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Diving the Ghosts of Corsica, Part II

Diving the Ghosts of Corsica, Part II

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B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Her Did ’, Calvi Corsica is a spectacular place. Inland from the rugged coastline’s turquoise waters, mountains rise steeply, their towering granite summits patched white with snow even in the late spring. I stared out the window as the bus wound it’s way from Bastia to Calvi, through valleys cut by fast flowing rivers and over steep mountain passes. We descended into the town in the early evening, where the 400 year old walls of the citadel…

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Diving the ghosts of Corsica, Part I

Diving the ghosts of Corsica, Part I

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P-47 Thunderbolt, Miomo It had been 18 months since my last dive, and I fumbled clumsily whilst preparing my gear. I was sitting with two other divers in the spring sunshine, beside the picturesque little harbour at Erbalunga, Corsica. Our dive operator Rym, who took the task of conducting our refresher dive seriously, asked us questions about equipment and protocols as we fitted our kit together. Soon we were leaving the harbour in his fibreglass hull inflatable for a nearby…

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The Saint Didier

The Saint Didier

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Part II I walked for an hour through the busy city of Antalya to reach the dive centre. I was excited about the day ahead, as I was going to dive on the wreck of the Saint Didier. North of Antalya Harbour is all cliffs, and when I reached the spot where the dive centre was meant to be I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to get down the cliff to the small ‘beach’ below. Peering…

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The Saint Didier

The Saint Didier

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Part I Antalya, located on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, attracts tourists from all over Europe by the millions (literally) every year. Visitors flock to the city’s picturesque little harbour, with it’s Roman-era walls and flotilla of fishing vessels, tourist boats and yachts. Restaurants and cafes line the harbourside and hilltop, serving local seafood to those who have come to enjoy Turkey’s Turquoise Coast. Thousands of photographs are taken every day of the view south from the harbour entrance. Most who visit,…

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Diving Shipwrecks in Sozopol

Diving Shipwrecks in Sozopol

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WRECKED AND SCUTTLED IN BULGARIA’S BLACK SEA We jammed the cars full of diving gear, and squeezed in for the hour’s drive south from Nessebar on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. For once I was usurped for the front seat; a massive Latvian bloke who had 10cm of height over me and about 25kg of weight was rightly granted the extra legroom. The Black Sea has a long maritime history, and we were off to spend the day diving shipwrecks in…

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HMS Lundy and HMS Louis

HMS Lundy and HMS Louis

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BENEATH THE WATERS OF GALLIPOLI For most Australians, the Gallipoli campaign conjures images of soldiers fighting grim and desperate battles on the steep country above ANZAC Cove. However the struggle for control of the Straits of the Dardanelles began as a naval operation by the Allies, and it was only after this failed that a land invasion was attempted. Naval support, in firepower, supply and evacuation, continued throughout the 10 month campaign. Turkish shore batteries, mines, German submarines and accidents…

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Diving the S.S. Thistlegorm

Diving the S.S. Thistlegorm

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Jacques Cousteau was the first to dive on the S.S. Thistlegorm in the 1950s. Sadly, as was the practice at the time, he took various items from the wreck, including the ship’s bell. Cousteau kept the location of the Thistlegorm quiet, and it was not until the early 1990s that divers once again located the site, using information from fisherman. The UK’s Dive magazine estimates that since then, over one million divers have visited the wreck. The dive boat lurched…

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Under the Red Sea

Under the Red Sea

When you’re a kid, especially if you are fortunate enough to grow up in a nurturing environment, you experience things regularly that completely blow your mind. Things that are so amazing, or exhilarating, or fun-scary, or all of the above, that they leave you frothing with excitement. As you get older, these moments grow further and further apart. Perhaps you have experienced the sensation before, or something close to it, and although it’s still cool, it isn’t quite as magical…

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