I would firstly like to thank everyone who came along to participate in the recent PADI wreck course it was great to see such enthusiastic students so keen to gain more experience in the exciting world of wreck diving!
Our weekend started off with a friendly meet and greet a quick review of our theory and then we made a plan to set off from the marina and head out to one of our favorite local wrecks The SS Oakland followed by a visit to Cabbage Tree Island to explore a few of our other favourite little wrecks!
Our weekend started off with a friendly meet and greet a quick review of our theory and then we made a plan to set off from the marina and head out to one of our favorite local wrecks The SS Oakland followed by a visit to Cabbage Tree Island to explore a few of our other favourite little wrecks!
The SS Oakland was a coastal trader operating on the NSW coast. On the 26th of May 1903 it was loaded in Newcastle with 300 tons of coal, 9 tons of flour and 10 tons of head stones to be transported north to the Clarence and Richmond rivers. During the voyage, competing with high winds,the Captain noticed the ship was listing to one side, which had resulted in the load shifting. Unable to correct the lie of the cargo, the ship eventually sank. Of the 18 people on board, only 7 survived.
As we arrived at the mooring we were greeted with spectacular surface conditions so we quickly made a plan to explore in our buddy pairs. As we jumped in and started descending upon a little piece of local history we were greeted with an array of beautiful fish life, several big wobbygong sharks and a beautiful artificial reef system thriving on the remains of what once was The SS Oakland, a successful first dive to kick start our course! Then it was off to Cabbage Tree Island where again we were greeted with spectacular surface conditions. During our lunch break we discussed our plan of attack to find and explore the 3 small wrecks that are sunk just off the shore of the beautiful Cabbage Tree Island. As we descended upon another little piece of local history we came across wreckage from a few local fishing trawlers located on the western edge of Cabbage Tree Island where we found 3 very different small wrecks – two of which are completely covered in hard and soft corals and another which appeared to be more recent with very little growth and still mostly intact which was a great contrast to see on the same dive.
Day 2 was an early start as we all set off to meet up on the central coast at Terrigal Dive Centre where the former Navy Ship HMAS Adelaide is situated not too far off shore. The Ex-HMAS Adelaide is a former Australian naval warship located in 32-38m of water. This impressive warship measures an impressive 138.1m in length and is situated in a perfect location 1.8km off Avoaca Beach in Terrigal. It was specifically sunk for diving as it is a very accessible wreck which caters for all different experience levels. As we all prepared for our two dives on the Adelaide and made our plan of what we would all like to explore, we were informed that the surface conditions were going to be unpleasant but reassured at depth it would be fine. So we rocked and rolled on our way out to the mooring, luckily it was an extremely short boat ride from the beach. As we jumped in and braved the rough surface conditions we descended down the line to about 15 meters where the surge and current seemed to disappear and in front of us was this MASSIVE warship and about 15-20m visibility. We couldn’t believe our luck !
After checking that we were all ok, off we went like excited puppies to explore the heart of one of the most impressive wrecks we had ever seen. As we made our way to the back of the ship we had decided to enter through what once was a helicopter hanger (so you can imagine the size!) as we explored through the heart of the ship going from room to room we came across a small stairwell that took us up to the fly bridge. Of course we all had to sit in the captains chair as we pretended to be in charge of this impressive ship! Then it was time to continue and start ascending as we had just about reached out limits but not before James, the funny little bugger, decided to keep me on my toes by bolting to the bottom of the missile hanger and continued to look like a kid in a candy shop exploring the machinery that is now covered with beautiful hard corals, until he got the grumpy look as we were all extremely close to reaching out NDL limits and it was time to head off and get ready to do it all again! As we got back on the boat the chatter and excitement of what we had just experienced was flowing and plans were already been made for what we were going to encounter and explore on our next dive! After our surface interval, we were back out to the wreck and down before we knew it. This time young Aiden who had previously done a few dives on this incredible wreck suggested we penetrate the wreck through the stacks on the boat which was a GREAT idea. As we sat on the stacks and prepared to go down, I see Sam, one of our dive masters sitting there quite comfortable until i just see little legs and fins… Sam had just descended backwards and head first down to the bottom of the boat! It was a pretty funny site to see and one of the more different ways i have encounter on how to enter a wreck but none the less it got us on our way. I let the boys guide me this time and i was taken on an exciting adventure up, down, through and around inside the ship. I think its safe to say we all enjoyed The Ex-HMAS Adelaide very much and cannot wait to get back down there ASAP! So if you have a free weekend and want to gain some new dive experience and see a part of Australian history in the process, please come and talk to us in the shop and sign up for one of our Wreck specialty courses. One of our amazing instructors will be more than happy take you on an exciting dive adventure one weekend and come away with your wreck specialty diver certification! You won’t regret it and you will be hooked on wreck diving just like we are!!!