RED SEA WRECKS

The Dunraven
The Dunraven is almost completely upside down. She lies with her port side resting along an adjacent reef - with a slight "list" towards that reef. At a depth of 17m, the upside down bows are the shallowest part of the dive, with the stern resting on the seabed at 30m.

The leading edge of the bows are broken and slightly separated - with the whole structure leaning backwards and resting against the reef. From the port hawse pipe - almost completely hidden between ship and reef, the anchor chain runs down to the seabed and disappears under the ship. From the starboard hawse pipe is a short piece of anchor chain on which there is considerable coral growth. There is sufficient damage to the hull to allow the diver to enter the foc’sle.

From the Bows, it is a swim along the upturned keel to a point approximately amidships where the hull is broken and the remains of the funnel are seen on the seabed nearby. There are also a large pair of resident Red Scorpion fish occupying this "break."

Looking backwards, it is tempting to try and enter the front section - but this is not recommended. At the break, the keel of the fore section is much lower than that of the aft - revealing a state of slow collapse. This break in the Hull is at a point immediately in front of the Engine Room, and just inside the aft section, the ship's two huge boilers support the hull at this point - allowing it to retain its original shape. This is where the best part of the overall dive begins.

Surrounding the boilers are thousands of Glassfish (Vanikoro Sweepers) - a species which always prefer the shade and, on entering the hull, these move lazily aside to allow the diver safe passage. The boilers are side by side and, although they occupy a large amount of space, there is plenty of room for "single file" swimming between boiler and starboard side right through to the stern. On the other side of the boilers, are all the pipes taps and valves and then the engine itself - with large connecting rods and pistons all still in place. Above head height is a large gear wheel and even more valves.

From this point, the view towards the stern is quite breath-taking. This is a large, empty space with plenty of natural light provided by rows of portholes illuminating what was the Starboard Quarter. Altogether, allowing considerable scope for available light photography. With the deck having become the ceiling, the propeller shaft runs along that "ceiling." Incredibly after so long underwater, wooden panels still line this part of the steel hull. Sadly, however, all the ship's brass fittings - including the many portholes that once lined both sides of the ship at this point, were removed long ago. Such greed does, of course, lessen the overall effect for those of us who can only follow those who were amongst the first to visit this wreck - and thought only of themselves and their wretched trophy hunting!

The exit from the stern is well lit. This is 30m and the deepest part of the Dive. On top of the hull, the rudder and propeller are still in place - although one of the four blades is missing. There is plenty of coral growth on the upturned hull - although not as prolific as one might expect on a vessel that has been underwater for such a length of time.

Swimming back along the starboard side, the diver will find some remains of the aft mast. Most of the structure has, however, now disappeared altogether - leaving little more than a metre of mast pointing to the cross-trees some distance away on the seabed.

Overall, the Dunraven provides the diver with a thoroughly enjoyable series of dives on what is, after all, one of Egypt's most famous shipwrecks.