- 1952 Flying Enterprise 2002 -

The Dive

Dansk Deutsch

By: Christian Sloth, lead trimix diver   After preparations lasting months and weeks, the Danish group of divers arrived  in Plymouth on the 1st of July 2002 with a truckload of diving and camera equipment. We got our selves arranged on board Deep Blue Diving’s Loyal Watcher and started to wait for weather conditions suitable enough to allow us to start the dives on the Flying Enterprise. Unfortunately this took us took four days in Plymouth Harbour doing nothing but preparing for a dive back in history. On the 4th of July the sea had finally calmed down enough to let us make the trip to the wreck 50 miles of the coast.   After localising the wreck on the sonar a shot was put in what was believed to be the bow. According to our information the wreck was supposed to lie on the port side. The heavy seas made it impossible to anchor the Loyal Watcher directly in the wreck so we was to dive the wreck by the shot line.

We dove the wreck with twin 15 liter bottom gas tanks and two 7 liter stage tanks for the EAN32 and EAN80. After kitting up we jumped in the water in pairs and made our way to the boy. The descent lasted us just around three minutes and we arrived on the gunwale in what we believed was the bow, but turned out to be the stern. The depth was 76 meter and after orienting our selves we continued the descent about four meters enabling us to have a look inside the stern cargo hulls, which still contained a load of cement sacks which once had been part of the cargo. We continued towards the wheel house along the deck.

The superstructure of the wreck is still relatively intact, considering the 50 years at the bottom of the English channel and we where able to have a look inside the different compartments. We continued along the bottom to the front of the superstructure to see if we could find either the wheel, the compass or the engine-room telegraph on the seabed. We found the steering wheel just below the position where the wheel house once had been. After filming this and the remains of the superstructure the time was almost up and we started the ascent to the gunwale and started to head back towards the shot-line. We just had time enough to have a short look at the large propel before we started the ascent.

nolimitsdiving (c) 2002

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