Old warship wreck has become a dive bonanza
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Stuff.co.nz
May 10, 2006
The wreck of an old navy warship sunk in Cook Strait last year has become a dive bonanza, now considered by some to be the best dive wreck in the world.
The 36-year-old Leander-class frigate was sunk off Island Bay last November amidst a storm of protest that it would break up and bits would be washed ashore.
However, professional divers said today the ship was an amazing dive and was rated as one of the best in the world, proving the critics wrong.
Bill Keddy, who runs dive training and charter dive shop Splash Gordon in Wellington, said the wreck was encouraging many people to return to diving and many to take up diving just so they could get down to an amazing wreck.
He said since it broke into three pieces during a big storm in March it no longer looked like a film set.
The bow section forward of the bridge and containing the ship's twin 4.5-inch main gun, was intact and lying on its starboard side. It was being held in place by a large anchor and could be dived inside by qualified wreck divers but the two stern sections had mostly collapsed and people were advised not to dive inside.
"It is a much better dive now that it has broken up. It is a much more realistic wreck dive.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"Everybody is coming up buzzing after it. It is just amazing what the sea has done to it," Mr Keddy said.
"There is twisted metal. There is stuff exposed that was not exposed before and it seems like a wreck rather than a film set."
Mr Keddy said the frigate almost looked like it had been sunk in enemy action.
Divers needed to take personal responsibility and not dive outside their skill and experience, he said.
The ship had attracted interest from divers from Invercargill to Northland, including many former navy people who had served on the ship.
The ship had also attracted thousands of fish, including juvenile kahawai, cod and tarakihi.
"A lot of the juvenile fish are using it as a base. I have not seen juvenile tarakihi anywhere on the south coast. It is amazing.
"There have been a few knockers but it is fantastic and it will be fantastic for the next 20 years," Mr Keddy said.
Marco Zeeman from the SinkF69 Trust who spearheaded the sinking, said the 2000 divers who had gone down to see the wreck in the first few months had established it as a world-class dive attraction.
Another navy warship, Wellington's sister ship, the decommissioned former HMNZS Canterbury, was alongside at the Devonport naval Base in Auckland and a decision was likely within two or three months on its future.
It is believed about 20 groups were interested in the ship, mostly for sinking as a dive attraction.
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www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
Stuff.co.nz
May 10, 2006
The wreck of an old navy warship sunk in Cook Strait last year has become a dive bonanza, now considered by some to be the best dive wreck in the world.
The 36-year-old Leander-class frigate was sunk off Island Bay last November amidst a storm of protest that it would break up and bits would be washed ashore.
However, professional divers said today the ship was an amazing dive and was rated as one of the best in the world, proving the critics wrong.
Bill Keddy, who runs dive training and charter dive shop Splash Gordon in Wellington, said the wreck was encouraging many people to return to diving and many to take up diving just so they could get down to an amazing wreck.
He said since it broke into three pieces during a big storm in March it no longer looked like a film set.
The bow section forward of the bridge and containing the ship's twin 4.5-inch main gun, was intact and lying on its starboard side. It was being held in place by a large anchor and could be dived inside by qualified wreck divers but the two stern sections had mostly collapsed and people were advised not to dive inside.
"It is a much better dive now that it has broken up. It is a much more realistic wreck dive.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"Everybody is coming up buzzing after it. It is just amazing what the sea has done to it," Mr Keddy said.
"There is twisted metal. There is stuff exposed that was not exposed before and it seems like a wreck rather than a film set."
Mr Keddy said the frigate almost looked like it had been sunk in enemy action.
Divers needed to take personal responsibility and not dive outside their skill and experience, he said.
The ship had attracted interest from divers from Invercargill to Northland, including many former navy people who had served on the ship.
The ship had also attracted thousands of fish, including juvenile kahawai, cod and tarakihi.
"A lot of the juvenile fish are using it as a base. I have not seen juvenile tarakihi anywhere on the south coast. It is amazing.
"There have been a few knockers but it is fantastic and it will be fantastic for the next 20 years," Mr Keddy said.
Marco Zeeman from the SinkF69 Trust who spearheaded the sinking, said the 2000 divers who had gone down to see the wreck in the first few months had established it as a world-class dive attraction.
Another navy warship, Wellington's sister ship, the decommissioned former HMNZS Canterbury, was alongside at the Devonport naval Base in Auckland and a decision was likely within two or three months on its future.
It is believed about 20 groups were interested in the ship, mostly for sinking as a dive attraction.
____
www.artificial-reefs.blogspot.com
posted by Pedro Caleja @ 9:00 AM
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