James Egan Layne is (22m to scour) 417ft 10,000 tonnes liberty ship torpedoed by U1195 in 1945. Sitting upright in a sandy bottom, with no superstructure remaining and the stern broken off resting a short distance to the south. You can do an easy penetration all the way through, or swim down either side, then at the break swim to the stern.
You can enter No1 and 2 holds and swim into No3. The upper deck and the engine room have gone. Two lifeboats can be found 20M from the stern.
This is the South Coast's classic wreck dive with so much to see of either the ship itself, the cargo or the life (red & grey mullet, a huge residential shoal of horse mackerel near the bow, bass, pollack, wrasse, congers, pout, pipefish, John Dory, whiting, ling, crabs, lobsters.
I even saw my first Sunfish on this wreck!).
Easy to find - there's usually other boats hooked into it. Or head for the buoy and you'll find it, or use the satnav 50.19.47 04.14.61
You can dive this wreck from the dive boat Sunfish. You can contact Mike of Sunfish Charters on 07968-262421 or email
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