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NICHOLINE (PH172)

The Nicholine is one of those wrecks that really gets under your skin. We're talking a proper trawler, sitting upright and surprisingly intact at 53 metres. Dropping down, the first thing you notice is the sheer size of the nets still draped over her, giving the whole scene a ghostly, almost mournful feel. There’s a quietness down there, the kind that makes you feel like you’ve stumbled onto a forgotten piece of history. We’ve had some fantastic dives here. The wheelhouse is still largely there, often with a cheeky conger eel peering out from a porthole, and you can swim through parts of the superstructure if you’re careful with your fin kicks. Look closely and you’ll find jewel anemones clinging to every surface, catching the beam of your torch like scattered glitter. It’s a serious dive, the depth means you need to be comfortable with decompression, but for experienced wreck enthusiasts, it’s absolutely worth the effort. Go on a calm day; visibility can be a bit of a lottery in the Channel, but when it’s good, the Nicholine shines.