On the remains of the Pollockshields WRECK
LOG


A diver hovers cautiously over an unexploded shell on the remains of the Pollockshields, one of 350 wrecks enjoyed by divers invited to Wreck Week in Bermuda. Brendan O'Brien was among the takers...



All week the marine forecast had been the same: "Winds from the north, 15 to 20 knots, seas outside the reef, 6 to 8ft". Every day I called Blue Water Divers: "The Xing Da tomorrow?"
"No chance." I was getting frustrated. Then, on my last diving day, the forecast said: "Seas outside the reef, 1 to 2ft." Perfect! Beneath blue skies we left the dock.
An hour later we were above the reef. The vast form of the Xing Da lay 35m down; visibility was 50m.
We started our descent over the bow mast. Large barracuda hung motionless as a vast shoal of bar jacks flowed like a river around them. Not yet used to divers, they moved away and took up a new position over the reef.
I had first dived this Chinese cargo ship just 15min after she was scuttled to form an artificial reef off Bermuda's outer reef-line in May '97. Debris had still been floating to the surface, the ship had rocked from side to side in the current and unappealing clanking noises had emanated from within - far from ideal conditions for wreck penetration.
Now firmly settled into her new home, I would find out how six months on the seabed had changed the Xing Da.
First stop was number one hold, where 83 men, women and children had spent three months imprisoned for their dream of a new life in America.
The vessel had been intercepted off Bermuda in October '96 by the US Coastguard. Her cargo of illegal immigrants from China was part of a smuggling operation masterminded by a Triad organisation.
Living, eating and sleeping on nothing but a bed of sand, this cramped hold had been a breeding ground for disease. On my first visit one end had resembled a cess-pit, while elsewhere lay other clues to human occupation - empty packets of honey and, against the exit ladder, a clump of hair. Now the hold lay empty, dark and quiet, except for a porthole hatch clanking eerily above as it swayed open and shut in the current.
Above the hold loomed the bridge area with its impressive A-frame mast. We spent some time exploring this area, including the living quarters and part of the access area to the engine room. Diver-friendly holes had been cut into the hull to make penetration as safe as possible.
As we completed our safety stop we watched the Xing Da's new residents take up position again by the masts and bridge.
I would learn a few months later that a savage storm had torn the Xing Da in half. But for now I was in Bermuda to sample Wreck Week, the latest initiative to attract divers to 300sq miles of diveable reefs that are home to more than 350 wrecks. After a brusque welcome by Customs (they seriously wanted me to leave my camera equipment with them unless I provided a $2000 cash bond!) things had soon looked up.

My first visit was to Nautilus Divers on the south shore. Enjoying a spectacular beachfront location by one of the island's more salubrious hotels, this centre is well-placed for reaching some of the more popular wrecks.
We started with the Marie Celeste, a Confederate paddle-wheel steamer on which a cocksure pilot once boasted that he knew the reefs like his own back garden. Five minutes later the ship was sinking into a sandhole next to the reef that had punctured her hull.
Mostly buried in sand at a depth of 15m, the intact paddle wheel makes her perhaps the most photogenic wreck in Bermuda's waters. Covered in corals and sea whips, she stands upright to provide outstanding wide-angle photo opportunities.
The surrounding sand is very fine, however, and once stirred up takes a good half-hour to settle.
Bermuda's is the world's northernmost coral reef system. The Gulf Stream keeps at bay the cold waters normally found at the island's degree of latitude, and transports marine life up from warmer southern waters.
You won't see the variety of corals found in the Caribbean, but there are healthy reefs covered in vast brain corals, seafans and sea whips. Bermuda's eco-system is believed to be home to more than 4500 species of marine life, many endemic.
Next day we visited the Hermes. Another artificial reef, this 50m freighter was sunk in 1985 by the Bermuda Dive Association deep enough to allow her photogenic mast to remain in place.
A shoal of 20 fearsome-looking barracuda are now permanent residents, but the real "danger" comes from the ferocious 15cm-long sergeant-majorfish, which have come to expect free meals from divers.
My buddy made the mistake of opening his BC pocket for a torch, and became engulfed in a ball of these marine "piranhas" nipping at any exposed skin. They didn't draw blood, but he was left with several small marks as punishment for turning up foodless.
Our next port of call was the Scubalook dive centre. John Butterworth, ex-DO of Chadderton BSAC, runs this slick operation, catering for demanding US divers. The centre's dive boat is the biggest and fastest on the island, and boasts a covered work area set aside for photographers.
I wanted to get back among the wrecks to the north, where the two halves of the giant cruise ship Cristobal Colon lie either side of the reef, but strong winds put paid to this. Instead we were taken to an area made up of nothing but silty seabed. I was sceptical. "Trust me," said John in his broad Oldham accent. "There's an old dredger down there. Get close to it, you'll love it."
The Lord Cochrane, one of five dredgers used in the area during WW2, was sunk in 1950. With visibility no more than 8m, initially all I could see was a mud-covered mass of metal and wood. But as I moved closer I could see that the superstructure was covered in invertebrate life and the home of teams of juvenile fish. A roll of film later, I surfaced a happy diver.
Bermuda has many such wrecks. Once one of the busiest naval ports in this part of the world, its old ships and equipment were scuttled to create the island's first artificial reefs as the naval presence diminished.
The west end is served by Blue Water Divers at Somerset Bridge. Apart from the Xing Da, it visits many wrecks rarely dived by other operators.
One regular stop is the Constella-tion, inspiration for the Peter Benchley book and later film set in Bermuda, The Deep. She sank in 1942 on top of the wreck of the Montana, a paddle-wheel steamer that went down on the reefs in 1893.
Like the ship in the film, the Constellation was carrying drug ampoules. These are still found by divers, although rarely now. With Bermuda's strict laws on drugs and the taking of objects off wrecks, bringing one up would be inadvisable.
The Montana is broken and scattered across the reef, its paddle-wheel intact but lying on its side.
I went on to dive more of Bermuda's wrecks: the Pollockshields, with its unexploded artillery shells; the Aristo, a rarely visited and almost intact wreck on the outer reefs; and the giant shipwreck the Rita Zovetta. What they all offer the visiting diver is variety, from shallow sites resembling little more than a tossed salad of broken plates and engine parts, to deeper, more intact wrecks.
Wreck Week was a brave venture, although this first year was not quite the success that had been hoped for. An international sailing competition, a jazz festival and a public holiday in the USA meant that the island was already full of visitors.
One frustrated dive operator told me that he could have filled his two boats twice over with Wreck Week divers, but there had been too few seats available on the airlines.
Wreck Week is to be held in October this year, using the Newstead Hotel as a base. Centrally placed and with a diver-friendly manager, it mixes old Bermudian charm with modern facilities. It also has a boat dock from which two of the island's five dive operators can pick up.
It is only in the past few years that Bermuda has recognised that its waters are a valuable attraction for tourists. With strong environmental legislation to protect this resource running alongside research and educational programmes, Bermuda could legitimately call its entire reef system a marine park. n

