There are various locations within the immediate vicinity and slightly beyond that may be of interest. Over time we will add points of interest near East Head, the Harbour entrance and to seaward in Bracklesham Bay. Some of the headings are already shown below with a very brief narrative. As time allows we will expand and elaborate each topic and, hopefully add others when we learn about them. Meanwhile here is a map showing locations followed by a few words on each point.
1-Blenheim Bomber.
On the western end of Stocker’s Sands we have reports of a Second World War Blenheim bomber being buried in the sands.
2&6-Landing Craft wrecks.
Chichester Harbour saw massive preparations for the Normandy Landings and many landing craft were built in the harbour then tested and subsequently deployed. During these trials some foundered. One of these is just off the main channel by Rookwood. There are two more on East Pole Sands and clearly marked on older charts as “Targets”. This is born out by various locals who recall them being shelled – possibly from the Fraser Range at Eastney Point, west side of Langstone Harbour, where they had 4.5″ and 4.7″ Quick Firing as well as 40mm Bofors guns during the 1960’s.
3-Commander “Buster” Crabb.
The headless corpse of Commander “Buster” Crabb was recovered by two fishermen in 1956. This sparked a diplomatic incident and a hugely controversial mystery. A brief eye witness account will appear here in due course
4-Winner Bank
When the spit was more western orientated some hundreds of years ago, we have read that rabbits lived on the bank and were hunted by locals. Also that a man on a horse could ride from West Wittering to Hayling Island with the horse only having to swim a short distance. We will follow up these stories to try and verify them.
5-Chichester Bar.
Created by the fast flowing ebb tide as it slows and drops shingle such that the depth can climb from about 1 meter (LWS) by the Bar Beacon to 25 meters in towards the harbour, opposite the Hayling Lifeboat Station.
7-HMS Hazardous wreck.
A 1706 wreck almost as interesting as the Mary Rose. See here https://www.hazardousproject.info/ A local team were instrumental in its preservation and documentation.
8-Submarine HMS A1
The wreck of a notorious submarine the HMS A1 – lies several miles SSE of East Head. Apparently it sank twice in its life. The first sinking was on 18th March 1904, during exercises off Nab Tower (east of the Isle of Wight), after being hit by the liner SS Berwick Castle. All 11 crew members were lost.
She was salvaged in April 1904 followed by the second – deliberate – sinking in August 1911 when she was deliberately sunk as an unmanned sonar target. We believe that this may have been some some miles to the West and ended up in its current location in Bracklesham Bay. More research needed as to exact location but this hapless vessel is well documented.