Special shipwreck diving day trip

When the weather conditions are particularly good and we have enough divers interested we organize a special shipwreck diving day trip. The 2 dives take place on the wreckage of a cargo ship and a steamboat near a small island off the coast of northern Crete.

The Cargo Shipwreck, depending on the weather conditions, is 30 to 40 minutes away from our dive center by boat. Our boat anchors inside a small bay, in 20 meters depth.

We start our dive from 5 meters where we can find the first smaller parts of the cargo ship, which is broken in half. We then descend directly to 22 meters where a big portion of the hall of the ship creates an approximately 15 meter long swim through. After passing underneath the big metal panel we can see the rear end of the ship lying at the depth of 37 meters.

The ship sits on its left side and comes up to 27 meters. This part is approximately 30 meters long and it is almost intact, meaning that most of its mechanical components like a crane, most of the bridge and a siren/bell, and even some glass windows are still there. Unfortunately there is no access to the inside of the ship but most of the functional part of it is still visible from the outside.

After spending a few minutes at the wreck we move towards the reef, where we stay between 10 and 14 meters while swimming back to our boat. On this shallower side of the reef we meet many broken pieces of the ship and its equipment, as well as one of the big cleats which was used for docking the ship.

From that point we ascent at 5 meters depth, where we do our safety stop, before we reach again the surface. At this dive site we usually encounter big groupers, large schools of sardines, seabreams and damselfish, and a few different kinds of nudibranchs.

The Steamboat Shipwreck is 20 minutes away from the Cargo Shipwreck and is located in a beautiful bay with crystal clear water, with visibility up to 40 meters. The reef starts at 5 meters where it forms a big plateau and with sides sloping down to the depth of 20 meters on the west side and 50 on the east.

The steam boat is located on the west side of the reef, starts at 10 meters and gradually goes down to 19. It is approximately 5-6 meters wide and 25 meters long. This ship was made of wood, but since it is more than 130 years old, we can only see its metal frame, the front part where the coal engine used to be and a metal ladder, which lets us imagine its former shape and beauty. Around the wreck we can still find many pieces of coal, and on the framework we usually find plenty of nudibranchs and some octopuses and bigger fish.

After the wreck we move along to see the rest of the beautiful reef, at depths between 18 and 12 meters. This part of the reef hosts some very big sponges, groupers, moray eels and larger schools of fish. Also on this particular part of the island lives the big synaptid sea cucumber (Family Synaptidae), which we can see on shallower water and they can be as long as 50 centimeters. Heading eastward over the reef we can also see many broken pieces of ancient potteries. The safety stop starts at the top of the steep slope which goes down to 50 meters, creating a beautiful scenery, and we end our dive in the beautiful turquoise water of the shallow bay.

In order to do this day trip, we need good sea conditions and a minimum number of 6 divers.
The meeting time at the dive center for this trip is at about 09:00 and returning time to the dive center is at about 16:00. There is an additional cost of 50€ per person on this day trip and it includes water, refreshments and fruits but no meal. Divers may use the boat’s mini fridge and cabin to store any extra food and beverages they might wish to bring with them on the trip.

Please find more information about our programs for certified divers and make a reservation here.

* our diving locations: El Greco Cave – El Greco Reef – Stavros Cape – Dia’s Rock – Neptune’s Rock – Mononaftis – Lygaria – Big Anchor – Blue Cave – Daedalos – Shipwrecks – Messerschmitt Wreck – Dia Island