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Hampshire
is located in the south of England and it is a popular holiday
destination. The diving in Hampshire is varied and the sites include
reefs and wrecks. Divers of all expertise will find something
in Hampshire because there are shallow and deep sites making it
easy for the novice to enjoy their dives and the advanced diver
to find a challenge.
Always dive according to your level of training.
Never enter the water without checking with the local dive center
for safety, additional information, level required for each dive
site and without being accompanied by a professional. All the
information provided is purely informative for our readers and
shouldn't be used as is to plan your immersion.
Portsmouth in Hampshire has a lot of diving actictivities.
There are many holiday resorts here offering diving as well as
many dive schools and clubs.
Some dive sites in Hampshire are:
Mixon Hole is a scenic drift dive. The underwater
scenery and marine life here are fabulous and the depths go from
5 metres (15 feet) to 20 metres (65 feet).
Mulberry Harbour is a scenic and wreck
dive at the same time. It's a concrete barge full of
marine life like lobster, cuttlefish and many other kinds
of fish life. The depth is maximum 12 metres (39 feet).
Solent Forts is composed of three separate forts.
It's a good drift dive and the maximum depth is 10 metres (33
feet).
Bembridge Ledges is a reef which makes a good
drift dive. There are gullies and rocky ledges with lots
of lobsters. Occasionally you may see a wreck
on this reef.
Nab Tower is a drift dive and this site has a
lot of sea life. Maximum deoth is about 20 metres (65 feet).
Swanage Bay in neighbouring Dorset is a pier
dive. It's shallow, 4 metres (13 feet) and the visibility
not so good 2 metres (7 feet). The posts of the piers
have a lot of barnacles and kelp and it is an
ideal place to practice skills. You may see edible crabs,
shoals of pollack and lots of spiders on this dive.
HMS Boxer is the wreck of an A-class torpedo
boat that went down folllowing a collision in 1918. It measures
about 20 metres (65 feet) and is well broken up. It's an interesting
dive and shell cases and jars can still be seen.
Louis wreck lies at 18 metres (59 feet). She
was torpedoed in 1918 by UC 71. A good part of her cargo has been
salvaged but you can still see some brass shell cases.
The Monalina was torpedoed in 1918 by a German
submarine causing it to sink. She lies at about 30 metres (98
feet).
The Serrana is the wreck of an armed merchant
ship that went down under torpedo fire in 1918. She was transporting
a cargo of bricks, railway lines, coal and cast iron wagon wheels.
Shes' broken in two and lying at 20 metres 65 feet).
The Camberwell is the wreck of an armed merchantman
lying in 29 metres (95 feet) of water. She hit a World War 1 mine
in 1917 whereafter she sunk. she was on her way to India at the
time of her sinking with a cargo of champagne, wine and perfume.
The Westville is an armed merchant ship that
was torpedoed in 1917. She went down with her cargo of coal. She
lies at a depth of about 30 metres (98 feet).
The Shirala wreck is a Small liner that was transporting
a cargo of Elephant tusks when she was sunk by UB 57 in 1918.
The Moldavia wreck is a liner that went down
in 1918 after being torpedoed. She lies in 50 metres (164 feet)
on her port side. It's a very huge wreck and you will need to
dive a few times to see all of it. She's close to the shore and
in general the visibility is good.
Cuba wreck a 4-funnel liner is the biggest in
Hampshire. She was torpedoed in 1940 by U 1195. It's an
intersting dive with good visibility.
The Mendi wreck collided with a steamer in 1917
while transporting South African workers bound for France. More
than 650 lives were lost in this incident. Small ammunitions and
shells are still visible as well as the portholes.
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