On Tue, 17 Dec 2002 13:32:38 +0200, Kuty <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>At 16/12/02 10:39 -0500, Huw wrote:
>>So rude, I'm sorry! But I'm in Sharm for the last week in Jan - what are
>>the chances of you making it down? :-) Or me making it up to Eliat, come
>>to that. Any public buses running up the coast? :-)
>
>Can I reply in a few days? Something is cooking right now but it is not
>ready yet so I don't want to discuss it prematurely. I might not be around
>here at that time. I'll report later this week.
Sure.. sounds exciting!
BTW, any updates on the situation with Eyal Sayag? Lets hope we don't have
to break the law by diving without a guide if you are around then... :-)
>>Which ones did you think were beat up? There were a couple of sites
>>(close to Hurghada) which were wrecked, but at Shag Rock and (even more
>>so) Giftun Island the hard coral was very healthy - all small size, which
>>suggests it might be regenerating, but complete cover without dead
patches.
>
>I was referring to the background of these pictures:
>Mr. Sport Diver UK - Mark
>Mrs Sport Diver - Penny
>Adam & Katy
Ah, I see what you mean - that's not really reef, the shots are from the
wreck of the Carnatic (in the foreground), the background is the sloping
sandy-ish bottom away from the reef at about 25-30 metres. You're right,
if that was a reef wall it would be an awful sight!
I'm completely convinced by the quality of the digital video to give
a 'like being there' impression of a dive - there are details visible that
would just disappear in stills.
>>Havn't got round to the trip report yet, but when I do I'll tell why I -
>>deliberately - skipped 11 minutes of computer deco, and lived to tell the
>>tale. :-)
>
>Please do. I love such tales.
Oh, OK then. :-)
The Rosalie Moller is almost complete apart from a small blast hole near
the stern on the starboard, pretty deep (for a single tank dive), the
highest point of the main superstructure is around 30, the decks at 35ish,
and the sea bed is 45-50m.
Almost a sister ship of the Thistlegorm, whe was sunk two days after that
disaster by bombers searching for the fleet that the light of the
Thistlegorm explosion had betrayed.
The sea bed is clay, which means the visibility is a lot lower than the Red
Sea average - we got about 10 metres, which is typical - and the site is
very exposed, which together with the depth means that she is much less
frequently dived than the other wrecks in the area. Even overnight, there
were seven boats anchored over the Thistlegorm and navigation was more a
question of avoiding the crowds, wheras we didn't see any other divers on
the RM.
The gloomy light levels, green rather than blue water, mean she is
encrusted rather than coraled, and give the whole dive the atmosphere of an
immaculate UK wreck with the water warmed up, and simply smothered in
astounding qualtities of tropical life. We were constantly parting thick
curtains of baitfish, and the shape of the wreck shimmered and pulsed as
the schools swirled around.
The line was tied close to the bow. Because of the depth, me and my buddy
turned the dive at 150 BAR, and started back up the line after about 19
minutes bottom time, with 100 BAR. My stinger was set to 'plus plus'
conservative for the trip, and at the start of ascent even on Nitrox 32 had
clocked up about 9 minutes to surface (= 3 mins ascent time, + 3 mins deco,
plus 3 mins safety stop.)
Being cautious, we had planned two minutes @ 24m, followed by 1@18, 1@12,
2@9 and [log in to unmask] What I hadn't allowed for was how fast the stinger would
*clock up* deco during the deep stops... the worst case was on the way up
from 18 to 12, where it briefly showed a rather heart sinking 19 minutes to
surface!
We completed the ascent as per the original plan, and after 5 mins at 6m it
was still showing 11 mins to surface. I still had 60 BAR, ample to sit at
3m and let the pooter clear (the computer between the ears was sure I was
clear at this point - and besides, my buddy's computer, as well as other
people who had done considerably more aggressive profiles than us were all
also clear) - but coffee and cake were calling, so I tied it to the drop
line to clear without me and went up. Don't try this at home kids! And I
felt great on the boat, so I must have got it right.
Unfortunately, the crew were too efficient, and hauled in the line before
it had cleared. The poor thing went ballistic and locked up for the next
48 hours. No worries, I just dived on my D-timer and stayed shallow for
the last two days.
Cheers,
Huw
--
http://www.huwporter.com
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