BERMUDA FACTFILE
Location: Not in the Caribbean! Bermuda is 650 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and is made up of more than 130 islands, many linked by bridges and causeways.
Climate: Semi-tropical. August can be humid, the winter months are similar to a warm British summer. Water temperature varies from 18*C in December to 30°C in August. Visibility is less good in winter due to plankton.
Health: No vaccinations necessary, excellent medical facilities, insurance essential. The only marine creature to avoid is the Portuguese man of war.
What to wear: Shorts of course! Outside the summer months it can get cool in the evenings.
Language: English
Currency: Bermudian dollar, but US dollars are on a par and acceptable everywhere. All major credit cards widely accepted.
Electricity: 110V AC
Flights: BA flies three times a week from Gatwick - early booking is essential. American Airlines flies from several cities in the UK via New York and Boston for Bermuda without an overnight stop.
Accommodation: Bermuda has a reputation for being expensive but its smaller cottage-type hotels offer a cheap alternative.
Food and drink: Restaurants can be pricey, but most have buffet nights that can be excellent value for money. A champagne Sunday brunch at around $28 should be compulsory for every visitor.
Getting around: No car rental, hire a moped (speed limit 23 mph!). It is possible to carry dive gear around safely on one. Taxis are expensive and drivers dislike wet dive gear.
Diving: A two-tank dive costs around $60. Dive/hotel packages are available through all dive centres. Nautilus Divers now offers all-inclusive dive packages through Thomas Cook. Visitors welcome on Bermuda BSAC dives: write to PO Box HM 3155, HM NX, Bermuda or e-mail bsaced@bermuda-watersports.com.
Information: For information on Wreck Week and general diving contact Bermuda Tourism, tel. 0171 771 7000 or check web site bermuda-watersports.com.

Teddy Tucker The great adventure of Teddy Tucker

Robert Shaw's character in the legendary film The Deep was based on Bermudian treasure-hunter Teddy Tucker (right). Now 72, he is still active in searching for unknown deep water marine creatures.
Teddy's life has been one long, passionate adventure.
"I used to dream about Spanish gold and pirates, what kid doesn't?"
Before World War Two he became involved in helmet-diving in Bermuda, and perfected his diving skills as a Royal Navy underwater demolition expert.
After the War he brought up bronze, copper and brass from the island's many wrecks, at a time when these metals were in short supply. His salvage brought him the money to fund his dream - the search for sunken treasure.
Teddy is a recognised expert in marine archaeology and credited with the discovery of numerous wrecks, not just in Bermuda but all over the world.
But his views on modern marine archaeology are controversial: "I've done a lot of work with the Smithsonian Institute on researching wrecks, but now it's gone too far. Archaeology is a good thing if the wreck is truly unique, if you don't know anything about it. Around here, though, as in many parts of the world, the wrecks are so mashed up - what's the point of mapping out every bolt and piece of wood?
"The wreck has been shifted around that many times by hurricanes and storms that it bears no resemblance to what it was when it sank. Most of the time the original plans are available anyway."
Teddy believes that legislation has blocked underwater learning opportunities. "The stuff I've brought up I've given to the British Museum, the Philadelphia Museum - I've shared it with so many people. The purists have alienated divers. If you find a wreck now, the archaeologists won't allow you to dive it again.
"If they'd join you that would be fine, that's the way it used to be. If you took everything away from museums that wasn't found in an archaeological manner, they would be empty!"

He cites a French Revolutionary packet ship: "It had been moved around on the seabed that many times, there was nothing to be learnt from it there. Over seven years we found guns, muskets, tools, swords and cannonballs - we just reburied it all near the site.
"We offered it all to the Government for a fair price to cover our time and expense. They turned it down because it wasn't found in an archaeological dig. I was bringing stuff up before they coined the phrase, and before most of them were born!
"I can see the laws that give ownership to the Government as being right - but don't give them to the archaeologists!"
Strong words. The Queen presumably has some views on this; after all, she gave Teddy an MBE for 45 years of diving and service to the public.
Teddy smiled as he told me why the award had been made: "That's contrary to everything the archaeologists say."
Appeared in DIVER - May 1998