Well, I've been working over here in London and found a cheap ticket to Croatia so I jumped on the chance. I stayed at a homestay in Dubrovnik, which is on the southern coast. To say the least, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The architecture and landscape are breathtaking and the fact that they have come so far since the way says a lot for these people.
Anyway... hooked up with a local dive shop and decided to hit a local spot in the Aegean. There are several small islands just off the coast and one of them has a wreck from WWII with another old school wreck right near it. There is also a great wall and a system of swim-throughs in the area.
We suited up on shore- had to wear a 5 mil full suit with hood, gloves, and boots as the water was pretty cold. They were using steel tanks w/ DIN valves which I had not seen before. I have always worn a 3mm shorty w/ an AL80 so I wasn't quite sure how much weight to use but I suspected the the steel tank would offset the increased bouyancy of the suit, and I added 2kg's to be safe. Turned out to be decent choice.
So we suited up, hopped in the RIB, and motored out to the dive site which was less than 5 minutes away. It was me, the DM, and some guy from Hungary that barely spoke English. The DM had some basic english skills and gave a full dive briefing before the dive. We rolled in and started the dive.
The water is a deep blue-green but the visibility was great, probably 60-80ft. The first wreck was right below us. It is an old Italian ship. Didn't look like a warship, probably a small cargo ship but it had an unfortunate run-in with a mine. The body of the mine is still attached to the hull which was pretty cool to see. We swan around the wreck, over the motor and stern which had separated. Then we went to the other wreck which I would not have recognized as a boat if it had not been pointed out to me.
From there, we swam over a grass field type of thing and hit the wall. There were lobsters, sea urchins, and some random, smaller fish. Nothing too neat until I saw something jump under a rock. I went over to investigate to discover that it was not a rock but a big octopus! I swam up to him and I must have gotten to close for comfort because I got a mask full of ink.
He hauled tail up the side of the wall and backed his way into a crevice. Very neat to see.
After that we did the swim throughs. They go from the wall up into some warm, tidal pools. It was really cool because as you entered the warm water there was a very distinct thermocline. As you swim through the blurry barrier you could feel a 10-15 degree difference in the water. Swimming out of the pool there was another one. Again, pretty cool. I haven't seen one of these before so it was neat to swim through it. That was about it for the dive. We headed back to the boat, did a safety stop, and got back in the boat and went home. We only did one tank which I wasn't crazy about. But 1 dive is better than no dives at all!
The dive shop was great. It was 45 Euro for the dive and all equipment. I thought it was a little steep for what we got but again, it's better than nothing. If I had some more time there I would say it is definitely worth checking out some other sites.
Anyway... hooked up with a local dive shop and decided to hit a local spot in the Aegean. There are several small islands just off the coast and one of them has a wreck from WWII with another old school wreck right near it. There is also a great wall and a system of swim-throughs in the area.
We suited up on shore- had to wear a 5 mil full suit with hood, gloves, and boots as the water was pretty cold. They were using steel tanks w/ DIN valves which I had not seen before. I have always worn a 3mm shorty w/ an AL80 so I wasn't quite sure how much weight to use but I suspected the the steel tank would offset the increased bouyancy of the suit, and I added 2kg's to be safe. Turned out to be decent choice.
So we suited up, hopped in the RIB, and motored out to the dive site which was less than 5 minutes away. It was me, the DM, and some guy from Hungary that barely spoke English. The DM had some basic english skills and gave a full dive briefing before the dive. We rolled in and started the dive.
The water is a deep blue-green but the visibility was great, probably 60-80ft. The first wreck was right below us. It is an old Italian ship. Didn't look like a warship, probably a small cargo ship but it had an unfortunate run-in with a mine. The body of the mine is still attached to the hull which was pretty cool to see. We swan around the wreck, over the motor and stern which had separated. Then we went to the other wreck which I would not have recognized as a boat if it had not been pointed out to me.
From there, we swam over a grass field type of thing and hit the wall. There were lobsters, sea urchins, and some random, smaller fish. Nothing too neat until I saw something jump under a rock. I went over to investigate to discover that it was not a rock but a big octopus! I swam up to him and I must have gotten to close for comfort because I got a mask full of ink.
He hauled tail up the side of the wall and backed his way into a crevice. Very neat to see. After that we did the swim throughs. They go from the wall up into some warm, tidal pools. It was really cool because as you entered the warm water there was a very distinct thermocline. As you swim through the blurry barrier you could feel a 10-15 degree difference in the water. Swimming out of the pool there was another one. Again, pretty cool. I haven't seen one of these before so it was neat to swim through it. That was about it for the dive. We headed back to the boat, did a safety stop, and got back in the boat and went home. We only did one tank which I wasn't crazy about. But 1 dive is better than no dives at all!
The dive shop was great. It was 45 Euro for the dive and all equipment. I thought it was a little steep for what we got but again, it's better than nothing. If I had some more time there I would say it is definitely worth checking out some other sites.
