21 SEPTEMBER 2001

With dawn breaking we had reached the dive site for HMS Repulse. Another dive boat was on site and we should have cottoned about the feared currents when its divers started kitting up at 0730hrs.

Further problems with shots and anchor lines ensued. Davy was unable to tie the heavy shot line into the wreck as the current was starting to pick up. A shot was dropped into the wreck and 100m of line arched up from 55m. The first divers scootered down the line and the next wave followed closely swimming and pulling for all they were worth. Stu, Paul and Martin made the bottom first on scooters and made their way from mid-ships all the way to the props (or at least the two that had not been removed) scootering back along the port side. Doc Adey and Greg made their way to the bridge section. All found their way back up the shot line which now had the deco station attached. With all of them back on board the anchor was dropped. A huge mass of chain formed into a knot and jumped off of the winch. The boat then drifted backwards with the tide and the anchor was dragged into the wreck. The crew struggled with the winch and finally got the chain back on the drum.

The final four divers decided to wait and see if the current would drop. Scooter batteries were recharged but there was no sign of the current dropping. Finally at 1400hrs it was decided to go! Dan managed to scooter forward riding the mother of all zepps but every one else had to haul themselves along the rope to the anchor chain, the smaller zepps proving unable to cope with the raging current. There then followed a grim four-minute descent hauling down the chain hand over hand. Regs chattered in the current and there was more than the odd 'wet breath' before Dave, Guy and then Rod finally reached the hull of the Repulse at 35m.

Guy and Rod headed forward taking in the magnificent foredeck main guns. B Turret's massive twin 14 inch guns still pointed majestically out to sea, from beneath the upturned hull. The guns on A Turret sat buried in the sand.

Moving further forward they came to the bow, the flagstaff still stood in place pointing down into the sand. A scour ran under the port side and a chink of light could be seen all the way along the lower side of the foredeck. Conscious of the current running around the bow the pair headed back towards the guns. As Rod searched around below the foredeck there was the distinct bang of a low-pressure hose blowing. Guy, nearby, looked round to see Rod in a sea of bubbles. Both zepped towards each other desperate to resolve the problem. Guy could see the blown hose on Rod's bottom tanks and turned off the pillar valve. In less than 30 seconds Rod's bottom mix in his back mounted twin set had almost disappeared. Each diver gave the signal to go up and the pair returned to the anchor chain nearby and ascended.

At 30m Rod switched back onto travel gas and there was a look of relief on his face as the gas came through. Slowly they ascended reworking decompression profiles. Back on board disaster struck again as one of the crew knocked Guy's dive light over the side. Guy then dropped a Zepp on his big toe and his vital laptop crashed when onboard power went down. Quite a day!!

Meantime Dan & Dave Taylor had headed off along the keel to the stern. On their way they passed two torpedo impacts on the port side before arriving at the stern. Here, although they found that both port side props were still in place they discovered that both starboard side props were missing. The shafts appeared to have been cut through professionally with explosives just forward of the P brackets with the props themselves and shaft sections being removed.

Dropping onto the seabed on the main deck they moved aft past the rear twin 14 inch gun turret, the main superstructure, the funnels long gone and finally to the bridge superstructure and tripod mast. Heavily encrusted pom poms guns still sat in place in their rotating turrets. Just before it was time to brave the full force of the 2 knot current on the ascent Dan got stung quite badly on his face by a jelly fish. Quite a day indeed.

For all the problems however the team had had a very good initial look at the condition of the wreck and already it's layout was well understood.