BSAC TRAVEL CLUB - Trip Reports

TRAVEL CLUB

Cyprus and the Zenobia, June 2007

by Darren Astles

A quick glance at the logbook shows that our first dives (Amanda, my wife and I started diving at the same time) were at the end of May 2006 and indeed our second dive was in June 2006. It was now June 2007 and the second year of our diving had begun. I had just finished a Cavern and Overhead environment course and was eager to put the skills to good use. We also thought that some depth progression may be possible in Cyprus and with other things beginning to clog up the calendar, both work and social, the end of June had been picked as the only time we could "escape", without the kids and with our newly earned Sports Diver qualifications acquired in May, the wheels were put in motion to confirm everything I had planned.

One week. Cyprus. Octopus Diving Website with Ian McMurray, flights with Cyprus Airways (excellent and very cost effective to fly on a Friday instead of the weekend) and as luck would have it, a four star hotel that was on Ian's small list of local hotels was also on our air miles list. Result. Organising things like this separately generates a number of things that have the potential to go wrong but nothing did. We jumped into a taxi at the airport and were dropped off at our hotel who were expecting us and Ian duly arrived the next day at lunch time to pick us up from the reception.

One quick point about the check in was that although Cyprus Airways allow an additional 20Kg of baggage for each passenger for dive equipment and this was primarily the reason we had chosen them, the check in people did not know this rule and we had to explain it to them, qualification books at the ready. We must remember to print off the airlines policy and take it with us to the airport in future and I mention this simply to encourage others to do the same.

We had now got some experience of dive centres in different places around the world and Ian's operated in a similar way to the others we had used. We brought all our own equipment except weight and cylinders and when we got to the dive centre (that was actually close enough to walk to) we went through an introduction brief to the centre itself and our experience and qualifications were quizzed and checked.

"When did you last dive?"

"Wednesday."

"And before that?"

"Saturday."

A look of relief on the dive guides face.

"Depth?"

"Amanda has 27M to date and I have 37M."

"OK. Are you happy to exceed those depths here?"

"That's the plan," we replied in unison.

"Fine then. Let's get the kit in the 4x4 and off to the harbour. We are diving the Zenobia this afternoon."

The excitement meter raised a notch.

The harbour at Larnaca was only a few kilometres away and was soon reached. We loaded the boat (a fibre glass hull boat about twice the size of a rib and licensed for 16 people) with our equipment and jumped on board to join the 10 or so already there who were diving again after the morning dives. The boat slowly made its way out of the harbour before erupting in speed and heading out towards the wreck a short one and half kilometres away.

The dive site is surreal. Aircraft fly over it as they descend to the airport, a number of boats of differing sizes were tied off on the half dozen or so permanent buoys and we even had a pleasure trip submarine for company, both on the surface and later in the week, actually at depth. It was bizarre.

Entry was as rib. Backwards roll and the 25 degrees C water was a welcome relief to the 34C of the surface (it reached 44C in the sun while we were there!) and the freedom that wetsuit diving brings. I put my head under to search for the wreck and immediately saw it about 18m below us, lying on its side. My immediate impression was that it looked like an old WWII aircraft carrier or "flat top" but of course I was looking at the side of the ship. We gave OK's, the PADI divers amongst us touched their heads upon entry to the water and we descended the shot.

There are plenty of articles around detailing the sinking of the Zenobia and it's subsequent life beneath the waves. A few details worth mentioning are she was a 12,000-ton roll on-roll off ferry built in 1979 in Sweden, 172m long with a 23m beam. In June 1980, she capsized and sank in 42m of water in Larnaca Bay, with a cargo of 104 fully loaded articulated lorries (and 1 car), due to a problem with its computerised stabiliser system. The ship now lies in 42m of water on its port side with almost all of its cargo intact and a number of lorries still chained to the cargo decks.

As a dive site, the Zenobia has just about everything. Visibility up to 35m, clear warm waters, a number of penetration dives from "relatively" straight forward to serious, deep, dark areas of low visibility strewn with dead ends and sharp metal objects. A number of people have lost their lives inside the ship and to dive it unprepared or untrained is not to be recommended. For example, we were clocking up decompression requirements on our computers at an alarming rate and a number of dive centres ask for Sport Diver or equivalent qualifications as a minimum although non-penetration diving could easily be accomplished by Ocean Diver grade if suitably experienced. We made the right choice to dive this site at this point in our experience. If we had dived it earlier, some of the dives would have been beyond us.

Our initial dive took us to 31m and we navigated around the ship about half way down its side. Finning towards the rear can be hard work as this goes against the slight current but the journey back is an easy, relaxed fin with the flow back to the shot line that is tied off on the wreck itself. We did a safety stop at 6m and then climbed the spine ladder at the rear of the boat to sit and consume the sights we had seen. The wreck is massive and the next few days of diving were looking like being amazing. We were not to be disappointed.

