 The Accame was en route from Rotterdam with a  cargo of grain when she started to sink, another ship  nearby came to her assistance but 1 crew member  drowned and the remaining survivors were landed in  Weymouth.

Today the wreck of the Accame is 34miles offshore and rests in depth of 48mtrs at low water and stands only 2-3mts above seabed, with parts very sunk into the seabed but you can see the outline of the ships gunwales. Crockery found shows part of a shipping line in Italian, loads of life especially lots of lobsters.

 Ashford

 The Ashford, a British steamer of 1,211 tons collided  with the German barque , Pirat of Hamburg on the  25th June 1906.

 The Ashford was en route from Seaham to St Nazaire  with a cargo of coal. After the collision she was taken  in tow by the tug Dominion but sank shortly  afterwards. Today the remains of the Ashford,  contrary to other dive reports is upright and intact, she  stands some 8mtrs high from 42mtrs up to her decks  at around 34mtrs.

Her super structure has collapsed down and her decking rotted away exposing her holds and cargo below. This makes for an excellent dive, giving good access areas to penetration & explore.

Donegal

 Originally owned by the Midland Railway Company, the  Donegal was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1915 for  conversion to a hospital ship. On 17 April 1917 she  was being used to carry 639 wounded soldiers from Le  Harve to Southampton when she was torpedoed and  sunk by UC-21.

Today the wreck of the Donegal sits in 48mts of water and is upright and very intact, although some of her plating is beginning to collapse down. The Donegal is 36miles to the SW from Brighton, she is close to a busy shipping area and in a particular area for strong tides, visibility can be challenging at times, so go on a good neap.

Wrecks 50 – 75mtrs

Alaska

 The French steamship the Alaska was sunk in collision  with the Dotterel on 15th November 1939, there were  no survivors. Today this wreck lays in deep water,  65mtrs to the seabed, the ship itself has been broken  open by salvors who recovered much of the ships  copper ingots, but their grab did missed a few.

THE ALBERNI 66mts

 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 cross channel runs  Cherbourgh.

Why not try one of our 3 or 4 day trips to Cherbourgh, wrecks can include the belgian liner Leopoldville, the Empire Javlin and the Osprey.

 

Aracataca

 The Aracataca built in 1911 for Elders & Fyffes, she  weighed in at 4,154 tons was 376ft in length and had  a beam of 48ft. The meat refrigeration ship Aracataca  was enroute from Liverpool to Dunkirk with a cargo of   frozen meat when she was is a collision south west of  Beachy Head and sank on 18th April 1917.

Clan McMillan

 The Clan McMillan of Glasgow was built in 1901 by A  MacMillan & Son Ltd. She worked the routes  between the UK & Australia, Africa & India. On 23rd     March 1917 she left London bound for Glasgow, were    not quite sure how she ended up in her final resting    place but its not where everyone else says she is,   reports give her only a few miles to the south west of   Newhaven and in 24mtrs of water, but infact she is nearly 18miles south of Brighton and sitting upright in 65mtrs. She is a big wreck and stands almost 10mtrs high of the seabed and is in very good condition, she was identified by her name on the stern in big brass letters. 

Glen Arm Head

 This wreck is thought to be the wreck of the Glen Arm  Head due to the amount of shell cases laying around.  The Glenarm Head was a British armed steamer of  3,908 tons, she was torpedoed on the 4th January  1918 by UB-30 SW of the Brighton light vessel.

 Today she rests in 65mtrs of water 16miles south of  Brighton Marina, she is upright but broken. 

HMCS Osprey 73-77mtrs

 HMCS Osprey was built in 1940 at the US Navy Yard in  Vancouver Canada. She is 220ft long and with a beam  of 32ft and a displacement of 810tons.On the 4th June  1944 the Canadian built minesweeper was attached to  the 7th U.S. minesweeping squadron and was  engaged in sweeping a path for the D-Day landings  and Operation Overlord. It was whilst she was  engaged in these duties that she struck a mine at  18.15pm and went to the bottom of the channel.This is  a must do dive for any serious UK wrecks diver.

This is an intact minesweeper lying on her port side with the bronze wheelhouse still intact. Look in the wheelhouse and see the bridge gear still in place.This wreck is 46 miles from Brighton and is usually dived on one of my cross channel trips to Cherbourg, Can be done on a day trip but works out expensive