S.S. Thistlegorm

[Igor Zaitsev]

The hottest news - the wreck is open for divers on Monday, December 10

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There is a short English translation of the news.

[Air Guzzler]

Thats made me very happy 5 days before i leave to go to Sharm

[rustferret]

Air Guzzler let us know how the system of up and down lines is working when you get back....I'm interested to know how you will know which is up and which is down!

Rustferret.

P.S. Have a good time....well I know you will.

[clearwater]

I doubt that it was open yesterday, as two days ago HEPCA were trying to drum up any spare instructors from local dive centers to go and help for 2/3 days to continue the drilling, apparantly moorings are already in place but the dive team that had been doing them are just too knackered to continue.
Although i am a little scheptical about how the mooring system and lines etc. will work, and of course wether most dive boats/crew/staff/divers wil pay a blind bit of notice to any rules in place, i do take my hat off to HEPCA for being persistant and taking action to preserve the wrecks and dive sites.
I am sure that it is one of the most frustrating jobs you can imagine, and takes great devotion to the work to find then energy to keep going.
I am also sure that they do not have anywhere close to the necessary budget for doing these things 'properly' they rely mainly on donations and volantary membership of dive centers, so while they are maybe not doing a perfect ideal job always, we should thank them for doing there best in difficult circumstances, and anyone who thinks they know better could maybe volunteer themselves for some voluntry work and support of HEPCA instead of sitting on their backsides commenting about how much better it could have been.

[Igor Zaitsev]

Yesterday night HEPCA team finished the job and left Thistlegorm site

[Nigel Nayling]

Originally Posted by clearwater

while they are maybe not doing a perfect ideal job always, we should thank them for doing there best in difficult circumstances, and anyone who thinks they know better could maybe volunteer themselves for some voluntry work and support of HEPCA instead of sitting on their backsides commenting about how much better it could have been.

Fair comment. My response to the videos was (I hope) constructive criticism tempered by acceptance that the financial situation might make a more commercial diving operation approach impossible. I'm going out on my first visit to the Red Sea next week so obviously know next to nothing about the local situation. Will ask and learn. If I thought I could be any use as a commercially qualified diver would seriously consider volunteering.

[Iain Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Nigel Nayling

Fair comment. My response to the videos was (I hope) constructive criticism tempered by acceptance that the financial situation might make a more commercial diving operation approach impossible. I'm going out on my first visit to the Red Sea next week so obviously know next to nothing about the local situation. Will ask and learn. If I thought I could be any use as a commercially qualified diver would seriously consider volunteering.

I would second that, if they flew me, fed me, gave me a bed and had me home for Christmas i would defo volunteer.

my only other preference would be for surface supply and comms.

[kath2407]

Originally Posted by Igor Zaitsev

Yesterday night HEPCA team finished the job and left Thistlegorm site

I beg to differ. On that particular day work ceased on the wreck for one day and one day only to allow rest for the workers.

Work continued after I was there.

K XX

[MuscleBob.Buffpants]

I went to the presentation that HEPCA put on at the NEC dive show.

They explained that the reason for cutting the holes to let the air out was due to the corrosion that it was causing to the internal structure of the wreck.

Boats will be required to tie up to the mooring lines, but will be allowed to place a thin shot line to the wreck to allow divers a reference to travel down. If someone moors to the wreck, dive guides from certain respected dive operators will be allowed to cut the mooring line.

This is to stop the increasingly heavy day and liveaboard boats from ripping the (often flimsy) mooring points that some have been using apart.

It will be interesting to see what will happen in reality.

[Red Sea Shadow]

Dive guides from "certain respected" dive operators will be allowed to cut the mooring line???

And the result is that some boats will be left without mooring in the open sea. Very intelligent!!!