Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures of the Seven Seas Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures of the Seven Seas
  • HOME PAGE
  • WET & HOT NEWS
  • CONTACT
  • PHOTOS ALBUM
  • VIDEOS
  • SITES DIRECTORY
  • HOT LINKS
  • Unique Treasures /
  • WET & HOT NEWS ! /
  • Bill Leeman

Bill Leeman

Divers go deep for unexplored UAE wrecks

By treasures | On 06/06/2011 | In Wreck Diving

Technical diving to depths of 100 metres and more is a dangerous endeavor that takes special equipment 
Photo Antonie Robertson


By Colin Simpson - The National


They have to go deep, these divers, sometimes 100 metres or more below the surface.

Conditions can be bad down there, so dark they sometimes do not know they have found what they are looking for until the darkness opens suddenly revealing the prize: an unmistakable V-shape of a shipwreck.

"It's just an absolute blast when you see one of the wrecks," said Nick van der Walt, a diver from New Zealand.

"You go down and you go through these layers of water and then you get a dark layer of plankton, and you go through that and then it's like a theatre curtain opening as you look down on the wreck with the divers' torch beams flashing across it."

Dr van der Walt is part of an informal group of a dozen divers in Dubai - a group that includes two women, a teacher and an airline pilot - working on a project that would see them find and dive every deep shipwreck in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Fujairah up to the tip of Musandam.

The project, launched back in November 2009 through team leader, Bill Leeman, requires them to dive deeper than conventional equipment can take them, more than double the typical 40 metres below the surface.

These wrecks lie at 100 metres or more, requiring technical diving that involves adept skills, a special mix of gases and complicated equipment.

"Currently there are five brand new wrecks that had never been dived before, which we've dived, and there are three or four left that we haven't found yet," said Mr Leeman.

"When you're the first one to see one of these wrecks, and to physically touch it, it's fantastic. You've achieved something, you've found it, you've dived it, and then everybody can go after you."

They are able to go so deep because they breathe mixtures of helium, oxygen and nitrogen, known as trimix.

The wreck-finders are amateurs with day jobs, "to pay for the diving", said Mr Leeman.

A five-day boat trip, the usual length of their wreck excursions, costs about Dh4,000 per person. They have all undergone a considerable amount of special training, led by Mr Leeman, who was trained in the UAE as a technical diving instructor.


Full story...



HOME PAGE

 

Countries Legislation

U/W Archaeology

Wild Hunters

Secret Treasures

Untold Treasures

Exclusive Wrecks

Tips, Ideas, Media

Not Found Yet !

Tag Cloud

100 years Australia Baltic sea Belfast Captain Edward Smith FLORIDA gold Great Lakes Indiana State Museum Indianapolis James Cameron Joseph Bruce Ismay Mercedes Molly Brown odyssey marine exploration OMEX shipwreck shipwrecks Spain Titanic Treasure White Star Line World War II wreck

Keep informed

Search Engine

search this site the web

Le trésor de la Reliance

News Feed

  • More than 100 'perfectly preserved' Roman amphorae
  • One-tonne WWII mine from shipwreck
  • Biblical shipwreck of St Paul 'found'
  • A shipwreck worth billions...

Other Websites

Advertise with us !

Members Area

Create an account |  Lost password?

Follow us on Twitter      Find us on Facebook


Google+

© 2007-2019 oceantreasures.org
All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

  • Legal notices