Argonaut - Aug'26

The SY Argonaut was a 3,274-ton Edwardian luxury steam yacht measuring 334 feet long. Sunk on September 29, 1908 after a foggy collision with the steamer Kingswell about 18 miles east of Eastbourne's Sovereign Marina, it now rests upright on the seabed at a depth of 38 meters and is a popular advanced dive site. Operated as an Edwardian "superyacht" for Co-operative Cruising Co. Ltd. founded by package-holiday pioneer Henry Lunn - think Lunn Poly) she carried 120 passengers and 110 crew when disaster struck in heavy fog. Struck by the Newcastle steamer Kingswell; all passengers and crew safely escaped into lifeboats before the yacht foundered. These days she rests at a maximum depth of 38 meters in the scour on a hard gravel seabed (pluis tide) and is remarkably intact with prominent structural features including a pretty, castle-like stern with large square windows, (almost) surviving roll-top baths inside the cabins, and clear layouts of the engine and collision damage areas and a lovely bow.