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At 04:44 PM 11/3/99 +1100, James Dibbs wrote:
>To all Sydney divers.
>
>Has dived a wreck called the Encounter? It is an old destroyer sunk off
south >head in about 75m. Descriptions of what the dive is like, highlights etc.
James, the Encounter was a Light Cruiser of 5880 tons,
376ft long, 56 ft wide, with a 20ft draught. Three funnels,
two masts. 12 boilers. It had 11 x 6 inch guns, 4 x 12
pounders, and 4 x 3 pounders. It was built in 1902 and
transferred from the British to the Oz Navy in 1912.
It lies a good way south of South Head. About 100 metres
from the Koputai. It was apparently used for target
practice and had the shit shot out of it before it went
down. The ship is flattened - nothing stands up more than
five feet off the bottom.
James, I dived it with Richard Nicholls and Jamie Hurworth
two years ago. It is no longer a ship. It is a giant field
of rusted scrap strewn across an area extending 100 metres
by 50 metres. At least. All broken metal plate and twisted
pipe. It is not by any means a scenic wreck.
Part of the lower hull, a dish with ribs and backbone,
still exists, lying on a sloping rubble field that angles
gently down from 74 to 78 metres. It would take more than
one swimming dive to see it all.
Visibility was about 7 to 10 metres when we dived it. Algae
layers made it quite dark - a deep twilight. There was a
steady half-knot current blowing across the site. This was
mild. In the same area I have seen currents strong enough to
make holding on to the anchor line a real struggle.
The Koputai is a much more interesting dive.
If you want to dive the Encounter try Barry at Spit or Dave
Allchin on Treasure Diver. In fact, Dave Allchin found the
Koputai while trying to pick into the Encounter.
You asked about this one on the In-Depth list a while back.
Are you`planning to dive it? Do you want to dive it? Let me
know.
rgrds billyw
bdi films
02 9977 0307
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