Day Two

Up nice and early, breakfast, dive centre, boat and out of the harbour back to the Zenobia. We had agreed with the guide that this dive would be one to sample some depth. I had experienced a strong narcosis hit at 35m in Malta the previous year and we wanted to take depth nice and steady where the only thing we had to concentrate on was depth and not to add any other task loading so we hit the water, descended to the wreck and then dropped off the side to glide down. 30M was hit very quickly, then 35m. The guide watching us like a hawk and checking with regular OK signs until we settled on the bottom and my knees gently touched the sand. OK to the guide, OK to Amanda and not a jot of narcosis between us. Depth was 41m and my computer beeped that we had entered mandatory decompression.

We ascended slowly and took another tour around the wreck as we went, entering the accommodation block and finning along the upturned corridor that rises and falls in 2-3m spurs meaning you have to continually go up and down as you progress. It is a good test of breathing for buoyancy and an exit through a door-sized slot ends the penetration and upwards to be finally hanging in situ at 6m for the decompression stop and then back to the boat for verbal confirmation that all was well.

The afternoon dive was with another diver who guided us around the wreck again, in and out of the large funnels and to the large screws (propellers) at the rear and then again a forced decompression stop. Our computers taking the morning dive into account and we both noticed how quickly we were entering a decompression state on the second dive as apposed to the first, even though the depth of the second dive was shallower.

Day Three

We found ourselves alone on the boat on the Monday and with the blessing of the dive centre we took the opportunity to lead ourselves on the two dives of the day while the guide maintained the required surface presence on the boat. The first dive was lead by Amanda and we again went past the funnels and to the screws at the rear. The second dive was with a boat full of divers who were off a cruise ship and we went around to Limassol harbour to pick them up and then off to the Zenobia from there. It gave us a chance to see the other town and harbour and we did a 35m dive to the "bone truck" which is (I think) a refrigerated lorry that was full of meat when the ship sank. Anyway, it lies on the side of the ship on the outside, suspended by a number of metal girders and all the meat has long been consumed leaving the bones behind, hence the name. It is a gruesome sight.

We were now comfortable with the wreck, our diving and the way the boat operated and our air consumption had been good throughout the dives to date both having chosen to dive on dumpy 12L cylinders.

On the second dive we also made our way to the front of the ship and the bow, together with the large anchor that came into view.

I had taken so much video and pictures that the camera had to be taken back to the hotel for recharging and a change of memory card, the 2GB one it started out with was full.

Day Four

A change of guide and a change of site as we were to do two shore dives. This gave us a chance to do some relatively shallow diving (we didn't get below 20m on either dive) but also to dive some caves and tunnels though the coral.

The journey out and back also took us through the British army areas and Ayia Napa so we also got an interesting site seeing tour on land as well as below it. Ian (a different Ian to the owner) was an excellent dive guide and we had a very enjoyable and relaxing day's diving.

First up was a site called "Sheep Dip" which was a nice change from the relatively challenging and deep dives of the Zenobia and except for a number of trainee divers who were exiting as we arrived, we were the only ones at the site.

The second site was further around the coast and was a more difficult area to reach with a rocky area to traverse with kit, akin to Gozo, Malta. However, there were tunnels and caves (the name of the site) awaiting us and the water was very welcoming as we "flopped" into it from the rocks and away from the heat.

We then followed the guide through a number of tunnels and caves hunting out the colour and life in the darkness with our torches. It was a fantastic dive and the end of the dive was a first as we exited the water via a "blow hole" in the roof of one of the caves. Fantastic!

Day Five

Just us two diving again and our guide, Ian McMurray decided that instead of him staying on the boat while we dived together he would lead us and therefore we went to Limassol and picked up a spot on a much larger boat similar in size to the day boats in Egypt.

Our first request was to dive the "egg truck" and then to dive the upper vehicle deck in the afternoon. The egg truck is where a consignment of eggs lay on the ocean floor, the actual truck all but fallen apart. The eggs are rotten and are not to be broken but make for a great target to dive. They lie at 42m.

We descended the line having made a stride entry off the boat and then upon returning OK's with Ian, we descended off the side of the wreck and entered a free-fall to the target. It was an amazing descent in clear waters, slightly inclined as we sought out the eggs towards the rear of the ship from where we had dropped and with the wreck to our left as we fell. The eggs duly came into sight and we gently dropped above them taking the opportunity for some photographs and Ian took a few of us both (diving together means we are actually quite bereft of pictures of the two of us in the same shot!). My computer showed 42.1m and deco was quick in showing its intent as the numbers moved up until mine showed a full 12 minutes as we again paid a visit to the rear of the ship and the screws before ascending to the trapeze where we saw out our decompression requirements and Ian entertained us by blowing air rings!

