R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition

CharlieT · 8th October 2007, 18:07

It felt very brave to put my name down for this trip a year ago. I was very safe, then. Was I foolish, was I just adventurous? My deepest dive then was the Flying Enterprise off Plymouth, Devon, UK in 85m.

Clearly I and everyone else on this trip had some "diving up" to do.

Luckily, we got in enough deeper diving to feel ready by 1st October when it was time for expedition liveaboard "Loyal Watcher" to leave Plymouth at 6am for a shakedown dive on the Flying Enterprise in 85m.

Our dives went well but the vis was disapointing compared to my last visit, about 10m when we had 25m last October. My own dive started eventfully with the battery alarm going as soon as I switched my Vision on

I had only 6 hrs, 20 mins on my timer, why did I need a new battery?

I use Fujitsus, what is the latest software doing to the batteries?

Anyway, much scrabbling around stripping down my unit led to a new battery going in and the dive was fine, apart from the brief encounter with some monofilament line.

Monday night saw Loyal Watcher anchored off Isle d'Ushant in a calm bay with a 5am start planned for the next day.

My cabin felt as if it had been moved to the engine room when the engines started up at 5am and I didn't get much sleep before getting up at 7am for breakfast.

The forecast for the week was excellent and Loyal Watcher, skippered by Darren, headed towards RMS Egypt at a stately 9 knots. Divers checked and rechecked their kit while expedition leader, Rich Lock, sorted out who was diving that day.

Although we arrived on site nice and early, it wasn't nice and early enough

Tides above the Egypt appeared to bear no relation to the information in the tide book.

Our first divers had to abandon their dive at 110m not having seen the wreck. The current was bad enough that by the time they got back up to 60m they could no longer hold onto the shotline. Two DSMB's came up and my buddy and I knew we weren't diving which felt kinda frustrating as we were sitting on our bench with all this kit on. Happy days

Loyal Watcher stayed on site and Jon, Simon and myself dived at 3pm.

Below 50m we encountered more current which made the bottom part of the descent hard work so I was glad to arrive on the seabed adjacent to the wreck in 121m so I could have a rest

The shot was in the stern area and everywhere I looked there were conger eels, some massive. We had good vis, about 15m/50ft but precious little time to enloy it all. Our slower than planned descent had robbed us of some of our on the wreck time. As we neared the shotline this huge conger advanced towards us and you've never seen two divers move out of the way so quickly.

At 50m, we met Paul who was on deep safety duty and collected our tags.

The increasingly slow ascent went on and until eventually we made our way up to the deco bar at 6m having dodged the beautiful but stinging long tentacles that floated towards us in the current on the way up.

Bottom temp was about 14c and we welcolmed the additional warmth of 17c at the shallower deco stops. At 18m we met the first of our shallow safety divers and then Leigh the 6m safety diver splashed in to stay with us until the last diver had completed their decompression.

My buddy, Jon, and I did 21 mins BT, 121m and a runtime of 3.5 hrs Simon something similar.

Day 2 above the Egypt saw us switch to safety duties. Others had equally good dives on the Egypt with calm seas and sun all day after the early morning sea mist had burnt off.

Back on Loyal Watcher, Linda was preparing three meals a day to feed 8 hungry divers, Darren and Gordon who was acting as boat safety cover and general crewman.

Day 3 saw us dive again with a quicker descent this time which gave us 15 mins on the Egypt diving around the bow section. Hovering in front of the bow at 115m was awesome. Vis about 10-15m on our 2nd dive with 23 mins BT, 3.75 hrs runtime.

Day 4 roles were swiched around but two divers managed to sqeeze in 3 dives on the bottom in four days!

Rich worked hard at filling O2 and Diluent cylinders with divers typically using 7/67 as diluent.

Simon saw more of the wreck than anyone else as he brought his scooter with him, lucky sod

We left Isle d'Ushant at 4am on Saturday morning to make our way at that stately 9 knots towards our last dive of the trip, an unknown mark in a shallow 105m. By this time, 105m felt like a stroll in the park

It turned out to be a small freighter but I thought it was a charming dive.

