Our experts' guide to packing masses of great diving into five days. Big choice at Littlehampton John Liddiard takes advantage of some calm weather to explore the Moldavia, just one of the many interesting wrecks along this part of the Sussex coast

One of the more intact wrecks in the area is HMS Northcoates, another Admiralty trawler, this time lost by foundering in bad weather in 1944. The wreck sits upright in 33m.
I am quite fond of diving small wrecks like this. They can comfortably be covered in a single dive and in good visibility it is possible to "stand back" and actually see something that looks like a ship.
I dived the Northcoates on another one of those days when the Moldavia was inaccessible due to the weather. It is quite a small wreck and the shot had just missed the port side, so my buddy and I started our dive by dragging it in and lifting it on to the stern deck.
The ship's engine room was easily accessible through the rotting deck and the remains of the superstructure. We worked our way forwards past the engine and on to the main deck through a mass of poor cod and pouting.
Moving on towards the bows, the foredeck rises a few metres above the sand with a single deck-gun standing sentry.
Another wreck that I have dived after turning back from the Moldavia is the Basil, a 3200 ton steamer sunk by collision in 1917 while carrying a cargo of munitions. The wreck lies upright in 38m and the hull is reasonably intact. Forward of the superstructure is a hold just stacked with shells.
Both the Basil and HMS Northcoates are excellent dives by themselves and would make worthwhile primary destinations for a day's diving. They are not just a fall-back option.
Charter skippers are usually reluctant to take groups that they don't know to the Moldavia. There have been accidents in the past caused by divers pushing their luck beyond what is suitable for their level of experience. A good strategy is to plan diving for one of the more accessible and shallower wrecks, then on the day make plans with the skipper for a follow-on trip.
With the strong tidal streams in the English Channel, all diving is dependent on slack water. Many divers build up long decompression stops, so it is essential to carry a reel and a delayed SMB.
Some skippers prefer all divers to ascend the shotline, while others prefer everyone to fly a delayed SMB to ascend.
Problems only really arise when half a group ascends the shot while the other half flies delayed SMBs. The poor boat skipper has to keep track of two groups of decompressing divers diverging in an increasing current.