CCR Dive report - MV Aeolian Sky
Finally back in the salty stuff recently. Had one good day (described below) and one day of the worst sea I've ever been in and we won't be talking about how that went - it was so bad at one point I threatened to take up golf!
The MV Aeolian Sky was a Greek transport ship, launched in 1978 and a year later was heading down the channel from London to Dar-es-Salaam loaded with various cargo when she collided with another boat.
A result of the collision meant she was holed in No 1 hold and flooded at the bow. Fortunately all the crew got helicoptered off. She was taken under tow, but eventually sunk in rough seas off Portland. Shes an incredibly popular wreck, one of those that basically UK diver eventually ends up on as there is plenty of nice metal bits to poke around in. I've done her a few times, once early in my technical diving career and once later on the CCR with an open circuit buddy. The later was a great day out, but we didn't get long on the wreck at 30m with his dive profile. This time I had excellent seas, a rebreather and plenty of time to poke around.
The cargo is varied but most people mention the LandRover axles and if you swim over the hold, you can see the tires and axles. There is plenty of bits of crane and boat machinery too still easily identifiable after 40odd years. There is lots of glass of various types scattered on the sea bed including a number of small bottles that I was told were medicated shampoo but I can't seem to find anything to substantiate that. All the reports of this wreck online mention the (some number) of millions of Seychelles Rupees (allegedly) carried on board but never recovered. The Seychelles government later cancelled all the notes but the verdict of the skipper was (and I quote) 'the fuck were they on board'. I also told this story to a Greek Cypriot gentleman who worked in boats and shipping all his life. His verdict unprompted was this was a massive insurance fraud!
A good 50 mins of diving around, managed to find some intact glass bottles, lots of machinery, Land Rovers and some other massive tyres from other vehicles it was carrying. By then the current had gotten up, and whilst I tried to get back to part of the wreck the current had other ideas so it was time to deploy the dSMB and do a short amount of deco before getting back on board.