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Reports Special Reports, Project Benthic Reports, Underwater Archaeology Reports Dive Reports, Equipment Reports, Training Reports, Other Reports, Reviews Special Reports - Remarkable stories [back to top] Dive of Dives by Hamish Tweed I suddenly hear a muffled yell from behind me. I look up to see - its Jim. He's yelling into his reg over and over again. His fins are pointed straight down as he starts to kick hard. I'm trying to understand what the hell he's going on about. John starts to head towards him to see if he can help. It becomes apparent that Jim is panicking. Looking for the Truth by Hamish Tweed This took place five years ago. It has taken me some time to think about what was happening at that time and to remember the course of events. I found writing about a near death experience harder than I first thought it might be. Two Weeks in Chuuk by Alithea Nunes It took as long to write this story as it did to save for the trip... Finally it is complete for all to savour... Hopefully you will enjoy reading about our incredible wreck diving experiences in Chuuk Lagoon! Diving the Deepest Battleship by Cedric Verdier The HIJMS Yamashiro was the flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She was lost with her sistership, HIJMS Fuso in the Battle of Surigao Strait on October 25th, 1944. This is Cedric Verdier's account of the first ever dive on Yamashiro. Just a Two Hundred Metre Dive by Cedric Verdier On May 17th 2006 in Krabi, Thailand, Cedric Verdier pushed the limits of the Sra Keow cave to 201 metres / 663 feet, in what is thought to be the deepest dive ever done with a Megalodon CCR, and also the deepest cave and rebreather dive to date in Asia. Through the Labyrinth of the Opal Mines by Petr Vaverka and David Cani Over the hundreds of dives on wrecks, in caves, seas or in fresh water are still the memories of atmosphere and experience from diving in opal mines in Dubnik. This still has a first place in my private diving life. Vodka on the Rocks by Kevin Dekker The circumstances of the sinking of the Soviet cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov off New Zealand in 1986 and the inquiry that followed left a legacy of unanswered questions and rumours. Here is Kevin Dekker's exciting and detailed account. Silt! by Michael Gadd As soon as I passed through it I knew I had screwed up. Instead of leading me out of the ship and into clearer water the opening led to a small room. The room was clean. Suddenly there were no swirling silt clouds, and this could only mean it was a room I hadn't been through before and therefore a room deeper inside the wreck. With sickening horror I realized I had indeed been going the wrong way and putting more maze-like obstructions masked in zero visibility between me and the outside. Expedition Empress 2005 by Alithea Smith The Empress of Ireland is Canada's worst maritime disaster. 1,012 passengers died when she sank in 1914. The first scientifically-oriented study of the shipwreck - which lies at the bottom of the St. Lawrence River near Rimouski, Quebec, was undertaken in July of 2005. This is an account written by one of the expedition divers. Three Hundred and Thirteen Meters by Mark Ellyatt On this 313 meter dive, all timers and depth indicators failed one after another. At maximum depth all I had left were depth markers on the line and my TAG watch. I also wore a Rolex Sub Mariner, but when I needed it most the strap broke - it was lost in the darkness... Diving the Oceanos by Philip G Van Rensburg The Greek ocean liner Oceanos lost her power following an explosion in her engine room off the Southern African coast of Transkei. Realizing the fate of the ship, the crew fled in panic, neglecting to close the lower deck portholes. Many of the crew, including the Captain, were already packed and ready to depart the stricken liner before passengers were aware of trouble. The Empress of Ireland Expedition of 1971 by Dianne Strong In Canada's worst maritime disaster, the Norwegian collier Storstad struck the Empress of Ireland, which sank in 14 minutes. The frigid waters of the St. Lawrence River claimed 1,012 lives. A historic dive trip in 1971 yielded some unique artifacts from a forgotten passenger liner. The following is an almost verbatim transcription of a tape Dianne Strong recorded on 19 September 1971. Project Benthic Reports - Diving Canada's River Class destroyers [back to top] Project Benthic Part 4 - A Study in Contrasts by John Nunes Second time lucky for us to get in some diving on Nipigon, sunk in Quebec. As we came to find out, she is not your typical artificial reef. Project Benthic Part 3 - A Trip to the Maritimes by John Nunes Off we go to the Maritimes to visit Fraser and dive Saguenay for this third installment of Project Benthic. Project Benthic Part 2 - The Revelation by John Nunes This installment of Project Benthic features dives on Columbia, Chaudiere and Yukon, all Canadian destroyer escorts sunk as artificial reefs in British Columbia and California. Project Benthic Part 1 - In the Beginning by John Nunes This is the story of how Project Benthic got