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We
glided down through the deep blue water like skydivers with arms and legs
extended, breaking occasionally with bursts of air from our power inflators.
At 30 metres, we could clearly see a steel wreck laid out before us on the
white sand. The anchor chain from
“Big
Cat Reality” lay next to the stern of the wreck of the St Paul. The ship was
a French freighter of 1633 tones bound from New Caledonia to Brisbane in 1914.
It struck Smith Rock in rough seas, and sank in 40 metres of water to
the east of Smiths. It is reported that 18 lives were lost. The wreck’s
location was found by James McVeigh, the owner of “Big Cat Reality”.
In very
clear water and a slight head-on current, my buddy and I swam past the two
boilers towards the bow. I found a good reef anchor lying on the wreck and
tried to unhook the rope, but had to leave it.
You cannot do very much and you have very little time to do it at 40
metres! We reached the bow and checked computers and gauges.
With 120 cu ft of 28% Nitrox, I had a considerable safety margin over
the divers on air. My buddy was diving on Nitrox under supervision but he was
using an air computer, so we had to follow its conservative rulings. As
expected, it was flashing a decompression ceiling as we slowly ascended the
anchor chain, making deep stops at 20 and 10 metres with a run time of 26
minutes. A beautiful dive!
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