The Needles are a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about 30 metres (98 ft) out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay and Scratchell's Bay, and part of Totland, the westernmost civil parish of the Isle of Wight. The Needles Lighthouse stands at the outer, western end of the formation. Built in 1859, it has been automated since 1994. The waters and adjoining seabed form part of the Needles Marine Conservation Zone and the Needles along with the shore and heath above are part of the Headon Warren and West High Down Site of Special Scientific Interest.
HMS Royal George was a ship of the line of the Royal Navy. A first-rate with 100 guns on three decks, she was the largest warship in the world at the time of her launch on 18 February 1756. Construction at Woolwich Dockyard had taken ten years.
Langstone Harbour is a 2,085.4-hectare (5,153-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is an inlet of the English Channel in Hampshire, sandwiched between Portsea Island to the south and west, Hayling Island to the south and east, and Langstone to the north. It is part of the Ramsar site of Langstone and Chichester Harbour Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site. Parts are Special Areas of Conservation, or Local Nature Reserves, and some areas by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Sandown Bay is a broad open bay which stretches for much of the length of the Isle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends 8+1⁄2 miles (13.7 km) from Culver Down, near Yaverland in the northeast of the Island, to just south of Shanklin, near the village of Luccombe in the southwest. At Luccombe, the bay is separated from The Undercliff by a large headland from which Upper Ventnor sits atop. The towns of Shanklin, Lake and Sandown are on the bay's coast, while Luccombe and Upper Ventnor feature panoramic views across both Sandown Bay to the East and the Undercliff to the southwest. Due to the bay being relatively sheltered from offshore winds it is often used as temporary anchorage point for boats, including large cargo ships, before continuing east towards Continental Europe, or north towards The Solent.
The Manacles are a set of treacherous rocks off The Lizard peninsula in Cornwall. The rocks are rich in marine wildlife and they are a popular spot for diving due to the many shipwrecks. Traditionally pronounced mean-a'klz (1808), the name derives from the Cornish meyn eglos, the top of St Keverne church spire being visible from the area.
HMS Boyne was a 98-gun Royal Navy second-rate ship of the line launched on 27 July 1790 at Woolwich. She was the flagship of Vice Admiral John Jervis in 1794. She caught fire and blew up in 1795.
SM UB-81 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 18 September 1917 as SM UB-81.
SS Varvassi is a wrecked ship just off the Needles lighthouse, which is at the western end of the Isle of Wight. The ship crashed about 150 metres west of the lighthouse. The Isle of Wight is off the South coast of England, near Southampton.
HMS Assurance was a 44-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1747. She was wrecked off The Needles near the Isle of Wight, England in 1753, and remained stuck on the rock long enough for her crew and passengers to escape.
Irex was a sailing vessel wrecked at Scratchell's Bay on the Isle of Wight by The Needles on 25 January 1890, while on her maiden voyage.
SS James Eagan Layne was a liberty ship. She was beached and sunk during the Second World War off Whitsand Bay, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
SS Louis Sheid was a 6,057 ton Belgian steamer that ran aground off Devon after escaping U-47 following the rescue of the captain and crew of the freighter MV Tajandoen on 7 December 1939.
German submarine U-1195 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine.
SS Radaas was a 2524-ton cargo steamship. She was built by and launched in 1890 as Marstonmoor for Moor Lines. She was sold to a Greek company in 1902 and renamed Athos Romanos, before being sold to Danish interests during the First World War and renamed Radaas. She was sunk by the German submarine UB-40 under the command of Oberleutnant Hans Howaldt on 21 September 1917. She was 18 miles west of Portland Bill en route from Tyne to Bordeaux when the torpedo struck her in the port side. The wreck lies on a sandy bed at a depth of 30 m at 50°34′13″N3°4′50″W.
Marguerite was a 1,544-ton French ship built by Osbourne, Graham & Co. Ltd. of North Hylton in Sunderland in 1912.
The Royal Adelaide was an iron sailing ship of 1400 tons built by William Patterson at Bristol in 1865.
The sixth HMS Hazard was a Dryad-class torpedo gunboat of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1894 and was converted into the world's first submarine depot ship in 1901. She collided with the submarine A3 on 2 February 1912, killing 14 men, and was herself sunk in collision with SS Western Australia on 28 January 1918.
Back of the Wight is an area on the Isle of Wight in England. The area has a distinct historical and social background, and is geographically isolated by the chalk hills, immediately to the North, as well as poor public transport infrastructure. Primarily agricultural, the Back of the Wight is made up of small villages spread out along the coast, including Brighstone, Shorwell and Mottistone.
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Wikipedia's articles on recreational dive sites. The level of coverage may vary:
Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this context all diving done for recreational purposes is included. Professional diving tends to be done where the job is, and with the exception of diver training and leading groups of recreational divers, does not generally occur at specific sites chosen for their easy access, pleasant conditions or interesting features.
