Welcome to Ayer Tikus: The site of the book 'The Ship-Wrecks off North Norfolk'.

Unknown Wreck in position

53º14.133N 000º55.210E

Possibly 1900 steam ship of which very little remains except boiler and pipe work. Although given as swept to 12.4mtrs on chart and lying in a general depth of 17mtrs we found that the remains only stood 2 mtrs above seabed. Indications are that she was carrying stone as ballast/cargo

Divers Wrequisites June 2005

Unknown Wreck in position

52º18.033N 000º36.394E

Wreck lies in 20mtrs and part stands 6mtrs. Huge amount of debris and looks as if blown apart because of hazard to navigation. Very silty. Wreck itself could be a motor ship of around 3,000grt lost in Second World War. No sign of coal which would be expected were it a steamer. Appears to have been well constructed.

Not worth a dive as there is so much more out there.

Tom 30th May 2004

Wreck No.3

Acres of unrecognisable wreckage. Thousands of lobster pots and ropes litter the wreck. Could make for unusual photos.

Bottom gas 2003

Wreck No. 5

This is a great dive. I first dived her on 28/6/92. She was on her port side at about 40 degrees and covered in dead men's fingers. Now she has turned over. She is still intact and with Vis at about 5m, she looked fantastic. Swam round the whole wreck looking in some of the open cabins. Loads of crabs. Caught a nice 5-lb. lobster. This is a great wreck.

21m for 33 minutes. Colin Rutter 05/08/01

Wreck No.10

Normally only the bow seems to be dived. Lots of tiles. The back end is well sanded. Worth a dive if you want to tile your bathroom.

James 2003

Wreck No.11

Standing upright 3-4mtrs on bottom with her hull intact. When I dived viz very good and I could see the entire vessel. Amazing swim throughs up and down ladders etc. Excellent dive.

Samantha July 2004

Wreck No.15

Intact and upright. Gun on foredeck Nice dive. Lots of ammunition.

Dizzy 06/07/03

Wreck No.22

Well broken and dispersed. One of the nicest portholes I have seen came off last year. Rating 3 out of 5.

Adrian 23/05/03

Wreck No.24

Very little remains. 60ft of side plating stand 1-1½mtrs. Boilers stand 3mtrs. Loads of marine life.

Samantha 25th April 2004

Wreck No.27

Very small and hard to find. Metal cigar tube. Won't bother to go back

Dave 2003

Wreck No.42

Bridge at 25mtrs. keel at 40mtrs. Bolt upright, very large and intact. Still pair of binoculars in wheelhouse. Good penetration. 4 out of 5.

James 2003

Wreck No.43

Well broken up with very little left worth looking at.

Dave August 2004

Wreck No.44

Not one to go back to. Large chunks spread everywhere. Boiler stands 4mtrs and lies 45º to seabed.

Dave August 2004

Wreck No.46

Unidentifiable piece of junk. Could be part of ship but more likely something which fell off one. Depth 20mtrs but cannot recommend this to anyone.

Phizackerley 30th May 2004

Wreck No.47

Well broken and sanded though worth a rummage

Bottom Gas 2003

Wreck No.58

Large bow section. Upright. Generally good viz here. Mid section flat. Aft section quite large. Good dive.

James 2003

Viz very bad. Although this is usually a good dive suggest wait until water clears later in year

Samantha 24th April 2004

Wreck No.62

1/ Intact and upright. Nice novice dive in good viz. Vessel swept to deck level.. Nice to drop down vertical bow to sea bed. Split on starboard side where rammed. Bottom of this is best place to rummage. Lot of pot ropes. 3 star Dave 2003

2/ Down to what seems a huge steamer sitting upright? Could swim into the holds and have a good rummage. As always there is lots of crabs and lobsters. Viz not so good.

23m for 34 minutes. Colin Rutter 20/08/02

Wreck No.63

Rapidly disintegrating. Stands 9mtrs at boilers. Big. Not overdived. Plenty of pot ropes. Take 2x12's

Dizzy 2003

Wreck No.64

Well broken. Spectacular in good viz. Some bits stand up 6mtrs. Lots of life. Good beginners dive.

James 2003

Wreck No.68

Intact and upright. Loads of brass and lobsters. Very good wreck with lots to see and explore. One of the best

Dave August 2004

Wreck No.74

Intact. Wheelhouse all there. Roof easy penetration

Sam August 2003

Wreck No.78

1/ Big bits all jumbled and well dispersed. Dark scary dive

James 2003

2/ Seems to have been carrying a cargo of crankshafts as many strewn all over. Wreck is well broken up and dispersed and lies over 200 x 400mtrs. Loads of crabs and lobsters with pots and ropes lying all over.

