Cyprus May 2005 - Inspiration dives on Zenobia

Patto_chan · 1st June 2005, 18:41

My recent trip to Cyprus

I think a few members of this forum have been to the Zenobia in recent months and written good trip reports so I'll be brief.

Early in May I needed a break and was looking for a quick holiday to somewhere warm and hoping to bring my Inspiration to log a few hours (still a CCR newbie).

A friend suggested Cyprus and diving the Zenobia. Having read the previous trip reports I contacted Rob Jones of DiveTek Cyprus about renting Inspo cylinders and buying sofnolime. Rob's prompt and positive response help me make up my mind up to go to Cyprus.

It was my first time bring the Inspo overseas and packing it was a learning experience. But my holiday started well when I got away with excess baggage despite having a 30kg Inspo box and 2 hefty pieces of cabin baggage. I got the impression the counter staff were overstretched and couldn't be bothered going through the excess baggage procedures. I was warned I would be caught in Cyprus for the homeward journey. As I'm in Ireland the direct flight options to Cyprus are limited and I flew with Helios Airways.

First day in Cyprus (Saturday) I met Rob and planned 3 days diving on the Zenobia. Like most holiday destinations Cyprus is well populated with dive operations but they focus on the non-technical diver. Rob setup DiveTek Cyprus to target the technical diving market. See the DiveTek Cyprus website for details.

Larnaca is only about 40 mins drive from Protaras where I was staying and where Rob is based. The wreck of the Zenobia is only about 1 mile from Larnaca marina and many dive boats visit it each day. The boat ride is approx. 10 mins so you can start to kit up as soon as you cast off from the marina (and probably should do if you're on CCR) so you will be ready to jump in when they tie up on site.

The Zenobia is indeed huge - lying on its port side in 42m of water, top of wreck at about 18m, There are 3 permanent shot lines, one at the props, one midships forward of the funnels and one at the bows. Viz was at least 25m and water was about 19C - I used my neoprine drysuit without undersuit and was comfortable but without the undersuit I soon realised how many small leaks my drysuit has. 2 dives each day - one around the stern and one around the bow although it is possible to cover the entire wreck on one dive particularly if you're on CCR and gas consumption is not a concern. My dives averaged about 55 mins, usually to 30m or so max depth and my gas consumption per day was about 70 bar O2 and 80 to 100 bar diluent. I haven't splashed out (forgive the pun) on a VR3 yet so I used my 2nd hand Nitek3 set to 30/45/85 to give me a PPO2 of 1.3 at my planned max depth/top of wreck/deco stop.

My main objective was to get some more hours on the Inspiration so I took things easy. Did the easy swim-thru's of the bridge and cafeteria. And on one dive I brought a bailout cylinder and went through the lorry deck - very long, very dark, very eerie. If you want to do more serious penetration (lower decks, engine room, etc) then you should be trained for it, well equipped with bailout and do it as a team.

In conclusion the Zenobia makes the trip well worth while and there's plenty more to do in Cyprus in case you need to twist the arm of a non-diving better-half. You can do day trips to the Western end of the island (Paphos etc), jeep safaris to the monasteries in the Trodos mountains or visit Nicosia ("the world's last divided city").

And a final word of thanks to Rob Jones of DiveTek Cyprus for arranging the dives. 6 dives at a reasonable price. The sofno is a little more expensive than at home but that's to be expected as it has to be imported and I think Rob's prices are cheaper than Red Sea sofno prices.

And the icing on the cake .... I got away with excess baggage charges on the way home as well

(Pictures taken with a Canon S40 digital camera in waterproof housing and with a Sea and Sea wide angle lens attached.)

Pic 1: Top of wreck near bridge

Pic 2: Zenobia starboard prop

***caveseeker7*** · 1st June 2005, 20:08

Quote: (Originally Posted by Patto_chan)

And the icing on the cake .... I got away with excess baggage charges on the way home as well

Ain't it great when everything falls nicely into place ...

Thanks for the nice write up of the trip and the pictures.

JonnyB · 2nd June 2005, 06:34

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to our lovely island. Soon we might be seeing Stuart's report on his trip over here the other week. Hey Stuart, i got the pictures if you want me to send them over to you!

/Jonny

***schford*** · 2nd June 2005, 08:34

Great write up - thanks have some green.

Jonny please if you could send the photos will get a report done...

speak soon Jonny the Hatch

Stuart

JonnyB · 2nd June 2005, 08:47

the Hatch... hehehe

Rob Jones · 2nd June 2005, 18:45

Quote: (Originally Posted by schford)

Great write up - thanks have some green.

Jonny please if you could send the photos will get a report done...

speak soon Jonny the Hatch

Stuart

Hey Stuart,

Great to have you with us last week, some excellent diving and fun, just a shame your other half was tied-up with more mundane matters! I've sent you a CD with stacks of pics on, should be arriving about now, so hopefully plenty of material. We're also now setup with Oxycheq dealership, so we'll liase re; our supply talks. Jonny the Hatch is getting excited about more shiny bits to buy!

