The day was perfect, very little cloud, bright sun,  no more than 2-3ft seas and I was psyched.   The wreck was about an hour offshore and as we got closer the sea turned to that beautiful blue colour that you get over deep clear water.  Captain Bob wasn't captaining today but was diving with us,  he  plopped in and easily clipped a line off to the most prominent point on the wreck,  the rudder.     We were all pleasantly amazed that there was no current at all since we had been expecting quite a fast current, and the visibility was also stunning at  an estimated 150ft.  I jumped in and below me I could see the bubble tracks of the scooter divers as they descended to the wreck.  I easily followed the line down, and could actually see the wreck within a few feet of starting from the surface.   Of course my first stop was to perch on the rudder and take in the view.   I had seen pictures before of other divers in this exact spot,  and I perched there for a few moments enjoying  that feeling one gets when inspired  by the reality of actually being there yourself.  I looked around and saw Z, taking pictures, and the other guys all scootering around the wreck.    I then began a patrol of the perimeter.  It was about this time that I saw the shark,  it came swimming in from quite a distance and began to circle the wreck.    I gave Rob the shark sign, and we followed it until I was hiding behind a section of the keel, and then like two schoolchildren looking over a fence, we popped our heads up and peered over the top.  I could then clearly see the shark just swimming around behind the wreck.  It was a very large yet  slim graceful shark, and after discussion we decided it was a reef shark and was most likely about 8-10ft in length.     We continued on and I shortly spied right down by the sand, exactly what I was looking for.   Rob spied it at the same time!  The hole, underneath which led the way to the interior of the shipwreck.   At this point I should explain that this wreck is upside down and the and broken in half such that the stern and bow overlap each other.  This means that to really see anything you have to go inside.    Inside the wreck I followed a permanent line that had previously been laid by  some zealous and enterprising  divers.  The line entered the wreck and then sharply doubled back on itself to head off to the boiler room.   The path of the permanent line was not very long but contained a significant number of turns and provided us with a thorough tour of the ship's interior.

    As we emerged from the wreck I saw an excellent porthole laying just under the overhang of the hull and stopped to admire it, fully knowing that it was a great thing to see, and was preserved since one cannot take artifacts from this wreck.   As I was busily inspecting the porthole I saw Rob move merely a few feet along and of course always being nosey I checked out what he was looking at.   It was a HUGE very shiny cowrie shell, it didn't have a single barnacle on it, and was probably about 10 inches in length (give or take an inch to allow for diver exaggeration factor).   The cowrie was nice but soon we moved along further only to come almost smack into two huge Goliath Groupers.  These large fish are impressive, and always appear to have taken ownership of the wreck.    I saw Rob giving me the shark sign and sure enough there was another shark, smaller this time but much closer.  Other fish we spotted included a really big black grouper, and many of the shoaling fish, I think these were jacks. 

  I checked my watch, decided it was time to leave :-(  and began my long ascent.   Z unhooked the reel, and we all departed the wreck,  gracefully floating away.  I watched  it dwindling in the distance.    It is always at this point that I begin to feel like an astronaut and a very long way from home.   The ascent lasted some 55minutes but we managed to while away the time by looking at the plankton, and observing the antics of the other divers.   During the ascent  we observed a great number of sea gooseberries or Ctenophora.  These are characterised by having rows of comb like short tentacles and are usually, extremely delicate.  While to us they pose no threat, to the smaller plankton they are a terrible and frightening predator.  The type we observed are called "Venus Girdle" and are not the typically round shape, but very elongated so that they resemble a ribbon or belt.   Rob shone his light on one, and I could see the beautiful iridescent yet at the same time transparent colours.   I was almost sad when the deco was over and I had to make friends with gravity as I climbed back into the boat.

   It was an excellent dive, fantastic conditions and great company.  Every detail is clearly imprinted on my mind since I was using the mix planned for the aborted dive and had 52% helium in my tanks!  I think I even saw stuff that wasn't supposed to be there ;-).  What more could you ask except perhaps to return in a few short weeks which in fact I will have the priveledge of doing.

Click below to see a wreck documentary and  pictures
Nothern Light Documentary by Mark Zurl (including the shark!)