Dave August 2004

Wreck No.81

Lies in two pieces. Well sanded. Hardly ever dived. Generally stands 2 mtrs. Well worth a rummage. 3 out of 5

Bill April 2003

Wreck No.83

Lies on port side. Steel propellor. Complete framework with wheelhouse still in position. Deep dive 40mtrs. Could not penetrate as allowed only 20mins. Impressive.

Dave August 2004

Wreck No.84

Small, upright intact hull. Very scenic. Masses of life. Anchor on Bows. Good novice dive except for depth.

Dave 2003

Wreck No.88

What a fantastic dive! Yet another example of why wrecks off Norfolk are the best in the world. Lying in 20 odd meters of water on her port side she is very intact considering she sank almost 90 years ago. That is the bonus of iron construction though, long outlasts steel.

Some really nice swim throughs, into the engine room, and the accommodation space aft. This area is slightly sanded in, but a rummage is usually interesting. The wheel house was made of wood and open to the elements and has dropped off onto the seabed as she is right on her side as mentioned earlier. This would be a good place to forage for stuff. The makers plate and compass binnacle has been found here but nothing else major to my knowledge.

Move forward a bit and you come to the big fish hold, again a good swim through but unlikely to produce any goodies. Next up is the fore peak area, big windlass on top, bell would have been here, might still be unless anyone knows different? venture in to bow area and root around a bit as spare lamps and lenses would have been stowed here even on such a small wreck.

All in all a delight of a dive, suitable for novices and serious brass bandits alike, having the added bonus of being hardly dived. In good viz its great to see such an intact wreck that hasn't been dispersed to bits. As they are all single compartments, i.e. fish hold, forecastle, engine room etc they are a good start to learning wreck penetration with out worrying about disappearing off into other compartments, and with a mainly sandy bottom in these areas little risk of disappearing in cloud of silt. James NDC 2003

Wreck No.94

I dived this wreck some time ago and there were a lot of glass bottles etc lying about. Today there is practically nothing left except a large amount of lead ballast fused together and charred pieces of timber . Viz cloudy but bearable.

Samantha 30th May 2004

Wreck No.113

Big thick bits of ships timbers. Quite intact. Lots of copper roves. Heavy duty sheerlegs to one side. Very good rummage dive. Believed to be one more dive helmet to be found

James 2003

Wreck No. 120

Brilliant dive. Lots showing above sand. Visibility 4 to 5 metres no torch. Swim into bow. Plentiful sea life.

Depth 26-32 mtrs. Stands 4-5mtrs.

James May 2004

Wreck No.127

Well dispersed. Great first sea dive with lots of crabs and marine life. Had a good rummage lots of bits and bobs to be found.

10 m. Colin Rutter 03/06/02

Wreck No.129

Tractor launch from Trimmingham across beach. Sea state flat calm. Arrived at site. Dropped shot onto wreck at slack then down into 25mtrs. First 15mtrs experienced algae bloom but this cleared deeper. Viz about 3mtrs. Wreck well collapsed and stands 3mtrs in places. Spread over a wide area. Others said they had dived the boilers but I could see nothing that reminded me of a ship. Well recommended for divers who like crabs and lobsters. There were hundreds.

Colin Rutter 16/05/04

Wreck No.130

1/ Well collapsed. Lying on one side. Well worth a rummage

James 2003

2/ The visability was very poor. The wreck is lying on its side and well collapsed. All I could do was rummage. I am told that this wreck is a good dive when the visability is good.

Colin Rutter 16/05/04

Wreck No.133

1/ Top notch dive. Swim through torpedo room. The torpedoes are still there with crabs eating the torpedoes. Trawl nets near bow. The outer casing is crumbling fast but the pressure hull is still intact. Conning tower and gun lie off to one side. Currents can be pretty fierce during large tides. James 2003

2/ The shot was dropped exactly on to the wreck. Then down into 18mts of water, Vis about 4-5 mts. Out of the gloom the wreck appeared. Lying on her port side, broken up in some areas with crabs and lobsters under every plate. Never seen so many on one wreck. Some areas have net Tangled on them. Bows are quite broken. Swimming around I passed over two diesel engines covered in dead men's fingers and anemones. The gun lies on the seabed a few metres out. 18metres for 34 minutes. Colin Rutter 20/08/00

Wreck No.142

Well dispersed and sanded. Bits come and go. Allegedly treasure on here! Dave 2003

Wreck No.145

Well dispersed. Hardly anything showing out of sand. James 2003