Month

2 events 1 2 events, 1 2026-05-01 Spring Tide Spring Tide May 1 Spring Tide Spring Tide marker for general dive planning around Dover. Use as guidance only. Final dive timings depend on skipper judgement, weather, sea state, tidal data and site conditions. 08:00 - 17:00 SV Hydaspes (1880) May 1 @ 08:00 - 17:00 SV Hydaspes (1880) On 17 July 1880, Hydaspes was under tow by the tug Napoleon in thick fog off the Kent coast when she collided with the steamship Centurion near the Dungeness / Dover approach. The inquiry records that Centurion struck Hydaspes just abaft the fore rigging on the starboard side, cutting her down below the waterline. Passengers and crew scrambled aboard Centurion, while her master, chief mate and pilot left by the tug’s boat shortly before Hydaspes sank with everything still aboard. Crucially, the crew and passengers were saved, which is a rare civilised moment in Channel wreck history. For divers, Hydaspes has the pull of a big lost sailing ship: emigrant voyage, Australian-bound cargo, fog, collision, towline drama and a wreck story rich enough to make even a lump of iron seabed feel personal.

1 event 2 1 event, 2 08:00 SS Sea Serpent (1916) May 2 @ 08:00 SS Sea Serpent (1916) On 23 March 1916, Sea Serpent struck a mine laid by the German submarine UC-6, commanded by Matthias Graf von Schmettow, and sank off Folkestone Pier, at approximately 51°02’N, 01°12’E. At least two crewmen are recorded as lost: fireman George James Anderson, aged 24, and mess room boy Frederick William Barrow, aged only 16. For divers, this is a classic Channel war-loss: a modest merchant steamer, a practical cargo, a minefield off the Kent coast, and a wreck with the quiet weight of ordinary men caught in extraordinary danger.

1 event 3 1 event, 3 08:30 HMS Brazen – H80 (1940) May 3 @ 08:30 HMS Brazen – H80 (1940) Her end came on 20 July 1940, when she was attacked by German aircraft off Dover while engaged on Channel convoy duties. Badly damaged in the air raid, HMS Brazen later sank in the English Channel, where her wreck now lies in about 30 metres of water at roughly 51°01'N, 1°17'E. Contemporary naval records note that one member of her ship’s company was killed. For divers, Brazen is a classic south-east coast war wreck: a sleek destroyer, a Battle of Britain era loss, and a site where the story of Britain’s desperate Channel defence still clings to the metal.