Kiama Dive

Today we decided to take BWAC 1 for a bit of spin out of Terrigal. The dive site today was to be “diver’s choice” 

Today saw Spiro, Arthur, Charlie, Mr Knox, Dave Brewster, Grant (sick) and Paul Minahan gather at Terrigal haven at sparrows fart. After a rough and tumble night of storms up and down the coast, we were relieved to find that the sea was dead calm. We geared up in the middle of a mild shower. 

We had considered diving the wreck of the Nerong today, due to the need to have perfect weather and a full boat – a rare privilege today in that we had both of these – to do such a long distance dive that would incur a bit of travel time, time which some people couldn’t afford due to family commitments, which is fair enough. 

With this in mind we then decided that a jaunt to the wreck of the Kiama would be the go. Sadly Grant was struck out due to a sudden case of nausea (we think he’s pregnant!) and Paul decided to can the dive due to Steve Knox arriving twenty minutes late, and this interfering with his busy schedule for the weekend. Poor Steve had been battling a flooding garage half the night but after over sleeping had still made it  

So, undeterred we loaded and motored north to the wreck of the Kiama! A crash course in “GST” (GPS) usage for Arthur our skipper made finding our wreck a little slower than usual, but the main thing is that we DID find it. Steve down first to confirm the mark and before long we were all beginning our descents. 

With hardly a breath of current the first 10 metres was a little murky with brown particulate, but on reaching the bottom (46mtrs) we found a smashing 10-15 metre Visibility! 

Recent ocean currents have blasted a fair bit of sand from this wreck, exposing all kinds of metal bits! Using some imagination it is possible to work out what some things once were. 

We were serenaded today with the loudest and most frequent whale songs I have ever heard and a short decompression and we were all back aboard BWAC 1 and heading back in to shore. 

There is a new coffee shop located above the footy field where there are also a good set of amenities. The coffee shop has some really great coffee and some really good food at a fair price.

Sorry Hammo, No Macca’s for us today!

 It was an exceptional day on the water for us that went and for me a great opportunity to meet Dave Brewster outside of a club meeting. For us that did not go, I think that a bit more patience needs to be considered towards your fellow club members, It’s never a good idea to have plans for immediately after a boat dive, as any slight hiccup (guaranteed it will happen) will most likely cause you to be late!

 Here is a little history on the wreck…

 The SS Kiama was a 446 ton, wooden steamer collier that steamed down the NSW coast on its regular journey between Newcastle and Sydney. The fate of the SS Kiama was sealed in 1951 when she was caught in a storm off the Entrance bommies.

She was a well known traveller along the Central Coast with a few of the ship’s crew being residents of the Central Coast.

The SS Kiama may not have been the prettiest of colliers but, as a workhorse plying her trade almost by clockwork along the coast, she was very profitable and reliable for her owners.

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