To anyone who enjoys the thrill of discovery, the allure of diving can be irresistible. Not only does it quench a thirst for adventure and travel, it allows a glimpse into a hidden world only visible to the most intrepid. For some divers, exploring undersea wrecks provides the greatest source of mystery and fascination of all. Every sunken vessel tells a different story, introducing an intriguing element of history to every new dive. But one of the best things about wreck diving is that it takes its followers to every corner of the globe.
Shipwreck Diving
If you are willing to travel further, the Caribbean harbours some interesting undersea legends. If the idea of exploring the largest artificial reef in the world inspires you, head to the Gulf of Mexico and dive the USS Oriskany at Pensacola, which was scuttled here in May 2006. A former US navy aircraft carrier, the ‘Mighty-O’ enjoyed a naval career that began in 1950, serving in the Korean war as well as Vietnam. Much can be seen at shallow depths here including the vessel’s gun platforms. Venture 1000 miles south-east of here and you reach the island of Cayman Brac and site of Captain Keith Tibbetts, an enormous Russian Frigate originally built for the Cuban navy. The topography makes this an excellent multi-level dive that also houses some interesting permanent residents.
Many novice divers visit Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt to enjoy some of the most colourful coral reefs in the world, but few are aware of the fascinating wreck diving that is also available here. The Thistlegorm, a huge container ship, was bombed here in 1941 and sank killing nine crewmen, forever destined to become a fascinating dive site rich in marine life. In neighbouring Sudan, the Italian cargo ship Umbria was scuttled by its crew in 1940 at Wingate Reef after an attack by the British and hit the seabed along with its cargo of unexploded bombs, Fiat Lagunas and wine bottles. Both of these wrecks make up the most interesting dive sites to be found in the Gulf region.
For some of the best wreck-diving in history you will need to travel to the other side of the world. Here, some of the best kept secrets of World War Two lie immortalised beneath the ocean. Off the shores of Papua New Guinea at Milne Bay lies the site of Blackjack, a former B17 Bomber aircraft and an intrepid former member of the US 5th Air Force. In 1943 the aircraft took off to attack the Japanese airstrip at Rabaul but crashed into the sea after hitting severe thunderstorms, leaving a relic which even today has remained almost intact. At Vanuatu in the South Pacific, the SS President Coolidge offers several excellent dive sites of varying depths. Built originally as a luxury cruise liner, the vessel was being used to ferry reinforcements to nearby US bases during the second world war, before the explosion of two mines close to the island’s harbour heralded its final demise to the seabed.
This a guest post from Simply Scuba, a UK based stockist of scuba and diving equipment who ship worldwide.
I would also add the Great Lakes in North America. The cold, fresh water really preserves the wooden and steel shipwrecks.
With over 10,000 shipwrecks in the great lakes it has so much to offer. If you want history there is no better place to see it as it was 150 yrs ago…the only problem is you got to go deep 200+ now to get away from the zebra mussels. Wrecks such as the windate 165 ft 10 years ago use to be clean, but now are covered.
There are 2 wrecks i would kill to go dive and that is the scourge and the hamilton sitting in 300 ft with cannons still on their deck!
Scapa Flow; The German fleet was intered here after WW I. As plans were being made to turn this fleet into scrap metal by the Allies, the German comander decided to scuttle the fleet instead.
Durring WW II the German U-Boat fleet took geat delite in sinking British ships at that location.
Chuuk lagoon, (formerlly Truk); A German naval station during WW I, it has wrecks from that war. After 1918, it became a Japanese naval station before WW II, It became a favorite target for the US navy, sinking 70 ships and 400 aircraft.
http://diversionoz.com/en/micronesia-truk.htm?gclid=CO-62q3A9aECFRMNDQodBR7uEQ
Do you really like wrecks? You’ll need to take a year or more off to dive all these!
Some great wrecking diving in Coron Bay, Philippines. A fleet of 24 Japanese ships were sunk in 1944. Dove the Irako a few years ago and was a spectacular dive!! More information here: http://www.philippinediving.com/sites.htm
The Wells Burt out of Chicago is an amazing dive as well as the Mack, and Wings of wind. All great dives and shallow enough to dive on air easy, but Nitrox is a better choice. There are 2 great charters the Mai Tai and Windy City Diving for these wrecks.
I´ve heard wonders about the SS Yongala located just south of Townsville, Australia, the site is brimming with life! And why not, since it is located in the Great Barrier Reef.