started, its aim to dive the numerous Canadian destroyer escorts sunk as artificial reefs in British Columbia, California, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Mexico. Underwater Archaeology Reports - Submerged cultural resource surveys [back to top] Melanope The 'Witch of the Waves' was a famous Cape Horn windjammer -- and said to be cursed. Prince Rupert Frigate K324 escorted North Atlantic convoys in World War II and sank a U-boat. Qualicum For a tugboat, she got around. Qualicum worked in New York, Mexico, and then for 30 years in British Columbia. Riversdale A big square-rigger, she sailed the globe under the British and German flags before World War I. Barnard Castle The big steam freighter beached west of Victoria in 1886. A trail of interpretive plaques guide divers around the wreck. Fanny This square-rigger was built in Quebec in 1856. She sank at Discovery Island some years later. Among other things, this wreck has a cannon. San Pedro Another huge steel steamship, the San Pedro went down just outside Victoria harbour in 1891. She is a favourite with local divers. Surprise This was a very historic little craft. She was a coastal trader in 1859, became the very first British Columbian sealing schooner in 1868, and ultimately sank in Sooke in 1874. Beaver Fur trader, government steamer, chartmaker, tug -- the Beaver did it all in the years 1835 to 1888. This is the most historic shipwreck so far discovered in British Columbia. Bedwell Bay Mystery Wreck She was probably a small coastal schooner in her day. Now she makes an interesting wreck dive. Prince of Wales Another very historic wreck, this Cariboo Gold Rush sternwheeler has been stuck in the mud near Pemberton since 1867. VT100 In World War II, she was a minesweeper in the South Pacific. Today she is a popular dive site in Indian Arm. The Last Beaufighter by Rob Rondeau Our expedition takes us back again to Norway in search of more Canadian Beaufighters lost on the raid of a German flotilla on February 9th, 1945. In addition to accomplishing its main objective of identifying an aircraft, the team was able to make progress in other areas of study. A Report from the Field - The Hera: Lime and Beer do go Down Well Together by Rob Field The Hera, a three-masted schooner that sailed from Port Townsend bound for Hawaii and Australia, now rests cold and silent in 40 feet of water, charred remains and scattered cargo, settled in the shifting sands at the mouth of Tofino inlet. UASBC Kootenay Chapter Boat Trip, Feb. 17-18, 2007 by Mark MacKenzie The objective of the trip was to do monitoring dives on the hulk of the 1895 lake sternwheeler SS Kokanee and on a collection of boxcars which were spilled into the water during a barge accident in a storm in 1901. We also did side-scan surveys of the sites and side-scanned the Mirror Lake Shipyard site just south of Kaslo where the sternwheelers, SS Kaslo, Argenta, the tug Hercules and numerous barges were built and later dismantled. Saving Canada's Most Important Shipwreck by Rob Rondeau The Empress of Ireland is Canada's most important shipwreck. More passengers died aboard it when the transatlantic ocean liner sank near Rimouski, Quebec on May 29th, 1914, than did on either the Titanic or Lusitania. Marine Park Proposal for the Wreck Site of the British Warship, the Auguste, Located at Aspy Bay, Nova Scotia by Rob Rondeau The shipwreck site of the Auguste has been described as being one of the most important marine archaeological sites in Canada and because of its historic and cultural significance deserves to be recognized and preserved as Nova Scotia's first marine archaeological park. UASBC Monitor Trip to Ucluelet Coast by Alan Morgan I have heard that the West Coast of Vancouver Island is a wild and formidable stretch of land for mariners. And for the crews of Nika and Pass of Melfort, it certainly was... UASBC Survey Trip to Gulf Islands by Alan Morgan UASBC was recently asked to provide more information regarding two wrecks in waters of the Gulf Islands - the Robert Kerr and the Panther. Beaver The Beaver is British Columbia's most historic known shipwreck. In 1888, she ran up on the rocks at Stanley Park's Prospect Point. For four years she perched there, until wake from the steamer Yosemite washed her away. Bedwell Bay Mystery Wreck In 1994, the UASBC conducted research and produced a scale drawing of the Bedwell Bay Mystery Wreck as part of a report entitled Vancouver's Undersea Heritage. Author David Stone wrote that, based on the material record, the wreck was probably one of the few remaining examples of a historic turn of the century sealing schooner. Del Norte On the morning of October 21, 1868, while on her way home to Victoria from Nanaimo, the 190 foot long sidewheel steamer Del Norte ran into fog, bad luck, and Canoe Reef in that order. She clung there for three weeks until one of Porlier Pass' notorious southeast gales swept her off the reef. CPR Barge No. 15 by John Pollack and Perry Holmes On 9 April 1901, the steam tug Valhalla left Kootenay Landing for Nelson at 5:00 am with CPR Barge No. 15. The barge was loaded with 15 cars containing coke and coal. With the