Dive Report: Karwella

About the wreck

The Hellespont is a paddle steamer that was converted to be a minesweeper during WW1.

Dive Report

Descending down the shot I was starting to prepare my GoPro as I wanted to get some video of the descent, but looking at the screen I could see that I still had video on the memory card - curses! I know I pulled off the video last night, so time to do an SD card format, all whilst descending at about 15m/min, clearing my ears, equalizing my mask! By the time I had reached 30m I had the card cleared and the video recording started, so I started my continual recording of the dive now including the last part of the descent. (I had hoped to get more of the descent so that you can see the wreck appearing in the blue).

The wreck appears below us

Getting settled and achieving neutral buoyancy at the stern, Rob was already waiting for me and settled. Dropping all the way down to the seabed we saw the massive triple rudder and the propellers.

Triple rudders

At first I shot some video looking from behind the propellers while Rob waited a few meters back and above.

From the propellers

Then I passed the camera to Rob who then recorded me at the propellers and ascending back up to the stern where we then entered the main deck area of the ship.

Me heading off to inspect the propellers

It was wide open, probably a communal area. Along the length there were metal supports for the deck above. Approximately 1/3rd and 2/3rds of the way along in this compartment there were hatches that led into the compartments below.

Main deck

A quick look back, I gestured to Rob about going in, he's OK with it so I descend head-first down through the hatch. It was just a simple square room, Rob and I swam a lap around the room and then ascended back on the main deck.

Back on the main deck, I took the GoPro back off Rob, did a gas pressure check. This is a two part process: firstly we check our bottom gauges - this will tell us depth and time. As a diver we know the rate we consume gas so it is a simple case of rate x time x depth which will then give us the amount of gas consumed. Then we check our pressure gauge which tells us the remaining pressure - the two should be close, they are which means the dive is going according to our plans.

Current depth: 33.7m, current time: 12 minutes, max depth 42.6m, temperature: 24 degrees!

We are 12 minutes into our dive plan and we are mid-ship now, as we swim through a compartment the regulator on my side-slung decompression cylinder gets caught on a lip so I had to take a moment to get tidied up. We continue on where we come to the stairwell. Here there are two sets of stairs - one leading up, one leading down.

Heading to the stairs

Annoyingly there was a pair of divers kneeling down at the top of the stairs, so it was a faff to move past them - they are wearing just a single cylinder, whereas I have three! I ended up having to rise to the roof of the room to get above them and then follow the roof of the stairs down as opposed to a nice glide down the stairs. Oh well.

The room is a another simple square room. Rob does a lap and swims under the stairs before we ascend back up.

Rob swimming up the stairs

Leaving the stairwell, we continue to head forward. The next compartment has some degradation because the roof has collapsed in, a quick check of the computer: dive time is now 18 minutes. It feels like it has been far longer! I flash Rob (with my light!) and check he's OK.

Leaving this compartment we head towards the bow.

Arriving on the bow

We are hovering above the anchor lifting mechanisms. Looking back we can see a large structure: there are two more decks above the deck that we swam along, so we head back up over the structure.

Heading towards the bridge

Arriving on the next deck, we look in the windows and see an open structure, so decide to ascend to the next deck. There are several groups of recreational (single-tank) divers on this top deck (at about 30m) so we swim around them where we can and crossover to the starboard side. There are streams of bubbles coming up through holes and vents underneath us which makes the wreck look like it is alive and breathing.

Rob and I have a quick chat about what way to go, and to check pressure gauges and bottom time. We are approaching our planned bottom-time and (based on some quick sums) my pressure gauge is telling me that I don't have much longer left until I have to start the ascent (for completeness: this is not my guage reading almost zero, far from it! Rob and I have agreed a volume of gas / pressure the previous night that we are reserving for emergencies, such as entrapment, team separation etc, we have to start our ascent before we reach this pressure). Rob then takes the GoPro off me to record me for a little while.

Yours truly!

I swim off the wreck a little, this gives me a view of the whole wreck (and gets me out of the way of the other divers).  I'm heading aft and around the back of the main structure on the top deck. Roger is on the very top deck with his team above us.

Swimming around on the main deck

I've swum around to the starboard side again on this penultimate deck and I'm looking at the entrance to the picturesque stairwell. I ask Rob if he wants to go in to get some more pictures... He gives me the hold / stop sign... He tells me that my breathing regulator on my side slung decompression cylinder is hanging loose and needs tidying. So I quickly fix it prior to entering the wreck.

Teamwork: tidying up

With the regulator tidied away we entered the room. I was a little confused at first - this stairwell seemed so much lighter than the one Rob and I had gone down earlier... That's because this is the stairs on the deck above! I descended the stairs and did a 360 at the bottom. Rob was waiting for me at the bottom, he wanted to record me swimming up the stairs.

Swimming up the stairwell

I left the stairwell through the same door we came in. Before heading off towards the bow, I checked my SPG - I'm only a few minutes away from hitting my reserve pressure, so decided to tell Rob to turn around and lets head back towards the shotline to head home to the boat.

So I headed off in the direction I thought the shotline was in ... we dropped onto the wreck near the stern and we mostly came down the shotline, so surely it should be somewhere around there - it will come visible as I get closer to it .... surely.... won't it?

Anyone seen a shot line around here?

We had a little underwater debate because I couldn't see the shotline and Rob thought we still had to swim to the reef to meet the boat (at the last minute the skipper said he would wait instead - lesson here - any 'plan' changes, confirm with the team don't just assume they heard the skipper).

I was getting flustered, but couldn't see the shotline, so I just ordered a straight ascent - I was expecting to get a shred torn from me because the skipper asked that if making a free ascent EVERYONE launch an DSMB (a floaty marker). At the last second before jumping in I had detached mine because it was getting tangled and not staying stowed. I figured a pissed off skipper and being alive with everyone was worth it. Because of my flustering, I had now consumed the last of the gas before hitting the reserve, so ordered the ascent. I led the way (so that Rob knew I wanted us to get moving). As we ascended Rob unpacked his DSMB and launched it.

By the time we arrived at 21m we switched onto our decompression gas and started watching the minutes tick by ... I like to give the first stop about 5 minutes, whilst I worked out the profile, Lee appeared! He asked why we launched a bag ... he then turned around to point at ... the shot line ... so in 30m+ visibility I failed to find the shotline!

I slapped my forehead to show I admitted the navigation failure, and he double-checked we are definitely OK - yeah we were just got lost :)

Rob is looking after the DSMB.

Rob on deco

Meanwhile I'm trying to take selfies with the other team in the background!

Selfie! The team is about 30-40m away behind me!

Dive Video

I have managed to pull together a short video of our fantastic dive - check it out below! If you like it, let me know! Follow me on Vimeo for more of my videos!