Dive Sites off the Sussex Coast
Dive Sites on the South Coast off Sussex
Indiana Wreck
The Indiana is located roughly one mile out to see from Worthing Pier. It rests in 8-12m of water depending on the tide. The Indiana was a British steam ship returning from Sicily with its cargo of lemons or oranges (although these have long since gone). She sank due to a collision with a German steam ship called the Washington who survived the crash while on her journey to New York.
This is one of our most frequently dive wrecks as it is perfect for novice and experienced divers. It has bags of marine life including large schools of Bib and Whiting, congor eels, crabs and shell fish. A great way to enter the world of UK sea diving.
There’s not much left of the structure of the Indiana as the tides have flattened much of it.
South West Rocks
This is a mini-wall / ledge that runs parallel to the shoreline between Shoreham by Sea, Brighton and Worthing. The wall is only 1-4m high but is really colourful and is home to eels, oysters, sleeping cod and crabs. A great shallow second dive on the way back to the marina.
Fortuna Wreck
Another one of our favourites but only suitable for Advanced open water dives and above due to it’s maximum depth of around 30m. The Fortuna lies on the Sussex seabed around 8 miles to the South East of Brighton. She is a great wreck for divers as she is still upright and relatively intact.
The Indian was a Dutch steamship that was 270ft long and a beam of 36ft. On 22nd October 2016 during World War 1 she struck a mine which resulted in the death of 15 of her crew. You can still see where the bomb exploded where you can enter the hull and swim the entire length of the hull. We advise your divers not to do this unless they have their wreck specialty as it can get very silty inside if you don’t know what you’re doing. Inside you can still see some of the cargo she was carrying such as bags of cement.
Oceana
Often referred to as the ‘Titanic of Sussex’ due to her size. The Ocean was a huge P&O passenger liner that sank on 16th March 1912. She was 468 foot long, a beam of 52ft and weighed over 6,000 tons. She was built in 1888 and was then a state of the art ship to ferry passengers around the world in comfort. She collided with another ship called the Pisagna which was a 2,850 ton German 4 masted steel ship.
At low tide is she rests upright in 24m of water. The superstructure has now collapsed but the sides of the ship are still upright and in shape. You can still see the 7000hp engine and boilers which are home to hundreds of empty scallop shells.
This is probably the best dive in Sussex and every diver will find something of interest. Lobsters, scallops and crabs are scattered around the wreck and many different species of fish have made this their home. Most interesting of all the ship was reportedly carrying gold and silver ingots and not all of them were ever salvaged.
The Pentrych
The Pentrych sank on 28th April 1918 as a result of a torpedo from UB-40. This 3,382 ton British steamship was carrying a cargo of coal and sank to a depth of 22m making only accessible for Advanced open water divers or above. Her bow is upright and the stern is also in tact but the middle of the ship has now collapsed, the boiler and engine rooms are partially visible as a result. On the stern is still the large gun. There is plenty of marine life including lots of scallops for those wanting a treat when they return home.