voyage half completed, the barge suddenly lurched and a line of five cars fell into the lake. Then the barge lurched to the other side. Three more cars went into the lake. The Valhalla was pushing the foundering barge ashore when six of the remaining seven cars dropped overboard. Alpha In the hopes of making one last profitable run, the Alpha's owners loaded her up with 630 tons of dried dog salmon bound for Japan, intending to sell the vessel overseas. Realizing the unseaworthiness of the Alpha, half of the crew jumped ship in Victoria. When the Alpha struck Yellow Rock (now called Chrome Island) and sank, she took nine sailors with her. Dora Dora's first job after her construction in 1880 was to gather cargoes of sealskins from islands in the Bering Sea. This task earned the 320 net ton ship the unfortunate nickname "Dirty Dora," due to the putrid odour produced by the skins. Suwanee On 9 July 1868 at 6:15 am, while proceeding through Shadwell Passage, the Suwanee grounded on an unmarked rock (since named Suwanee Rock) at high tide. As the tide fell, the Suwanee broke her back on the reef, the bow going under water and the stern hanging above water on the rock. Themis On 14 December 1906, while in Queen Charlotte Sound, southbound from Prince of Wales Island, with 1,600 tons of copper ore and 200 cases of canned salmon, the Themis encountered a storm that later developed into a fierce, south easterly gale. About 9:00 pm the freighter struck a reef two miles northwest of the Scarlett Point lighthouse. Bonnington by Milt Parent, Lou Bouliane and Wendy Bouliane At 202.5 feet long and 1700 gross tons, the Bonnington was a giant sternwheeler. Built in 1911, this luxurious vessel was made obsolete in 1937 with the completion of the Kettle Valley Railway. She was cut down and later served as a car ferry and as a barge before sinking at her mooring in 1960. City of Ainsworth by Ed Affleck and John Pollack Lost in a gale on Kootenay Lake along with nine passengers and crew on 29 November 1898, the City of Ainsworth lay undiscovered for 92 years. Hosmer by John Pollack and Perry Holmes The Hosmer was the largest steam tug constructed on Kootenay Lake for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) barge service. Built in 1909, she moved the huge, 15 car railway transfer barges between Procter and Kootenay Landing. The Hosmer was retired with the completion of the Procter-Kootenay Landing railway extension in 1931. Her engines were removed and she became a houseboat in 1934, but was burned by vandals soon after. Aliford The Aliford was a small 80 foot coastal tug built in 1898. While on a routine tow from Blubber Bay up Jervis Inlet, she caught fire and sank 27 September 1917. Capilano 1 The Union Steamships Co.'s Capilano 1 was a small steel freighter of 157 tons that was shipped in sections and then assembled in Vancouver's False Creek. She foundered off Grant Reef at 3:00 am on 3 October 1915 after striking heavily on a submerged object earlier in the evening. She was located in 1972. Powell River Mystery Wreck For years the inhabitants of Powell River have called the wreck there the Malahat. This big 5 masted, auxiliary-engined schooner was built during World War 1. She worked the lumber trade for a while, then was the mothership for rum-runners in the US Prohibition years, and still later became a log barge. Shamrock The Shamrock was built in Vancouver's False Creek in 1887 and was one of the first steamers registered in Vancouver. 87 feet long, the Shamrock was powered by a compound steeple engine; a rarity in BC waters. She was wrecked 11 December 1926 while steaming from Union Bay to Bute Inlet at night and in a fog. She struck Vivian Island, filled, and sank. The Susan Sturges Project by Peter Ross Registered in San Francisco, the Susan Sturges was a small schooner trading between the Queen Charlotte Islands and San Francisco in the early 1850s. She participated in British Columbia's first gold rush in the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1851. The following year, about 150 Haida from the village of Masset on Graham Island attacked and pillaged her. Dive Reports - Interesting dive trips from around the world [back to top] Nemo33 - Dive Another Way by Michel Braunstein Don't think it is possible to dive in clear 33 degrees celcius tropical water in the very heart of Belgium? Michel Braunstein had an opportunity to do so in a very special place. Read about his trip to Nemo33, the deepest swimming pool in the world, located in Brussels. Diving Zenobia by Vlada Dekina A snapshot of what it is like to dive one of the best wrecks in the world. Why is it one of the best? See for yourself. Diving the HMS Hermes by Dharshana Jayawardena The aircraft carrier HMS Hermes was attacked by 70 Japanese bombers. Lacking planes of her own because she had been undergoing repairs, HMS Hermes was defenceless. She was hit 40 times and sank off the east coast of Sri Lanka with the loss of 307 men. The Flying Enterprise - A Very Deep Dive by Brian Smith The cargo vessel Flying Enterprise found herself caught in a violent hurricane. For over two weeks the Captain fought the storm and a