MHK
Guest
Day one we anchored at the HMS Repulse and our plan was to spend 2 days there, perhaps a third and then move to the HMS Prince of Wales. The HMS Repulse lies on her port side in 190 of water located around 3° 37N, 104° 20E. She had a total displacement of over 32,500 tons and was just over 700 in size. Understandably, the British government has sought action against divers who attempt to remove artifacts from this war grave. We certainly respect the sanctity of a war grave so our goal was intended merely, through the use of video technology; to chronicle this most of important of war graves.
Dive one of the expedition commenced in the early morning hours and we were graciously greeted with 87 degree water temperatures, 85+ visibility, non-existent swells but a moderate 2 ½ knot current. The first dive team to hit the water for the inaugural dive was Andrew Georgtisis, Dan Mackay, Marcel Grimm and I. Our dive plan was to spend one or two dives exploring the outside of the wreck, get some still and video footage of the more interesting areas such as the guns, the propeller and the torpedoed holes. We planned a Max depth of 180; we averaged 170 for the dive and did 35 minutes of bottom time. We used a 15/55 for back gas, 50% and 100% for deco gases. Total run time was 80 minutes. The silhouette of the wreck came into focus upon descent at about 60 and of immediate note is that she is well endowed with an abundance of marine life, a healthy ecosystem and a wide variety local tropical fish that serve only to enhance the enormity of the wreck. Dive one was a rather uneventful dive as we wanted to orient ourselves with the wreck, scope out future penetrations points and assess the viability of exploring areas of the ship heretofore unexplored.
After a surface interval, lunch and a consultation with the deck plans we devised a dive plan that would allow for the maximum use of available cameras, scooters, RBs and team resources. We decided to split the group into two teams and deploy and assign the teams various tasks. My team was a 3 man team consisting of Andrew Georgitsis, Marcel Grimm and I. We planned to head towards the bow and along the way shoot as many of the gun turrets as possible, locate and document the look-out tower and then photograph the bow. While the bulk of the ship lies on the port side this jumbled maze of metal awkwardly contorts its position in such a fashion that the bow is nearly 100% upside down. Looking up at the bow from 200 its easy to appreciate that this once proud vessel had served her country well and was deserving of the place in history that it occupies. The once sturdy keel that so forcefully and faithfully lead this grand vessel to so many victories is now cracked at the impact point of the fatal blow resembling her metaphorical broken back suffered during the battle. Sadly, she is now reduced to an underwater labyrinth serving as the final tribute to the men and the officers who once called her home. As we began our journey from mid-ship to the bow we noticed a significant increase in current, up to 3 ½ knots I estimate, Vis dissipated marginally and the water temperature increased to a balmy 89 degrees. Currents notwithstanding, we accomplished our dive objective and chronicled several guns, the look-out tower and the still impressive looking bow. We were joined this particular dive by a 6 black tip shark who lazily and effortlessly worked is way against the current shadowing us as if we were boldly encroaching on his preordained territory. Once again we settled on a 30 minute bottom time and opted for 60 minutes of decompression for a total run time of 90 minutes. The second team was Dan Mackay and Richard Johansson. Their dive objectives were to head towards the stern and document the rudder and the props. Our thinking was that by dividing the tasks amongst the teams that we could commingle the efforts of the team and produce a more meaningful and thorough accounting. All photos will be available for viewing at www.5thd-x.com and/or www.northerntechdiver.com , www.scandinavian-underwaterexplorers.com
Dive 3 of the day was just Andrew G and I. Our plan was to switch from stills to video. We decided to, in essence, do the same dive as the previous 2 dives working our way towards the bow so we could later compare the stills with the video. We also decided that we would do some penetration, lay the groundwork for the next day and begin to map out some points of interest, some entry and exit points and to get ourselves oriented with the inside of this massive structure. We decided that since this was the last dive of the day and we wanted to get some work done, that we would increase our bottom times. This dive we planned for 50 minutes BT and we wound up with an average depth of 180. Our complete run time was 109 minutes.
Day 2 the currents picked up at a noticeable pace and our plan this day was to start working towards the stern section, get some additional shots of the rudder and the props, plan some entry and exit points and investigate the gun turrets and the torpedo damage from the battle. What Mother Nature borrowed from us in terms of conditions was made up through sheer luck. On day 1 when the crew handed down my 02 bottle it slipped and fell to the bottom, thought never to be seen again. I was already down one reg due to damage; therefore this reg was problematic in that I was using 5 bottles per dive so any further loss of equipment meant a scaled back dive plan. As luck would have it, after a rather pronounced excursion against a 3 ½ knot current to get to the props, the turn around and swim back was peaceful, enjoyable and allowed for ample opportunity to do some reconnaissance for future penetration points. As I looked away from the wreck momentarily off about 20 meters I noticed a shinny object reflecting the ambient light. I swam closer to take a quick peak and strangely enough there was my 02 bottle dropped from the prior day. This ominous sign enhanced the dive as we mapped out several points of interest that we would later exploit. Given the strong currents, the aggressive prior day and the information that the team had compiled for future exploration we decided that dive 2 would focus on the interior. We plotted our penetration point as just aft of mid-ship at 185. We had hoped that this dive we could plot out further areas that looked promising in terms of penetrating areas that had yet been explored. We continued down the Seamans Mess area and worked our way into the Artisans Mess area and the Ships office. Through the leading corridors we thought that perhaps we could find a lead through the Boiler Rooms vents. This exploration brought us to a 30 minute BT at an average depth of 180. After some more deco we blended up, got some rest and began to review video so we could continue to compare notes with the other teams in the hopes of pushing further into the wreck.