ATB,

Rob

1st June 2005, 18:41	#1 (permalink)
Patto_chan Annoying fish since 1992 Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Ireland Posts: 63	Cyprus May 2005 - Inspiration dives on Zenobia My recent trip to Cyprus I think a few members of this forum have been to the Zenobia in recent months and written good trip reports so I'll be brief. Early in May I needed a break and was looking for a quick holiday to somewhere warm and hoping to bring my Inspiration to log a few hours (still a CCR newbie). A friend suggested Cyprus and diving the Zenobia. Having read the previous trip reports I contacted Rob Jones of DiveTek Cyprus about renting Inspo cylinders and buying sofnolime. Rob's prompt and positive response help me make up my mind up to go to Cyprus. It was my first time bring the Inspo overseas and packing it was a learning experience. But my holiday started well when I got away with excess baggage despite having a 30kg Inspo box and 2 hefty pieces of cabin baggage. I got the impression the counter staff were overstretched and couldn't be bothered going through the excess baggage procedures. I was warned I would be caught in Cyprus for the homeward journey. As I'm in Ireland the direct flight options to Cyprus are limited and I flew with Helios Airways. First day in Cyprus (Saturday) I met Rob and planned 3 days diving on the Zenobia. Like most holiday destinations Cyprus is well populated with dive operations but they focus on the non-technical diver. Rob setup DiveTek Cyprus to target the technical diving market. See the DiveTek Cyprus website for details. Larnaca is only about 40 mins drive from Protaras where I was staying and where Rob is based. The wreck of the Zenobia is only about 1 mile from Larnaca marina and many dive boats visit it each day. The boat ride is approx. 10 mins so you can start to kit up as soon as you cast off from the marina (and probably should do if you're on CCR) so you will be ready to jump in when they tie up on site. The Zenobia is indeed huge - lying on its port side in 42m of water, top of wreck at about 18m, There are 3 permanent shot lines, one at the props, one midships forward of the funnels and one at the bows. Viz was at least 25m and water was about 19C - I used my neoprine drysuit without undersuit and was comfortable but without the undersuit I soon realised how many small leaks my drysuit has. 2 dives each day - one around the stern and one around the bow although it is possible to cover the entire wreck on one dive particularly if you're on CCR and gas consumption is not a concern. My dives averaged about 55 mins, usually to 30m or so max depth and my gas consumption per day was about 70 bar O2 and 80 to 100 bar diluent. I haven't splashed out (forgive the pun) on a VR3 yet so I used my 2nd hand Nitek3 set to 30/45/85 to give me a PPO2 of 1.3 at my planned max depth/top of wreck/deco stop. My main objective was to get some more hours on the Inspiration so I took things easy. Did the easy swim-thru's of the bridge and cafeteria. And on one dive I brought a bailout cylinder and went through the lorry deck - very long, very dark, very eerie. If you want to do more serious penetration (lower decks, engine room, etc) then you should be trained for it, well equipped with bailout and do it as a team. In conclusion the Zenobia makes the trip well worth while and there's plenty more to do in Cyprus in case you need to twist the arm of a non-diving better-half. You can do day trips to the Western end of the island (Paphos etc), jeep safaris to the monasteries in the Trodos mountains or visit Nicosia ("the world's last divided city"). And a final word of thanks to Rob Jones of DiveTek Cyprus for arranging the dives. 6 dives at a reasonable price. The sofno is a little more expensive than at home but that's to be expected as it has to be imported and I think Rob's prices are cheaper than Red Sea sofno prices. And the icing on the cake .... I got away with excess baggage charges on the way home as well (Pictures taken with a Canon S40 digital camera in waterproof housing and with a Sea and Sea wide angle lens attached.) Pic 1: Top of wreck near bridge Pic 2: Zenobia starboard prop
(Online)

1st June 2005, 20:08	#2 (permalink)
*caveseeker7* Who loves ya, baby Current Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Too far from Neverland Posts: 5,554	Quote: (Originally Posted by Patto_chan) And the icing on the cake .... I got away with excess baggage charges on the way home as well Ain't it great when everything falls nicely into place ... Thanks for the nice write up of the trip and the pictures. __________________ Cheers Stefan "Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.!"
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2nd June 2005, 06:34	#3 (permalink)
JonnyB Johnny The Hatch Current Rebreather/s: MK 15.X Titan Other CCR Other SCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Megalodon Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Other CCR Other SCR Home Build Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sweden (Stockholm)/Cyprus(Ayia Napa) Posts: 991	I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to our lovely island. Soon we might be seeing Stuart's report on his trip over here the other week. Hey Stuart, i got the pictures if you want me to send them over to you! /Jonny
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2nd June 2005, 08:34	#4 (permalink)
*schford* RBW Founder Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: UK Posts: 3,564	Great write up - thanks have some green. Jonny please if you could send the photos will get a report done... speak soon Jonny the Hatch Stuart
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2nd June 2005, 08:47	#5 (permalink)
JonnyB Johnny The Hatch Current Rebreather/s: MK 15.X Titan Other CCR Other SCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Megalodon Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Other CCR Other SCR Home Build Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sweden (Stockholm)/Cyprus(Ayia Napa) Posts: 991	the Hatch... hehehe
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2nd June 2005, 18:45	#6 (permalink)
Rob Jones Dive-Tek Cyprus Current Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cyprus Posts: 29	Trip photo's Quote: (Originally Posted by schford) Great write up - thanks have some green. Jonny please if you could send the photos will get a report done... speak soon Jonny the Hatch Stuart Hey Stuart, Great to have you with us last week, some excellent diving and fun, just a shame your other half was tied-up with more mundane matters! I've sent you a CD with stacks of pics on, should be arriving about now, so hopefully plenty of material. We're also now setup with Oxycheq dealership, so we'll liase re; our supply talks. Jonny the Hatch is getting excited about more shiny bits to buy! ATB, Rob __________________ Rob Jones Tel: + 357 99 110249 e-mail: info@divetekcyprus.com www.divetekcyprus.com
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