Diving In Cyprus 2016 HMS Cricket

Описание: Diving the HMS Cricket Wreck Cyprus:
The resting place of HMS Cricket Cyprus lies close offshore Southern Cyprus in Larnaca Bay at approximate coordinates (WGS84 34o 58′ N 33o 49′ E). The wreck lies inverted with the bows pointing west on a general sandy bottom at about 29 metres with a scour under the wreck reaching a maximum depth of 32 metres.

The relationship of the original ship to the wreck can be seen below. If it wasnt for the scour (which according to local divers has appeared and disappeared over time), only the hull would be visible. The scour has permitted access to the stern deck and many parts of the lower superstructure.

The ship is often buoyed at the stern since it is dived regularly by the army. The immediate impression on descent is the peculiar arrangement of triple rudders projecting from the stern and frozen hard a port. Immediately adjacent are the twin propeller tunnels which allowed the propellers to be counter-sunk into the hull. The shafts and propellers are gone. Inspection of the wreck reveals that there are no engines or boilers either. The ship was an empty hulk before it sank or was sunk.

On arrival at the rudders at about 26 metres, the direction of the current should be determined so that silt from the first side of the ship to be dived does not flow across to the other side. The scours allow complete access to the deck of the stern and to much of the lower superstructure, where rotted plates permit access into the body of the vessel. The engine room can be entered on the (original) port side. The propeller shaft openings are still visible in this large space. Passing through rusted holes, the boiler room can be reached and exited on the starboard side of the ship.

Standard wreck precautions of avoiding sharp edges and not disturbing the silt apply strongly to the Cricket.

Having passed through the body of the engine room and boiler room, only smaller spaces are left and often these are tight under the limited space between the ship's inverted deck and the seabed.

Nevertheless, the raised forecastle has created a space to investigate as the bows are reached some 72 metres from the stern. The stern itself lies just above the seabed and the restricted space between the shaft tunnels and the deck can be investigated. Beware, this is a one man operation and so some bail-out should be carried. Arriving back at the rudders after 25 minutes there is little time to study the strange structure that would have stood on the end of the ship over the stern. It is simply the ˜thunder box"! What is very obvious is that there is no apparent damage to the stern; not even the fragile exterior toilets. This part of the ship is most unlikely to be the Cricket.

Another point of caution. Although the wreck is on average at about 29 metres, the time spent circumnavigating the wreck takes about 25 minutes and will therefore incur decompression penalties of five minutes or more. During decompression, the wreck can easily be seen in the usual 25 metres visibility.