SS Excellent.
The SS Excellent is a Victorian screw steamer that sank in 1888 after colliding with two other ships while at anchor in Gibraltar Bay. She lies upside down about 50 m off the Detached Mole in 25–28 m of water, with her bow broken away and her boiler and engine still visible. The wreck is listed and protected under Gibraltar's Heritage and Antiquities Act.
What's down there.
- Upturned hull, stern to the north, about 6 m high and 11 m wide
- Separated bow section
- Boiler, steam engine and propeller shaft
- Gorgonian sea fans on the hull
- Penetration possible for suitably trained divers
- Octopus
- Cuttlefish
- Conger and moray eels
- Nudibranchs
- Spider crabs and common lobster
- Gorgonian sea fans
- Mixed fish
25–28 m (Ministry for Heritage); Wikipedia gives 30 m; the upturned hull rises about 6 m off the seabed
Boat dive only, about 50 m off the Detached Mole. At 25–30 m it is for Advanced Open Water divers and above. Currents in the bay can be strong.
How it got there.
Screw steamer built in 1880 by Short Brothers of Sunderland; about 79–80 m (260 ft) long, 11 m (36 ft) beam; about 1,082 tons. She was carrying fruit from Palermo to Philadelphia and was at anchor in Gibraltar Bay when strong currents made her drag her anchor. She collided with two nearby vessels, the Saint Asaph and the Memling, which breached her port side, and she sank early the next morning on 28 February 1888. All the crew survived.
14 dives.
From the reconstructed log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.