LERMONTOV "RUSTY RUSKY" Tour NOV 2006

Well another fantastic trip on one of the worlds best wreck dives. As per usual we had a great group of madd divers!! There were 16 people 10 of which came on the last trip last year. So GREAT to see and dive with some of the old faces but also great to see some new people getting a bit of "Lust for Rust"!!!!

I have written a few thoughts of what I got out of the trip and no doubt I will get a few musings from the other wreckies who came on the trip. Keep an eye out on this site as I am sure it will be updated often.

BUT FIRST!! NEXT years trip!!!! Again I have booked the boat so this time if you are interested in coming GET OFF YOUR BUTT and book onto the trip. I will also be double running the trip so when I full the first one I will move onto the second dates. Check out this link for more info on next years trip

2006 Lermi trip by Pete Mesley

Well theres nothing like having a few heart wrenchers before a trip and my one this year was waiting for my new upgraded inspo. I had been waiting for yonks for this baby to come and finally it came (even with a few days to spare) so I was all cooked and ready for some action!

The two weeks building up for the trip I landed a job doing some safety work and it was working nights so I was pulling 6pm to 6am. So you could imagine how my head was feeling having to sleep during the day when my body wanted to sleep the whole night before!! I gave Andrew and Anna a lift down in the commodore and techo trailer. After leaving a little later than anticipated (Andrew was blaming Anna and vice versa!!) we headed for Taupo where we started making it customary to travel to stay at Marcia's batch for the night then head out to Wellington in the morning. This breaks the trip up a lot and makes it more bearable. We all went to bed, a few trees were cut down bt some really loud snorers and before we all knew it it was morning.

Get to Wellington, loaded up the Trolly Dollys for the ferry. (Three of them and they were chocka !!!!) We did a little add up at the money that was being wheeled away by the ferry guy. Lets say you could buy a small continent with the proceeds!! 2pm ferry was late so that gave me time to get some beer and batteries. Got back and sat in the ferry terminal and caught up with Mischa Temple who came over from Ozz. Got the call and we headed out for the loading bay. Andrew was in toe when he was stopped by the ticket man. "Cant take that piss on the boat Bro" pointing to a 6 pack of stellas. Andrew said "no worries mate" in his broken pommy accent. Came back a few seconds later and met up with us in the lounge. We had all thought the beers were confiscated but Andrew had cunningly hidden them in his socks, pockets - you name it. Thankfully I got one relatively recently so it was still cold. But there was rumor of a few pints at 36.9degrees!!!!!

We get to Picton, after a 200day old mouldy pie and a few stellas and loaded up the Affinity. It was good to be back on the vessel. Natasha met us on the ramp that flew in from Auckland ( us pov working class folk had to drive!!) Mark Gibbo was also there in force and it didnt take us long to set sail. Hit the sounds and anchored in deep cove for the night. In the morning we headed for Gore - where our Ruskie was lying in wait.

This time was even more exciting than the other 8 trips for me, not only did I have my new unit but also Mark and I had spent manies an hour talking to eachother planning (scheming) what and where we were going to dive). tanks filled, teams chosen, we were off!!

First thing I noticed was that I could see the bloody wreck from the surface. Viz was 10-15m easy! Choice!!! First dive Mark and I decided to ease into it with a trip to the Sadko bar. This was a big dive where we had to descend down the lobby, through the duty free shop door, all the way to the back of the shop, up over and into the sadko bar . It took  a little time to reorientate ourselves and we both gave a little chuckle when we swam right past the winter garden opening, Oh Oh!!! Doubled back and found it! Phew that wouldnt have looked too good if we couldnt even find the entrance! Anyway we were off. The wreck viz was great as usual inside and the ambient light was at its best. We dropped into the Lobby and squeezed through the door. Going into the duty free is a dark and unforgiving place. we swam to the door way and I dropped into the bar area.

Here are some pickees of the trip.

Mischa (aka Darth!!) getting ready for a dive. It was Mischas second trop from Ozz and came on the expedition last year ( what a sucker for punishment!!)

Andrew getting ready for a dive

Techo Chicks!!!!! Marcia and Anna getting right into the swing of things on the lermi

thank god there were a few breathers on board ( 5 again) thus making life a little bit easier for the filling. Here Andrew doing some blending!

Mark Gibbo Team fourth element south island division!! 