Dive one of the expedition commenced in the early morning hours and we were graciously greeted with 87 degree water temperatures, 85+ visibility, non-existent swells but a moderate 2 ½ knot current. The first dive team to hit the water for the inaugural dive was Andrew Georgtisis, Dan Mackay, Marcel Grimm and I. Our dive plan was to spend one or two dives exploring the outside of the wreck, get some still and video footage of the more interesting areas such as the guns, the propeller and the torpedoed holes. We planned a Max depth of 180; we averaged 170 for the dive and did 35 minutes of bottom time. We used a 15/55 for back gas, 50% and 100% for deco gases. Total run time was 80 minutes. The silhouette of the wreck came into focus upon descent at about 60 and of immediate note is that she is well endowed with an abundance of marine life, a healthy ecosystem and a wide variety local tropical fish that serve only to enhance the enormity of the wreck. Dive one was a rather uneventful dive as we wanted to orient ourselves with the wreck, scope out future penetrations points and assess the viability of exploring areas of the ship heretofore unexplored.
After a surface interval, lunch and a consultation with the deck plans we devised a dive plan that would allow for the maximum use of available cameras, scooters, RBs and team resources. We decided to split the group into two teams and deploy and assign the teams various tasks. My team was a 3 man team consisting of Andrew Georgitsis, Marcel Grimm and I. We planned to head towards the bow and along the way shoot as many of the gun turrets as possible, locate and document the look-out tower and then photograph the bow. While the bulk of the ship lies on the port side this jumbled maze of metal awkwardly contorts its position in such a fashion that the bow is nearly 100% upside down. Looking up at the bow from 200 its easy to appreciate that this once proud vessel had served her country well and was deserving of the place in history that it occupies. The once sturdy keel that so forcefully and faithfully lead this grand vessel to so many victories is now cracked at the impact point of the fatal blow resembling her metaphorical broken back suffered during the battle. Sadly, she is now reduced to an underwater labyrinth serving as the final tribute to the men and the officers who once called her home. As we began our journey from mid-ship to the bow we noticed a significant increase in current, up to 3 ½ knots I estimate, Vis dissipated marginally and the water temperature increased to a balmy 89 degrees. Currents notwithstanding, we accomplished our dive objective and chronicled several guns, the look-out tower and the still impressive looking bow. We were joined this particular dive by a 6 black tip shark who lazily and effortlessly worked is way against the current shadowing us as if we were boldly encroaching on his preordained territory. Once again we settled on a 30 minute bottom time and opted for 60 minutes of decompression for a total run time of 90 minutes. The second team was Dan Mackay and Richard Johansson. Their dive objectives were to head towards the stern and document the rudder and the props. Our thinking was that by dividing the tasks amongst the teams that we could commingle the efforts of the team and produce a more meaningful and thorough accounting. All photos will be available for viewing at www.5thd-x.com and/or www.northerntechdiver.com , www.scandinavian-underwaterexplorers.com
Dive 3 of the day was just Andrew G and I. Our plan was to switch from stills to video. We decided to, in essence, do the same dive as the previous 2 dives working our way towards the bow so we could later compare the stills with the video. We also decided that we would do some penetration, lay the groundwork for the next day and begin to map out some points of interest, some entry and exit points and to get ourselves oriented with the inside of this massive structure. We decided that since this was the last dive of the day and we wanted to get some work done, that we would increase our bottom times. This dive we planned for 50 minutes BT and we wound up with an average depth of 180. Our complete run time was 109 minutes.
Day 2 the currents picked up at a noticeable pace and our plan this day was to start working towards the stern section, get some additional shots of the rudder and the props, plan some entry and exit points and investigate the gun turrets and the torpedo damage from the battle. What Mother Nature borrowed from us in terms of conditions was made up through sheer luck. On day 1 when the crew handed down my 02 bottle it slipped and fell to the bottom, thought never to be seen again. I was already down one reg due to damage; therefore this reg was problematic in that I was using 5 bottles per dive so any further loss of equipment meant a scaled back dive plan. As luck would have it, after a rather pronounced excursion against a 3 ½ knot current to get to the props, the turn around and swim back was peaceful, enjoyable and allowed for ample opportunity to do some reconnaissance for future penetration points. As I looked away from the wreck momentarily off about 20 meters I noticed a shinny object reflecting the ambient light. I swam closer to take a quick peak and strangely enough there was my 02 bottle dropped from the prior day. This ominous sign enhanced the dive as we mapped out several points of interest that we would later exploit. Given the strong currents, the aggressive prior day and the information that the team had compiled for future exploration we decided that dive 2 would focus on the interior. We plotted our penetration point as just aft of mid-ship at 185. We had hoped that this dive we could plot out further areas that looked promising in terms of penetrating areas that had yet been explored. We continued down the Seamans Mess area and worked our way into the Artisans Mess area and the Ships office. Through the leading corridors we thought that perhaps we could find a lead through the Boiler Rooms vents. This exploration brought us to a 30 minute BT at an average depth of 180. After some more deco we blended up, got some rest and began to review video so we could continue to compare notes with the other teams in the hopes of pushing further into the wreck.