severely listing ship, until finally leaping from the vessel's smokestack just as the vessel disappeared beneath the waves. Flying Enterprise now lies in 280 feet of water. Freediving the Wrecks at Snake Island by Tom Lightfoot Tom Lightfoot's account of freediving HMCS Cape Breton and HMCS Saskatchewan in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Equipment Reports - New or unique dive equipment [back to top] Radioactive Submarines and Gimp Suits by Mark Ellyatt The monkey suit that allowed the deepest ever submarine escape, and a rebreather you can fill with trimix for less than a fiver - Mark Ellyatt reckons he got a bargain! Training Reports - Experiences as seen through the eyes of a student [back to top] Semi-Closed Circuit Rebreather Course by Pedro Nunes Report on Technical Diving International's Semi-Closed Circuit Rebreather Course with the Drager Dolphin. Other Reports - Reports we couldn't find a better category for [back to top] The Empress of Ireland: A Leap of Faith by Jean-Pierre Ranger America - A Great Luxury Liner by James Donahue At 723 feet, the American luxury liner S.S. America wasn't the largest of her kind when she went into service in 1939, but this vessel was not only going to be a popular ship, she broke all the rules and was rated in her day as among the faster ships afloat on the high seas. The Strange Story of Shipwreck Survivor Dennis Hale by James Donahue During my years of reporting for various Michigan newspapers, one of the most memorable stories I came upon was that of Dennis Hale, an Ohio man who was the sole survivor of a shipwreck in Lake Huron. The Forgotten Titanic by Derek Walker The name Titanic has never been one which was used very often since the events of April 15, 1912. One of the more interesting ships to bear this name was the ex-Santa Rosa. She had the starring role in the movie, "Raise the Titanic." Monster Rogue Waves by Gregory Bjerg For centuries sailors have been telling stories of encountering monstrous ocean waves which tower over one hundred feet in the air and toss ships about like corks. Historically oceanographers have discounted these reports as tall tales - the embellished stories of mariners with too much time at sea. But in the last eleven years scientists have discovered strong evidence indicating that such massive rogue waves do exist. The phenomenon has become the subject of recent scientific study, but their origin remains a mystery of the deep. How do animals see underwater? by David Denning and Molly Kirk As anyone who has gone scuba diving or swam in a lake with eyes open knows - there is not as much light underwater. Not only does water absorb light incredibly faster than air, but also scatters it in the three dimensions. Thus, the remarkable vertebrate eye evolved in a rather darkened realm where pressures changes significantly as animals move up and down. The Only Nazi Aircraft Carrier by Gregory Bjerg In no naval action of World War 2 will you find a German aircraft carrier taking part. All the major navies in the war used them extensively, except for Nazi Germany. There were lots of German U-Boats, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, but no flattops. However, the Nazis had plans to build a total of four carriers and almost finished one of them. On the Road to Alang by Peter Knego In the Gujarat Province of India, there is a shanty town called Alang, a place few tourists will ever see. For those who love ships, it is both hellish and holy, for Alang contains a ten mile stretch of beach where these magnificent creations go to die. The Sex Life of Rockfish by Peter Huhtala "I could feel the electricity in the water around me," reflects diver Eric Eisenhardt. "Fish were darting in and out of my view, bumping each other and flashing off in different directions." The Ghost Ship of the Arctic: The Steamer Baychimo by David Gunston One of the world's strangest sea stories is still unfinished, and looks like remaining so for a long time, perhaps for ever. This is the story of the Baychimo, the deserted ghost ship that refuses to die and still haunts human memory and curiosity. Titanic Junkyard by Manish Tiwari Environmental regulations make shipbreaking very difficult in developed countries. So they send them to Alang, India. A shipbreaking industry has emerged as a consequence, which is spelling doom for the ecology of the region. Reviews - Book and video reviews [back to top] Kathy Brandt's Novels by Alithea Nunes Mark Ellyatt's Ocean Gladiator by Alithea Smith Ocean Gladiator is a collection of scuba stories from Mark Ellyatt. Starting diving "properly" in 1991 saw Mark getting lost at sea during dive two of his open water course and then suffering a serious case of the bends on his fourth dive. Surprisingly he was not put off. Becoming a diving instructor three years later, Mark embarked on an underwater odyssey with a penchant for deep water and sometimes deep trouble. Throughout the book, Mark focuses on life as a diving instructor following the sun and particularly the sometimes painful evolution of technical diving over the last twelve years. 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