Tasmanian Dive Wreck

[Richard Mason]

I posted some pictures of this shortly after she was sunk. Now there's video available on the Troy D website, just click on the icons on the front page. The video was taken by a bloke who is actually a member on here who does some professional u/w video work AFAIK.

The ship is 55M long and in the video, you can almost see the bow from the wheelhouse, which gives you an idea of the sort of vis you can get in these parts; running a scale rule over the printed plan on A3, it looks like the distance from the wheelhouse window to the bow is a bit over 36m.

I understand that this video was taken in mid March, about a month after she was scuttled and since then, there's been a fair amount of fish, crustaceans and, in the depths of the engine room, an octopus, taken up residence and there's a fall of new scallops, about an inch across on the upper decks, which could only have happened in the last three months or so.

I last dived this on a naughty, with Anemone (occasionally of this Forum) a week to the day after they put her under but the vis then was piss poor, about 15M; I'll be interested to see how things have progressed in the meantime.

[digital_steve]

It's a fun dive!
I did it myself last weekend... really enjoyable; although we couldn't find the occy!

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by digital_steve

It's a fun dive!
I did it myself last weekend... really enjoyable; although we couldn't find the occy!

Who did you dive with? Are you a local or a visitor?

I'm doing a nitrox course with Island Ocean Charters, out of Louisville, so I'm hoping one of the dives will be on there - it's the ideal depth for it, no way for us delicate souls to get into the land of oxtox.

What was the vis like? We had 25m+ off The Lanterns w/e before last.

[Keith Whittaker]

V.Nice, How far away from you is that, Richard ?

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by Keith Whittaker

V.Nice, How far away from you is that, Richard ?

It's 97.8 km from my house in Kingston or 59.3km from where I'm sat now. That's to Triabunna, then I think it's about 10kms or so offshore in the Mercury Passage.

Google Maps Only an hour and a half if you fancy a trip out there.

I'll be diving with the local operator up there this w/e so I'll ask them about it - would you be interested in dropping by? they normally do a trip to Maria Island as well, although perhaps Isle de Phoque could be on the cards too, that would make a great day if the seals are still there:





And even if they aren't, there's always the caves under there:



Probably looking at $150 or so for a trip like that though, as there's a bit of travelling involved.

[digital_steve]

Originally Posted by Richard Mason

Who did you dive with? Are you a local or a visitor?

I'm doing a nitrox course with Island Ocean Charters, out of Louisville, so I'm hoping one of the dives will be on there - it's the ideal depth for it, no way for us delicate souls to get into the land of oxtox.

What was the vis like? We had 25m+ off The Lanterns w/e before last.

Weird... I'm doing that nitrox course as well
We dived with the island ocean boys as well... bloody tops.
Vis was 10-15m from memory

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by digital_steve

Weird... I'm doing that nitrox course as well
We dived with the island ocean boys as well... bloody tops.
Vis was 10-15m from memory

I'll see you there then! Did they say if they were going to put us on the D? I'll be the one in the embarrassing yellow drysuit, with Pink Panther of this place and Tassie Divers - Home who will be in his sensible DUI.

What did they charge you to dive last week? Where else did you go?

[Richard Mason]

Dived the Troy D yesterday for my nitrox course and took this video. Other diver is Pink Panther.

Vis was shithouse as the Spring plankton bloom has kicked off early due to recent sunny weather. In a few weeks it should calm down a bit as the nutrients rich Southern Ocean waters are forced back by the Easter Australian currrent and the algae get eaten out and the zooplankton get the upper hand.

The kelp growth on there is amazing when you compare it with the first video, taken only 6 months ago. Within a couple of years, we should be seeing yellow zooanthids colonising huge areas of the hull and the enclosed surdfaces in the holds, engine room, crew accomodation;

along with sponges, soft corals etc. There's already a fair amount of fish life happening and apparently, the accomodation was full of nudibranchs, although I didn't see any.