Date: 17th August 2024
Location: 9 miles SW of The Needles
The SS Braedale” was a British steam coaster (406 tons) that sank on October 16, 1932, after a collision with a French steamer, the “SS Alabaster”. The wreck lies on its starboard side with a single boiler and triple expansion engine. This was a most enjoyable dive as it was swarming with fish at a depth of 36m.
On a beautiful calm very early morning, 6 divers departed from Yarmouth in the Wight Dolphin RHIB. After a long boat ride, the wreck was located and a shot line dropped as close to it as possible. Three dive pairs then started their dives from the boat in sequence at just after 09:00, with the last pair remaining on the boat until the first pair had returned.
The visibility was really good, so photography was possible without the use of additional lighting, despite the depth of 35m. The wreck was teeming in fish. Nick Wade and myself went down first.
Next were Chris Marsh and Marcin Kazmierczak, who were both diving with twinsets to enable them a longer planned dive. They certainly made the most of every extra minute down there!
The final pairing was Alex Snow and Gary Fletcher. They surfaced just before the twin set divers finally finished their very long decompression and safety stops. We were all buzzing! It is the best feeling being out on a perfectly still sea first thing in the morning, with good visibility and slack water (no tide running) for the duration of the dive.
A great plan and perfectly executed.
There were plenty of congers, crabs and lobsters along with the mass of fish all over the wreck.
Best dive of the year!