We had a fabulous week with blessed weather conditions. There were no equipment or other diver problems which is always a relief for everyone.

We had 5 Visions, 2 Classic Inspirations and a Meg. All worked perfectly.

I would like to thank Rich Lock who organised the trip so well, Darren and Linda for their hard work as the couple who own Loyal Watcher and Gordon for helping generally.

Carpathia, anyone?

Charlie

Bobnob · 8th October 2007, 20:49

well done CT and the team , tell me the number of 7L hang off you for this one CT,

your old dive bud ,

Depth-junkie · 8th October 2007, 22:26

Well done Charlie and John, glad all went well lads. You deffo had the weather with you, who would have thought after the crap summer we have had that october would see perfect dive weather window for you.

Just out of curisosity what setpoints did you run for the bottom phase and then deco/did you flush gas etc to bring deco times down??

Its just the RT's are quite aggresive for sub 100m dives. My deco shedule for the BT's and depths you ran would have been more around the 4.85 hour mark or just shy of 5hrs.

Next time we meet up you can tell me all about it.

Well done

ATB
Gareth

***schford*** · 9th October 2007, 08:36

Great write up and sounds like a fantastic trip - nice one!

CharlieT · 9th October 2007, 10:28

Thanks, Stuart.

Here is a little history for those interested

On 19th May 1922, Egypt left the port of Tilbury, England for Bombay, India. Three days into the journey and some 25 miles off the Isle d'Ushant, north-west France she encountered thick fog and had to proceed at a very slow speed.

At 7pm, and still in thick fog, Egypt was rammed by a French cargo ship "Seine" which unfortunately had strenghened bows. 20 minutes later Egypt sank in 125m/406 ft of water.

However Egypt had been carrying 10 tons of silver and 5 tons of gold plus a large number of gold sovereigns. A successful salvage operation was undertaken between 1930-1932 and virtually all of its precious cargo was recovered!

The wreck was originally explored by the Starfish Enterprise dive team in 2001 led by Chris Hutchinson using expedition vessel "Loyal Watcher".

Very few divers have dived the wreck since then.

***Decodiver*** · 9th October 2007, 11:49

Well done guys it would seem the weather was in your favour, not evident these days.

Anybody get any photos/video?

Once again well done.

Cheers,

Dave Cooper.

CharlieT · 9th October 2007, 11:58

Quote: (Originally Posted by Decodiver)

Well done guys it would seem the weather was in your favour, not evident these days.

Anybody get any photos/video?

Once again well done.

Cheers,

Dave Cooper.

Sorry, Dave, best we could do was to muster one scooter!

No one had a camera capable of the depth and we all know what happens to camera systems that go too deep!

The weather was certainly on our side.

jean-marc · 9th October 2007, 14:50

Congratulations for these difficult dives.
Any gold found ?

Rich Lock · 9th October 2007, 16:21

We also managed to locate 3 good pubs/bars on Ushant as well as some excelent moules and frits!!!

Jokeing aside it was an excelent weeks diving and was only made possible by all the divers working as a team and taking turns in support duties!

It was just a shame we could not stay longer!!

Rich Lock

johanvanlyl · 10th October 2007, 20:47

Charlie,

congratulations on my behalf and, as said before, i do feel quite small and humble when reading this trip report. Still have a looooong way to go...

