My first diving trip abroad was the awesome wreck Zenobia. Which sank on it maiden voyage in 1980 just of the coast of Larnaca in Cyprus. The ship sank with more than 100 lorries on board and lies between 16 and 40 metres down on it’s port side. There are a number of dive operations based close to where this magnificent ship sank. My buddy and I used the services of Dive-In Larnaca after meeting up with “Big Chris” at the dive show in London.

We were collected from the airport and after dropping our kit off in the wet store we settled into the hotel.  Since the flight was a through the night we had arrived early in the morning so a hearty breakfast in Larnaca was next followed by an afternoon sleep.

Day one started out by preparing kit and then directly into a checkout dive. My dive configuration was almost identical to what I dived at home so putting my kit together was quite straight forward. My buddy was diving a twinset so we needed to get this built up.

The first dive of the day was a guided checkout dive with strict instructions on depth (staying above 30 metres) and NO deco ! We dropped down to the wreck

approximate depth 22 metres and after confirming all was okay proceeded for a guided tour around the outside of the wreck. As the water was so clear in the areas where we were swiming over 40 metre depths. It was necessary to run from the computer to gauge depth – a weird feeling. The dive went without hitches and after a 5 mins stop on the trapeeze we assended to the surface.

Dive two also guided had a maxmum depth of 25 metres. On this dive we entered the wreck through the “letter box” into the upper car deck. Exiting through the vehicle entry door with the “bone lorry” below us. We then proceeded through the wreck back through the lounge and back out at the bow. The assended to the trappeez for the 5 mins safety stop.

My plans whilst visiting the Zenoba was to get certified with my PADI Deep spec which would allow me to visit the lower parts of the wreck and still remain insured. So the next three dives for me were away from my buddy as I completed the training dives necessary to achieve this certification. It was after dive three that the instructor I was with mentioned that my using on a single 15 litre cylinder was limiting the dive time could spend at these depths. My buddy pointed out that I should twin up and see what all the fun is about.

For this reason I agreed to complete “TDI Advanced Nitrox” course which consisted of an exam and three training dives to teach me how to drive the twinset. I can say this is one of the most exciting courses I have completed parts that specifically stick in my mind are maintaining depth with eyes closed for 1 minute. Sounds easy but if you can imagine you are floating at 25 metres in 40 metres of water. You have not sense of depth or orientation and you have your eyes closed. Spooky!

The final dive was a fun dive with me sporting the twinset I had trained in. We took the camera and filmed the whole thing (I will upload the film once I have edited it).

Day six (day before we fly home) was a dry day – it is important to have at least 24 hours off gassing before the flight home.  We had spotted the submarine being advertised so we booked on to have a look at the wreck from a non-divers perspective.

An excellent and memorable week a big thanks to all at Dive In Larnaca:

Big Chris
Mick Lucy
Little Chris

(A quick note: the reason we only have pictures from the last dive is that I was training on all almost all the others … this will not happen next time).