Ventnor, England, United Kingdom

St Catherines Deep

St Catherine's Deep is a remarkable underwater feature off the southern tip of the Isle of Wight, where a series of deep gullies cut by tidal scour drop from a chalk and clay seabed to over 45 metres. The area is one of the deepest natural diveable features in the central English Channel and is renowned for its tidally driven biodiversity. The walls and ledges of the gullies are densely covered with plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, sponges, hydroids and sponges in vivid yellows and oranges. Resident species include ballan wrasse, cuckoo wrasse, pollack, bib, conger eels, edible crabs, lobsters and the occasional sunfish or basking shark in late summer. The site sits within the Isle of Wight Marine Conservation Zone. Visibility commonly reaches 8 to 15 metres on neap tides and water temperature ranges from 9 to 17 degrees Celsius. Currents are strong, often exceeding three knots, and dives demand precise slack-water timing from charter boats out of Bembridge, Yarmouth or Lymington. Suitable for advanced and technical divers in drysuits.