Mischa and Andrew gearing up, Ian Swanee with his new "you beaut" www.Drysuitsdirect.net  drysuit. Henry ford colours, Gibbo and Dave Young

 A rare shot of "Divethelermontov" in action

Make sure that if you want to be in on the adventure of this world class wreck site then we are heading out same time next year.

The Marlborough sounds.... what a great place....... Sunny all the time.........

On the ferry Marcia dreaming about the Rusty Rusky, Scott - GET OFF THAT BLOODY PHONE!!!!!, Brian having a quiet beer

Andrew caught in the kitchen to the disbelief of everyone on board!!

Be still my beating heart!!! 1/4 of NZ's breather divers on one boat!!!!!!

Pete (with hood wrong way round - eh heh hem), Christian and Dave

The four Amigos!!! Pete, Dave, Christian and Greg. Andrew and Anna - Ahhhh nice to be young and in love.......

Shit this could make a GREAT wreck !!!! SINK damn you SINK.......... Andrew and Scott toasting "heres to a great trip!!!!!!" Marcia - after

Andrews first trip on the wreck - hence bringing up all the useless shit!!!!!! Pete -  "I'm sure I can fit just one more torch on my head"!!!!

Mischa (Ozzi  contingent!!) OY OY OY OY     Xavier - ONLY wetsuit diver onboard bless his heart!!!!!, Brian now that was a great Sh**t

Ahhhhhhhh Mark showing Pete how to fix a busted wrist seal - Weekend savior.        Dave - ehhhh wheres the pisser? 

Trip Report  Mikhail Lermontov 12^th – 14^th November 2005

By Martin Tozer.  ( Ozzi contingent!!)

 After reading Peter Mesley’s post on Dive Oz, a couple of quick emails and phone calls and the trip was organized. Myself, Richard and Mischa, were to join a group of Kiwi divers on a 4 day live aboard in the Marlborough sounds off the north east end of the South Island of New Zealand.

 The objective was to dive the Mikhail Lermontov the 10,700 tonne Russian Cruise Liner. The Lermontov was sunk in an accident in 1986 when under control of a New Zealand Pilot. Further details on the sinking are detailed at www.nzmaritime.co.nz/lermontov.htm

 We all met up at the port of Picton to board the Affinity, our home for the next 4 days. The Affinity is a well appointed live aboard that can easily sleep 16. A large rear deck area for kitting up and twin compressors. More details are at www.affinitycruises.co.nz. After introductions and loading of 6 Rebreathers (inspo’s), 6 sets of twins plus numerous single, stage, pony bottles and 3 G cylinders of O2 we were off and sailing by about 5.30pm.

 The first night we dropped anchor at Cook cove, about half way to our destination. Setting sail early the next morning we were soon on the wreck and getting geared up to get under water. The Aussies were the last in as we spent some time rigging our kit with the new twin 100cuft tanks Pete had organized for us. The maximum depth was 37m so we decided to keep things simple and run a 32% mix on all dives.

 The first dive was an orientation tour to familarise ourselves with the wrecks layout. Due to its size it will take several dives to get this wreck figured out. We descended the mooring line to the Lermontovs hull at 12m. Even with only 10m vis the wreck appears absolutely huge. The ship lies on its starboard side with the bow pointing towards the South East shore. White paint is still clearly visible on the hull and has a light covering of marine growth. Glass on many of the lower deck portholes is still intact and you can peer into some of the rooms. However you can’t make out a lot of detail in there. Swinmming forward across the hull we moved out to the upper levels. Peering in at the Nevsky bar where the semi circular lounge chairs are arranged along the port side. The Bar is intact and there are tables and chairs still arranged around the floor. We waited a short while but no one came to serve us so we moved on. The Nevsky bar become an important orientation point for me as it was near the mooring line and you quickly identify it by the semi circular lounge chairs that can be seen from outside. The Bolshoi Ball room was next and this is just forward of the Nevsky bar. We entered through one of the large windows on the port side. All the glass has been removed so access is quite straight forward. This would be one of the biggest rooms on the ship and many of the small round tables are still all neatly arranged around the floor as they were prior to sinking. Anything loose has collapsed down to the bottom and lies in a tangled heap at about 34M. Due to the large windows, which ran all along the length of the port side of the ball room, the area has abundant natural light streaming in. We stayed fairly close to Port wall we moved forward. Exiting out of the front windows we then entered the bridge from the bottom (starboard). This is also an easily accessible room and is a great area to explore. The ships main control panels are still intact with various switch panels and other controls. I saw what may have been the binnacle but cant be sure as it was covered in marine growth. The Compass and other main instruments have been removed. There are metal plates with Russian writing on them that describe the function of some of the equipment. In the bridge you can look forward through the main windows as the Captain and Pilot would have done on that fateful day. What were they thinking? (or drinking). We exit the bridge and make our ascent on the mooring line for a great first dive.