johan

8th October 2007, 18:07	#1 (permalink)
CharlieT Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London Posts: 449	R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition It felt very brave to put my name down for this trip a year ago. I was very safe, then. Was I foolish, was I just adventurous? My deepest dive then was the Flying Enterprise off Plymouth, Devon, UK in 85m. Clearly I and everyone else on this trip had some "diving up" to do. Luckily, we got in enough deeper diving to feel ready by 1st October when it was time for expedition liveaboard "Loyal Watcher" to leave Plymouth at 6am for a shakedown dive on the Flying Enterprise in 85m. Our dives went well but the vis was disapointing compared to my last visit, about 10m when we had 25m last October. My own dive started eventfully with the battery alarm going as soon as I switched my Vision on I had only 6 hrs, 20 mins on my timer, why did I need a new battery? I use Fujitsus, what is the latest software doing to the batteries? Anyway, much scrabbling around stripping down my unit led to a new battery going in and the dive was fine, apart from the brief encounter with some monofilament line. Monday night saw Loyal Watcher anchored off Isle d'Ushant in a calm bay with a 5am start planned for the next day. My cabin felt as if it had been moved to the engine room when the engines started up at 5am and I didn't get much sleep before getting up at 7am for breakfast. The forecast for the week was excellent and Loyal Watcher, skippered by Darren, headed towards RMS Egypt at a stately 9 knots. Divers checked and rechecked their kit while expedition leader, Rich Lock, sorted out who was diving that day. Although we arrived on site nice and early, it wasn't nice and early enough Tides above the Egypt appeared to bear no relation to the information in the tide book. Our first divers had to abandon their dive at 110m not having seen the wreck. The current was bad enough that by the time they got back up to 60m they could no longer hold onto the shotline. Two DSMB's came up and my buddy and I knew we weren't diving which felt kinda frustrating as we were sitting on our bench with all this kit on. Happy days Loyal Watcher stayed on site and Jon, Simon and myself dived at 3pm. Below 50m we encountered more current which made the bottom part of the descent hard work so I was glad to arrive on the seabed adjacent to the wreck in 121m so I could have a rest The shot was in the stern area and everywhere I looked there were conger eels, some massive. We had good vis, about 15m/50ft but precious little time to enloy it all. Our slower than planned descent had robbed us of some of our on the wreck time. As we neared the shotline this huge conger advanced towards us and you've never seen two divers move out of the way so quickly. At 50m, we met Paul who was on deep safety duty and collected our tags. The increasingly slow ascent went on and until eventually we made our way up to the deco bar at 6m having dodged the beautiful but stinging long tentacles that floated towards us in the current on the way up. Bottom temp was about 14c and we welcolmed the additional warmth of 17c at the shallower deco stops. At 18m we met the first of our shallow safety divers and then Leigh the 6m safety diver splashed in to stay with us until the last diver had completed their decompression. My buddy, Jon, and I did 21 mins BT, 121m and a runtime of 3.5 hrs Simon something similar. Day 2 above the Egypt saw us switch to safety duties. Others had equally good dives on the Egypt with calm seas and sun all day after the early morning sea mist had burnt off. Back on Loyal Watcher, Linda was preparing three meals a day to feed 8 hungry divers, Darren and Gordon who was acting as boat safety cover and general crewman. Day 3 saw us dive again with a quicker descent this time which gave us 15 mins on the Egypt diving around the bow section. Hovering in front of the bow at 115m was awesome. Vis about 10-15m on our 2nd dive with 23 mins BT, 3.75 hrs runtime. Day 4 roles were swiched around but two divers managed to sqeeze in 3 dives on the bottom in four days! Rich worked hard at filling O2 and Diluent cylinders with divers typically using 7/67 as diluent. Simon saw more of the wreck than anyone else as he brought his scooter with him, lucky sod We left Isle d'Ushant at 4am on Saturday morning to make our way at that stately 9 knots towards our last dive of the trip, an unknown mark in a shallow 105m. By this time, 105m felt like a stroll in the park It turned out to be a small freighter but I thought it was a charming dive. We had a fabulous week with blessed weather conditions. There were no equipment or other diver problems which is always a relief for everyone. We had 5 Visions, 2 Classic Inspirations and a Meg. All worked perfectly. I would like to thank Rich Lock who organised the trip so well, Darren and Linda for their hard work as the couple who own Loyal Watcher and Gordon for helping generally. Carpathia, anyone? Charlie Last edited by CharlieT : 9th October 2007 at 13:53.
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8th October 2007, 20:49	#2 (permalink)
Bobnob Sock Puppet banned - gobfish1 back Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Inspiration Vision Evolution Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: south of north Posts: 30	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition well done CT and the team , tell me the number of 7L hang off you for this one CT, your old dive bud ,
