Читать книгу Into the Abyss. Diving to Adventure in the Liquid World онлайн

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At the bow I kicked out and moved away from the wreck itself before turning round to look at the whole bow section of this massive vessel lying on its starboard side. The sharp stem looked as though it was still ready to slice through the waves. Even to my untrained eye she looked a fast vessel, well designed for the open sea and minelaying.

The stem gave way to the lower starboard side of her hull, which swept down towards the bottom. This was the first time I realised that the visibility here was so good that I could see the sea bottom, 10 metres below me. I hung there, suspended and motionless for a minute or so just taking in this spectacle and enjoying the sensation of weightlessness – of being so small and insignificant beside the imposing majesty and scale of this huge shipwreck. I could see the starboard anchor chain running out from its hawse pipe and away down to the seabed below. The seabed was covered with a carpet of scallop and razor shells, no longer inhabited.

On the seabed all around, was the debris field, which is always found beside a shipwreck – the casualties of a ship slowly rotting and falling to pieces in the depths. Sections of ship’s plating, spars and pipes lay scattered about along with cables, pieces of deck gear and the remnants of corroded handrails.