After changing cylinders on the boat Amanda said her back was hurting her a bit and that she would not do the last dive. I think she was putting it on a bit and as soon as I had agreed she mentioned that it may give me the opportunity to dive in one of those "dark scary" places that she would prefer to stay clear of. Ian's reply was "the engine room" and my agreement to the destination was quick.

The engine room had been "found" by Ian himself a number of years ago after an extensive search and other routes within the ship had failed to allow a way through. The engine room is in the bowels of the ship and with the ship on its side remains at the bottom. Entry to it is via a hatch that was discovered (This hatch was there to allow people to work on the engines as room in the compartment is tight. The hatch was in the roof of the room and is now in the wall as the ship lies.) by studying other pictures and schematics of the Zenobia's sister ships.

This is a serious dive. Entry to the room is at 39m and you have already gone through a passage into darkness for a few minutes before you even reach the hatch. We had torches, spare torches, spare torches for the spare torches and spare air. The dive plan included a startling twist. Ian was fully aware that on the return journey away from the room, still at maximum depth as the exit was sought, the computers would be going "mad" adding decompression minutes so he had sought out another solution.

This was to exit the engine room and then instead of turning right and heading out of the ship, we were to turn left and head further inside the ship. This would give us an almost immediate opportunity to ascend into the lower vehicle deck via a series of passages and rooms and then upwards to a broken window in the side of the ship and exit.

We would save a great deal of time in decompression but would have to traverse a great deal of the inside of the ship in total darkness, except for our torches in areas full of sharp metal and twists and turns. Lack of perfect buoyancy was not an option. I was up for the ride so we did a buddy check, jumped off the side of the ship and I did my fastest descent to date to the bottom of the ship and the entry point to darkness.

We exchanged OK's, lit our primary torches and finned in. The "corridor" is full of twisted metal and parts of trucks, large wheels and box compartments and we reached the hatch in the "wall". Ian disappeared through the hole and I followed to be greeted by the engine blocks. We finned around the room in the confined space and peered at a number of tools and spare parts affixed to the walls. Ian has been in this room more times than he can count, it was my first and a beep on the computer was there to remind me that decompression had been entered and the time had come to make our way back. We were, at this point, a long way from air.

Out we swam and then left into more darkness, upwards and then I can safely say I cannot remember the number of twists and turns we made, areas we went through or pipe work we navigated as we made the ascent. My mind was working hard, I had to maintain buoyancy, with the only time I could look at my gauges was when I shone my torch at them, exchange constant signals with Ian by aiming the torch at my hand and then making the signals, constantly sweep the area around me for hazards and keep perfectly calm to conserve my air. We stopped on a couple of occasions for "sight seeing" purposes and once I actually got my fin strap caught in the line that someone else had laid and left there. A few heart-stopping moments were encountered while I cleared that hazard and continued on.

Still in total darkness and a check on my air showed 90 bar remaining was a moment I can recall with absolute clarity. I signalled Ian by sweeping my torch to and fro in a horizontal line to get his attention and then gestured to my air. He checked and signalled OK so he was now aware and making no apparent panic about it, we continued. We could have been 10 minutes from exit as far as I knew. I was completely 100% in his hands at this point and the time that I had signalled him and the vastness of the area we were in had become apparent as my beam had reflected off a distant wall, or was it a floor or a roof?

He moved around the ship like a seal. No hesitations, an intimate knowledge and experience of the potentially dangerous area obvious by his actions and a few minutes later I saw the unmistakable faint glow of blue and daylight!

We made our way towards it and had to lie on our sides to fit through the small gap and then along, up a little further and out. To my utter surprise we were on the "flat top" of the ship and the warmth of the water was a nice greeting. Ian banged on the ship to attract some fish and we were swarmed so had a play with them before rising for the dozen or so minutes of decompression we had clocked up.

When I finally took off my fins below the ladder and then climbed up I could see Amanda at the rear of ship looking anxiously down, "Everything OK?" she asked.

"Oh yes!" I replied, "I was with the right bloke for that dive..." was all I could add.

Cyprus was a fantastic experience for us, with caves, tunnels and a wreck dive we will struggle to better (although we will try). We progressed with depth at a rate we were comfortable with and got to do some dives we could only have done there at that location.

I cannot praise Ian McMurray and Octopus Diving enough. They were fantastic, recognised and adapted to our needs and capabilities and provided a truly fantastic diving experience.

I don't know if the final dive would have been taken on or not had I not recently been diving blindfolded and in darkness on the cavern and overhead course, but it provided a level of experience for me that was at the right time and I had prepared for the possible penetration diving in Cyprus.

If you haven't already dived the Zenobia, put it on your list and if you want to experience a dive of your life, employ Ian McMurray to take you through the ship. The diving was never crowded and on a couple of occasions we had the whole wreck to ourselves.

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