REDS - Croatia, 26th - 30th May 2007

by Emma Richardson


The West Midlands Regional Expedition Diving Scheme, was set to offer experienced local BSAC members the opportunity to further develop their skills through participating in more adventurous diving opportunities than perhaps they are likely to experience in their own clubs.

The idea of this particular expedition was to survey a wreck off the coast of Croatia that had never been charted. Very little was known about it, other than it being a galleon of around 2000 years old. Steve and Jan Collett, the owners of Dupin Dive Centre a BS-AC Premier School, told us that not-surprisingly there was little left of the wreck, but the ship's cargo was still present.

We had a general idea of the size and it might take quite a lot of work to survey it in detail. For this reason there were around 12 spaces available to people to come on the trip. These were filled easily with some eager divers wanting to further their experience or practice existing skills. Unfortunately, due to a broken leg or two, work commitments and other feeble excuses, the large group diminished to 4 with only weeks to go.

Flights to Dubrovnik (on the south coast of Croatia) are relatively cheap, they're not quite as cheap as those to other areas in the north (Split and Pula for example) and the cheapest are from Gatwick.

Our arrival into Dubrovnik was further thwarted by an over zealous customs official who picked on us because we were the only people left in arrivals after our bags arrived. He proceeded to scan all the bags and then started looking in each one individually before he got bored and let us go. I think he was under the impression that we were importing diving equipment rather than bringing it for our own personal use. Of course our Croatian language skills and his English was a recipe for misunderstanding.

The journey from Dubrovnik airport to Steve and Jan's accommodation in Korcula was longer than expected but stunningly beautiful along some fairly precarious roads carved into the cliff edges of the coast. An once we got there a shower and a trip into Korcula for beer, food and planning seemed the best course of action.

The next morning we travelled to the site in Steve's RIB to anchoring in 12 metres just off the wreck site. We descended on the anchor line through clear water with viz of up to 20 metres, then out to the wreck with Steve guiding us, pointing out key points on the wreck site. This was an acclimatisation dive, where we were looking at the general layout of the wreck. Due to its age, not surprisingly there isn't a lot left. Broken amphora and other assorted terracotta are all that remain. It is possible however to piece together broken bits to see what shape/size the whole pieces would have been but the layout of the debris gave us an idea of the size and orientation of the wreck.


On our second dive to the site, the wreck was a bit more illusive and it was decided that we would leave some temporary markers on the seabed (plastic bottles half filled with air, marked with tape and weighted to the seabed) so that we could take a bearing off of them and follow this for all subsequent dives. The markers were removed at the end of the survey dives.

Over the course of the few days that we spent surveying the wreck, the size and orientation of the original ship were measured assuming the terracotta debris has moved very little from its original resting place on the seabed. The depth of the seabed at intervals along the length of the debris was also measured.

In addition to this photographs were taken of the broken pieces of terracotta pieced together and with reference measures by them. Underwater sketches were also made that mapped out the more significant identifiable pieces of terracotta with relation to the wreck.

To make sure that mutiny didn't break out we also went to other dive sites such as the Wreck of the Boca and a few reefs on the Islands to the west of Korcula. We were surprised at the life we found on the reefs better than most sites around the Mediterranean and seemingly not fished out. If the currents are right as well there are some superb drift dives around the islands getting up to 2 knots in places, fun diving at it best.


In the evenings we went into the old town of Korcula, with is fortified walls and narrow streets, to relax and eat. We also found some superb bars one of which is located in 14th century tower on the waterfront where one of our team went on a cocktail bender watching the sunset over the mountains on the Pejelac peninsular. Food and drink was good and reasonably priced with a meal and a started costing up to £12 with a beer.

Due to the depth and size of this wreck and also the few people on the trip, it was not possible to survey it to the level of detail which it deserves. Another trip is definitely on the cards. So if you are into underwater photography or video and want to spend some time surveying a 2nd to 3rd century AD Roman trading vessel then drop us a note!

We flew with British Airways

Team Members - Andy Seddon, Emma Richardson, Jim Mills and Simon Pilsworth

Photographs by JIm Mills




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