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Dive Report: 13/04/98

S.S. Kelloe - Off Little Bay, Sydney


25 mins at 51m and 65min run time using Heliox and setpoint of 1. Divers: Scott Leimroth, Rod Nairne , Suzie Dudas.

Rod and Suzie had arrived in Sydney over the weekend and after assembling the breathers yesterday and taking them on a shore diive for check out we were ready to dive.

The first ten minutes of the dive was great with just the three RB's. While there was a slight current runnung across the stern of the wreck the visibility towards the bow was excellent. The Kelloe consists of a large boiler and collapsed engine in the middle of the wreck. The boiler rods are neatly stacked beside it from a past salvage attempt. The remaiinder of the wreck is totally collapsed in outline around the boiler and engine. We explored the stern section and found a cache of broken dinner plates. At the end of the wreck lay the broken propshaft, the blades broken from the prop and the outline of the collapsed rudder visible in the wreckage. I suddenly noticed a bubbling noise and considered there might be a problem with my breather. Seconds later I noticed the other open circuit divers had arrived, it was only their noisy bubbling.

We worked our way around the starboard stern to the boiler amidships where I found what looks like a guage buried in the wreckage. I dug around for a while then swam towards the bow. I swam above the wreck and in the 20m plus visibility I took in the sight below. On heliox with no narcosis this was great and I got a clear picture of the layout with the winch and anchors at the bow.

I swam along the port side then out off the wreck over sand and reef until I hit a small reef wall. There was scattered wreckage out here and I considered that if I was narced at all I would certainly not be this far out of view of the wreck at this point in the dive . I looked at the bits of wreckage on the reef then made my way back to the wreck. I linked up wth Rod and Suzie again and at 25 mins signalled I was ascending.

The deco was easy and uneventfull in the clear water except for one of the OC divers who had a severed inflator hose and had ran out of gas and had to use the hooka lines running from the boat.

Ask the A.A.R.G.