 A quick bite for lunch and we started preparing for our second dive. As we were filing our tanks the wind started to pick up and was gusting over 20 knots. Suddenly our mooring line parted and the Affinity was adrift. We had 4 divers on the wreck and 3 descending the line when it let go. The mooring was attached to an anchor chain from the Lermontov. When it broke the chain crashed down into the wreck narrowly missing Andrew and Scott who were about to ascend. We recovered the first 3 divers and then moved off to a second shot line where the other 4 divers were waiting patiently Soon there after the mooring line was replaced using one of Affinity’s ropes and we were back in action.

 The second dive was off the stern and the vis had dropped to about 5m. This section has a lot more marine growth than other areas and I think that’s mainly due to the ships structure having more anchor points for the growth to attach, as opposed to the sheer wall of the hull and other areas. We entered the swimming pool, which is still intact and covered by a large glass house. The blue tiles of the pool can be clearly seen as well as the swimming lanes marked by white tiles. Neptune’s bar is at the end of the pool with the bar structure easily visible. We exited the pool area and followed the lines of the hull further towards the stern. The vis decreased further as we got deeper. We came across large letters on the hull marking the depth and knew we were near the prop, which was what we were looking for. Suddenly out of the gloom appeared the massive blades of the Port propeller. Each blade is huge and would be well over 2m in length.

 The next day we were quickly back into it. We explored further into the Nevsky bar and the Bolshoi ball room. Checking out the huge light fittings attached to the ceiling of the Ball room. They are shaped like wagon wheels with lights on the end of each spoke. Several of the spokes still have the glass light shades attached. We’d previously devised a plan to search a pantry just off from the foyer of the ball room. However we bailed out on the first attempt when the site got silted out while attaching our line. A swim along the promenade deck is an amazing part of the wreck. Large steel doors that opened to the outer hull hang down vertically and still sway in the current. As you move along the promenade you can peer into each cabin and check out the furniture and various personal affect from the passengers. A couple of old suitcases and bits and pieces remind you of the inhabitants that once occupied the rooms. Curtains still hang in many of the rooms although now all at the wrong angle.

 We completed 3 dives on this day and all with run times in excess of 1 hour and no deco time. This was one of the key features of this site in that you can do a lot of time under water and never get too deep to worry about decompression or having wait extended surface intervals.

 The next day Pete Mesley took us on a guided tour of the engine room. We entered via the main ventilation shaft and swam down a short passage to the massive engines. Lines are necessary as the engine room itself is huge and it would be easy to get lost and not find the shaft entrance again. We checked out the engines and various gauges as well as the condensers and stairs and rails. This area is pitch black and no outside light enters. I get the feeling we only saw a very small part of this room as our dive lights only penetrated a short distance in front of us. The light beam ended in an empty void where you could not see any structures at all, just more blackness. We exited the engine room and swam up through the bridge again. Then over the side of the hull to view the impact damage that caused the sinking. There are several large tears that run along the hull and you can then appreciate why a ship this big sank. The gash in the hull runs for some distance and breached several bulkheads allowing water to flood the electrical system. Once power was lost the ship was doomed without the use of its engines or pumps. 

The next dive we were determined to explore the pantry and went over our routine so as not to silt out again. We tied off our line and moved up a small corridor. Approaching the pantry Mischa entered while I held the line outside. It was a small room and only one person could squeeze in. Shortly after he returned empty handed as nothing much was in there. Turned out we were searching the toilet and had missed the pantry by one door. There always seems to be strong connection between wrecks, divers and toilets. We finally located the gymnasium, however there only remains two rowing machines with all the other equipment having fallen down to the bottom of the wreck. Coming back from the gym we located a small communications room in the upper stern section. This room had an old radio unit still mounted on its table and other equipment and furniture. We could have spent more time in this area however our dive time was due to end. 

Soon it was all over and the Affinity was making its way back to Picton. A few quick beers and it was time for everyone to go there separate ways. A great weekend and great company with the Kiwi crew. Special thanks to Pete Mesley for organizing the trip and hopefully will be back again next year.

Any one interested in doing the same trip again next year can contact Peter Mesley at

petemes@orcon.net.nz 

or visite his site www.petemesley.com