Last Newfoundland Dives

ByKim Malkoski

8-5-11

Me, looking down on the wreck from above! (c)Rick Stanley, Ocean Quest, Newfoundland

DIVE DAY! It’s my last dive day in Newfoundland, and I’m psyched!! Now that I am officially an advanced diver, I get to dive on the Rose Castle, the deepest of all the Bell Island wrecks! Her decks rest around 90-100ft down, and her hull sits at about 150ft. Descending down the rope I definitely noticed it took a bit longer before an outline began to appear out of the depths. But, when it did, boy was it worth it! If I though the other ships were “flowering” with life, this wreck was a garden on steroids!

Me, on the outside of the wreck, looking at the walkways! (c)Rick Stanley, Ocean Quest, Newfoundland

I found anemones, jellyfish, sea stars, urchins, crabs, fish, soft corals, and more! But, I have to say, the coolest thing about this wreck are her ropes. The S.S. Rose Castle sank in 1942, and her ropes are STILL in-tact! There is still a Marconi radio room in-tact, complete with dials, and bench! THAT was something worth seeing. Her upper decks were also incredible; some of the cargo holds still had the hatch covers on them! It’s all because of the water temperature. Down there it’s about 32-34F, the perfect temperature for preserving ships. And, seriously, after a little while, you can’t even feel the cold anymore…. 😉

Me, checking out the amunition box on the deck of the PLM 27! (c)Rick Stanley, Ocean Quest, Newfoundland

Rick had his video camera with him again, so we got some more fantastic footage! I was actually able to swim right along the walkways, and even over and through some of them. It was bloody brilliant! Sadly the time came for us to head back up to the boat. But, I was still excited because that was only our first dive of the day! Our next stop was going to be the fourth, and final Bell Island Shipwreck; the Lord Strathacona. Unfortunately the weather was not on my side, so we were not able to dive her today. On the positive end, we were able to dive the PLM 27 again (another magnificent dive), and now I have the perfect excuse to come back! 😀

Similar Posts

  • The Ghost Gear Project

    ByKim Malkoski

    6/21/11 “Ghost Gear Project,” what does that make you think of? It made me think of people buying gear to make themselves look like ghosts….riiiiight..cause THAT happens in the middle of June. (I obviously had the WRONG idea). Today I met Vin Malkoski, along with Derrick, Steve, and Mike, at the Sandwich Marina in the…

  • Panama, Day 3

    ByDaniel Turner

    Our third day in the Republic of Panama started with a bit of a setback, as, due to strong currents that morning, we were unable to dive the 18th century Spanish tall ship wreck that we’d planned on. However, we still had a good reef and drift dive in the current, and I started to…

  • The Rose Castle

    ByJake Stout

    By far the most eerie and most beautiful of the wrecks was the Rose Castle. It lies at about 100 FSW and totally adorned by soft corals. Because the Rose Castle is so deep icebergs don’t hit it and it’s mostly intact. You can even look inside the control room and see an old marconi…