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8th October 2007, 22:26	#3 (permalink)
Depth-junkie 10/52 Psycho Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Wrexham Posts: 298	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition Well done Charlie and John, glad all went well lads. You deffo had the weather with you, who would have thought after the crap summer we have had that october would see perfect dive weather window for you. Just out of curisosity what setpoints did you run for the bottom phase and then deco/did you flush gas etc to bring deco times down?? Its just the RT's are quite aggresive for sub 100m dives. My deco shedule for the BT's and depths you ran would have been more around the 4.85 hour mark or just shy of 5hrs. Next time we meet up you can tell me all about it. Well done ATB Gareth Last edited by Depth-junkie : 8th October 2007 at 22:30.
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9th October 2007, 08:36	#4 (permalink)
*schford* RBW Founder Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: UK Posts: 3,564	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition Great write up and sounds like a fantastic trip - nice one! __________________ Bailout and Kit Management account for Murphy's Law The only bad question is one you did not ask and later wish you had. Use of RBW is subject to the Rebreather World Terms & Conditions of Use
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9th October 2007, 10:28	#5 (permalink)
CharlieT Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London Posts: 449	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition Thanks, Stuart. Here is a little history for those interested On 19th May 1922, Egypt left the port of Tilbury, England for Bombay, India. Three days into the journey and some 25 miles off the Isle d'Ushant, north-west France she encountered thick fog and had to proceed at a very slow speed. At 7pm, and still in thick fog, Egypt was rammed by a French cargo ship "Seine" which unfortunately had strenghened bows. 20 minutes later Egypt sank in 125m/406 ft of water. However Egypt had been carrying 10 tons of silver and 5 tons of gold plus a large number of gold sovereigns. A successful salvage operation was undertaken between 1930-1932 and virtually all of its precious cargo was recovered! The wreck was originally explored by the Starfish Enterprise dive team in 2001 led by Chris Hutchinson using expedition vessel "Loyal Watcher". Very few divers have dived the wreck since then.
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9th October 2007, 11:49	#6 (permalink)
*Decodiver* Administrator Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Other CCR Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Geneva Posts: 2,194	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition Well done guys it would seem the weather was in your favour, not evident these days. Anybody get any photos/video? Once again well done. Cheers, Dave Cooper. __________________ CCR/OC Trimix Instructor Trainer CCR Training to Mixed Gas in Switzerland, France, UK & Germany on Megalodon/COPIS-Megalodon/KISS/Sport KISS/Ouroboros/rEvo/Inspiration/Evolution/Sentinel www.zerogravitydiving.com Rebreather World Terms & Conditions
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9th October 2007, 11:58	#7 (permalink)
CharlieT Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London Posts: 449	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition Quote: (Originally Posted by Decodiver) Well done guys it would seem the weather was in your favour, not evident these days. Anybody get any photos/video? Once again well done. Cheers, Dave Cooper. Sorry, Dave, best we could do was to muster one scooter! No one had a camera capable of the depth and we all know what happens to camera systems that go too deep! The weather was certainly on our side.
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9th October 2007, 14:50	#8 (permalink)
jean-marc not so new anymore Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Inspiration Vision Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montpellier - France Posts: 67	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition Congratulations for these difficult dives. Any gold found ?
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9th October 2007, 16:21	#9 (permalink)
Rich Lock New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Evolution Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Plymouth Posts: 8	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition We also managed to locate 3 good pubs/bars on Ushant as well as some excelent moules and frits!!! Jokeing aside it was an excelent weeks diving and was only made possible by all the divers working as a team and taking turns in support duties! It was just a shame we could not stay longer!! Rich Lock
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10th October 2007, 20:47	#10 (permalink)
johanvanlyl New Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 44	Re: R M S Egypt 2007 Expedition Charlie, congratulations on my behalf and, as said before, i do feel quite small and humble when reading this trip report. Still have a looooong way to go... johan
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